Perfume Glossary: Concentrations, Notes and Scent Terms Explained

How to use this glossary

Fragrance vocabulary is a mix of French trade terms, chemistry, marketing language and plain retail shorthand. The same word can carry a precise meaning in a perfumery reference and a looser meaning on a department-store shelf. This glossary defines the terms you are most likely to meet, notes where definitions vary, and flags where a label word is a convention rather than a rule.

Read the entries as descriptions of common industry usage. Concentration percentages, family names and gender labels are not governed by a single worldwide standard, so treat any figure here as a typical range rather than a specification you can rely on for a particular bottle.

• Concentration and label terms explain what eau de cologne, eau de toilette, eau de parfum, parfum and body mist usually mean.
• Note and family terms cover top, heart and base notes, accords, absolutes, essential oils and the main scent families.
• Wear and performance terms define sillage, projection, longevity, drydown, skin scent and nose blindness.
• A separate section explains how cologne and parfum are used colloquially in the United States compared with their technical senses.
• The final section shows how to interpret a term when the label, the shop assistant and an online review all seem to say something different.

Sources: Phlur, Luckyscent, Noble Crown Fragrances

Concentration and label terms

Concentration terms describe roughly how much fragrance oil is dissolved in the alcohol-and-water base, and they also hint at how long and how loudly a scent is likely to behave. The ranges below reflect what perfumery glossaries commonly list. They are not standardized across the industry, so the same term may correspond to different oil percentages from different brands.

Parfum, also called extrait or extract, is the most concentrated standard form. Depending on the reference, listed perfume-oil ranges run from roughly 15% to 45%. Eau de parfum is usually listed around 10% to 20%, with at least one retailer glossary describing 10% to 15%. Eau de toilette sits below that, commonly listed around 5% to 10% and up to about 15% in some references. Eau de cologne is the lightest of the traditional alcohol-based forms, typically listed at about 2% to 5% perfume oil. A body mist is lighter still, typically under about 3% fragrance oil, and is designed to be short-lived and easy to reapply.

Because those bands overlap and vary by source, the concentration word on a label is a rough guide to strength, not a guaranteed number. Two eau de parfums from different houses can sit at opposite ends of the range.

• Eau de cologne: low concentration, traditionally around 2% to 5% perfume oil.
• Eau de toilette: lighter than eau de parfum, commonly listed around 5% to 10%, up to roughly 15% in some references.
• Eau de parfum: commonly listed around 10% to 20%, or 10% to 15% in at least one retailer glossary.
• Parfum, extrait or extract: the most concentrated standard form, listed from roughly 15% to 45% depending on the source.
• Body mist: typically under about 3% fragrance oil and intended to be light and short-lived.

Sources: Phlur, Luckyscent, Snif, Noble Crown Fragrances, PerfumersWorld

Note and family terms

Notes are the individual scent impressions a fragrance gives off. They are usually described in three stages. Top notes are the first notes you perceive after applying, made up of the lightest materials, and they evaporate first, typically within minutes to about half an hour. Heart notes, also called middle or core notes, appear as the top notes fade and usually define the main character of the scent. Base notes are the heaviest and longest-lasting; they remain after the top and heart notes have gone and form the drydown. Describing these stages is the job of the olfactive pyramid, the familiar diagram with top notes at the peak, heart notes in the middle and base notes at the foundation. The pyramid maps how materials evaporate over time rather than how important they are.

An accord is a blend of two or more notes or materials that produces a distinct third scent impression, sometimes described as the perfumery equivalent of a musical chord. Ingredients get their own vocabulary too. An absolute is a highly concentrated fragrant material produced by solvent extraction, often used for fragile flowers such as jasmine or tuberose that cannot withstand steam distillation. An essential oil is a concentrated plant extract usually obtained by steam distillation. A synthetic ingredient is one made by chemical synthesis rather than extracted from natural material; synthetics are commonly used to replace natural materials that are costly, unsustainable or environmentally hazardous to source.

Family names group fragrances by overall character. Fougere takes its name from the French word for fern and is built on lavender, oakmoss and woods, historically associated with traditional men's grooming scents. Chypre is characterised by a mossy, woody base, often combining citrus such as bergamot with oakmoss, labdanum and patchouli; many classic chypres were reformulated after oakmoss restrictions. Gourmand is built around edible or dessert-like notes such as vanilla, chocolate, caramel and fruit. Oriental is a traditional family originally defined by a strong amber presence and now generally taken to include heavy, persistent, warm fragrances built on materials such as musk, vanilla and resin.

There is no single universally accepted family system. The often-cited Societe Francaise des Parfumeurs classification uses seven categories, while Michael Edwards' Fragrances of the World uses four, so the same fragrance can be filed differently by different references. Treat family names as useful shorthand rather than fixed boxes.

• Top notes: first perceived, lightest materials, gone within minutes to about half an hour.
• Heart notes (middle or core notes): appear as the top notes fade and define the main character.
• Base notes: heaviest and longest-lasting, remaining after the other notes fade.
• Accord: a blend of two or more notes that reads as a distinct third scent.
• Absolute: solvent-extracted, highly concentrated material used for delicate flowers.
• Essential oil: concentrated plant extract, usually from steam distillation.
• Synthetic: a laboratory-made ingredient, often replacing a costly or hard-to-source natural material.
• Drydown: the final phase, when only the longest-lasting base materials remain.

