Beauty Lesson: Perfumes

Here's a quick beauty dictionary boost.

As you all know, I am very much in love with fragrances. I also love reviewing fragrances because I can somehow bring out my poetic/playwright side in every review I make. I did not have a formal background in writing, and I had to take a couple of playwriting classes when I was in college due to the nature of my course. And I must say, I'm digging the emotional side of writing!

Anyway,whenever I review a perfume/cologne, some of you might be wondering:

"What's a Sillage?"

"What's an accord?"

"How can I define the different notes of a perfume?"

Fear not. They're so simple, that it's even harder to define what your HG foundation is. LOL!

Here's a small guide on some of the usual (and not so usual) terms you'll find in various fragrance reviews.

Photo Credits: millanoperfumes.com

THE OLFACTORY PYRAMID

This is a term used to collectively call the Top Notes, Middle Notes, and Base Notes.

TOP NOTES- It is usually made up of universally fragrant notes in order to attract a consumer, yet these are the quickest notes to dissipate.

MIDDLE NOTES- Also called as Heart Notes. The Heart Notes is the real scent of the perfume, hence the term. It also tames down the sharp, heady top notes, and leads to the base notes. The Heart Notes usually last for 30 minutes.

BASE NOTES- The deeper side of a perfume. It is usually composed of strong notes such as musk, sandalwood, amber, and the likes to create a calmer mood for a fragrance. The Base Notes reveals itself after an hour or so. The Base Notes are always made with the Heart Notes in mind, as these two notes define the real characteristics of a fragrance.

An accord is usually used to define how the notes compliment each other, and to give an overview of the notes to be expected in a particular fragrance. For example: "It is a young fragrance with a beautiful accord of Citrus (Top Notes), Florals (Heart Notes), and Musk (Base Notes).

Note, however, that a particular note family is composed of various notes. If a review says "Top notes are Lemon-y...", it doesn't mean that the Top Notes only has Lemon in it. Lemon must be the domineering fragrance in the note family, but it could still have two, three, or four more notes in it.

Photo Credits: artgraphica.com

"THE NOSE"

Well, we're not talking about a literal nose, A "Nose" is a contemporary term for "Perfumers", or the creators of the fragrances. "The Nose behind this perfume..." really means "The Creator of this perfume...." Perfumers are stars in their own right. If they create a classic and timeless beauty, they can be immortalized. Perfect example would be Ernest Beaux, the nose behind Chanel N5.

Photo Credits: i8.deviantart.com

SILLAGE

Ever been in a place, say, a hallway, and seems like somebody has just passed because there is a lingering scent around? That's called a "Sillage". Sillage is an urban word used by perfume lovers to define the trail of scent left behind by a person's perfume. Sillage came from the French term "Wake". Well, not the term related to the dead, but to the stream left behind by a boat. (Picture This: A boat travels across the ocean, and it leaves a white foamy trail at its tail end)

Technically, it describes the intensity of a perfume's scent, and the impression it gives. So when you sit beside someone, and you claim to have had a headache when you have smelled his/her perfume, it must be the Sillage.

Photo Credits: collegefashion.net

LECYTHIOPHILE (Noveau!)

Yes, there is a term for us, perfume addicts. Lecythiophile is a term used to call a perfume collector. "Lecythe" came from the Greek word "Lekuthos", which is used to call a Greek mud with long collar where one puts oil and perfume in it. And "Phile", from "Philein" which means "To Love".