Notes, Accords & Dry-down

A perfume rarely smells exactly the same from its first application to its final trace on the skin. Perfumers use notes to describe recognizable scent impressions, accords for combinations of materials that create a unified aroma, and dry-down for the character a fragrance develops as it settles.

Top, heart and base notes

A note is a recognizable part of a perfume's aroma, such as citrus, flowers, wood, smoke or resin. A note may come from a single aromatic material or several materials working together; it is a description of what we smell, not necessarily a separate ingredient.

Notes are often grouped by when they are most noticeable:

• Top notes shape the opening impression. Citrus, fresh herbs and other readily evaporating materials are familiar examples.
• Heart (middle) notes contribute much of a fragrance's developing character as the opening softens. Floral, herbal and spicy impressions often appear here.
• Base notes lend depth and persistence. Woods, resins and balsamic materials frequently contribute to the later scent.

These stages overlap. The materials are present together, but their relative prominence changes as aromatic compounds evaporate at different rates.

Working with complex botanical materials

In perfumery composed of essential oils, absolutes and resin extracts, each ingredient is already a mixture of naturally occurring aromatic compounds. One extract can contribute more than one kind of note. For example, a resinous material may have an immediately noticeable, bright aspect as well as slower-developing woody or balsamic qualities.

This is useful when thinking about the traditional note pyramid: a complex botanical extract does not necessarily occupy only the top, heart or base. A perfumer working without isolated aroma chemicals builds a composition by combining these multifaceted materials, letting their aromas interact rather than assembling every note from individual molecules.

What is an accord?

An accord is a combination of aromatic materials that creates a recognizable overall impression, rather like several musical notes forming a chord. A woodland accord might bring together green, woody and resinous qualities. In natural perfumery, these impressions can be constructed from whole botanical extracts that already contain several aromatic facets of their own.

What is the dry-down?

The dry-down is the scent that develops after the initial, more volatile aromas have softened. As the balance changes, longer-lasting materials may become more prominent, making the fragrance seem deeper, warmer or quieter than it did at first application. Dry-down is one part of a perfume's identity, not simply what remains when its top notes disappear.

At Deschampsia

Our Aromatic Resin Perfume Oils combine botanical resin infusions in jojoba with essential oils and absolutes, without synthetic fragrances or isolated aroma chemicals. These complex materials contribute to the perfume's opening, evolving accords and dry-down.

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