Sources: Phlur, Luckyscent, Snif, TOCCA, Stock Fragrance, PerfumersWorld

Wear and performance terms

These words come up constantly in reviews, and they describe how a fragrance behaves once it is on your skin rather than what it is made of. Sillage is the French term for the scent trail a fragrance leaves in the air as the wearer moves. Projection describes how far from the wearer a fragrance can be detected by another person. Longevity is how long the fragrance remains detectable on skin after application. Longevity and strength are not the same property: a fragrance can persist on skin for hours without projecting loudly.

Drydown is the final phase of development, after the top and heart notes have faded, when only the longest-lasting base materials remain. A skin scent is one with minimal projection that can only be detected very close to the wearer, often soft, sheer and musky. Fragrance fade describes the process by which a fragrance becomes lighter over time as its scent oils slowly dissipate. Reapplication simply means adding more fragrance later in the day once the scent has faded. Over-application, using too much fragrance, can make a scent overwhelming and harder for the wearer and the people around them to enjoy.

Nose blindness, described as anosmia in this context, is the temporary inability to detect a scent after prolonged exposure to it, even though other people can still perceive it. Clinical anosmia is a separate and relatively rare condition, while partial or selective loss of smell is more common.

How long a fragrance lasts on skin depends on several factors at once, including skin type, skin hydration, application site, concentration and weather, and the same fragrance can behave differently on different people. Fragrance can last longer on clothing than on skin, but testing on a small area first is sensible to avoid potential staining.

• Sillage: the scent trail left in the air as the wearer moves.
• Projection: how far from the wearer others can detect the fragrance.
• Longevity: how long the fragrance stays detectable on skin.
• Skin scent: minimal projection, detectable only very close to the wearer.
• Fragrance fade: the gradual lightening of a scent as its oils dissipate.
• Reapplication: adding more fragrance later in the day.
• Over-application: using too much, which can overwhelm rather than please.
• Nose blindness: losing the ability to detect a scent you have been exposed to for a while, while others still smell it.

Sources: Phlur, Luckyscent, Snif, TOCCA, Noble Crown Fragrances, PerfumersWorld

Colloquial versus technical usage in the United States

Cologne is the clearest example of a term with two lives. In perfumery references, cologne is shorthand for eau de cologne, a specific low-concentration fragrance type. In everyday American retail usage, cologne more often means a fragrance marketed toward men, regardless of its actual concentration. A bottle sold as a men's cologne may be an eau de toilette, an eau de parfum or something else entirely.

Parfum works the other way. On a label it usually signals the most concentrated standard form, but in casual conversation it is often just a general word for fragrance. If someone says they are shopping for a new parfum, they may mean any fragrance at all, not specifically an extrait-strength one.

Gender labels follow a similar pattern. Unisex is commonly used for scents not designated as men's or women's, and brand glossaries note that gendered fragrance labels are largely marketing conventions rather than inherent scent categories. That does not mean the labels are meaningless when you are shopping, since they shape which counter a bottle sits on in a U.S. store, but it does mean a fragrance filed under one gender can suit anyone.

One practical consequence: when a term is doing marketing work rather than technical work, it tells you little about concentration, ingredients or performance. The reliable information is usually on the packaging, in the listed concentration term and ingredient declaration, rather than in the shelf label.

• Cologne technically means eau de cologne, but in U.S. retail it usually means a fragrance marketed to men.
• Parfum technically means the most concentrated standard form, but colloquially it can mean any fragrance.
• Unisex signals that a scent is not designated as men's or women's; gendered labels are largely marketing conventions.
• Shelf placement and counter signage follow retail conventions, not a standardized industry classification.

Sources: Luckyscent, Snif, Noble Crown Fragrances

How to read a term in context

When the same word seems to mean different things, ask what job it is doing in that sentence. A concentration term on a label or product page is usually making an approximate strength claim; the same word in conversation is probably a category word. A family name in a review is a shorthand for a scent impression, not a verifiable property of the juice. A performance term such as sillage or longevity is a personal observation made on a particular skin, in a particular climate, at a particular time.

A short set of habits makes most fragrance writing easier to interpret. Start with the concentration term and treat it as a rough band rather than an exact number. Treat family names as a starting orientation and expect different references to file the same fragrance in different categories. Read wear descriptions as one person's report rather than a guarantee, and remember that skin type, hydration, application site and weather all influence how a fragrance behaves.

If you want to compare two fragrances fairly, compare them on the same terms: same concentration, same application site, same amount, and a similar amount of time since application. That is also the honest way to read someone else's comparison.

1. Find the concentration term and read it as an approximate strength band, not a fixed number.
2. Check the note list for top, heart and base groupings, and treat them as an expected arc over time.
3. Note the family name and remember that classification systems differ between references.
4. Read sillage, projection and longevity reports as observations on one person's skin.
5. Use the same application method and timing when comparing two fragrances yourself.

Sources: Phlur, Luckyscent, Snif, TOCCA, Noble Crown Fragrances, Stock Fragrance

A note on ingredients, allergies and regulation

Glossary definitions describe how the industry talks about fragrance, not how a product will affect you. A peer-reviewed narrative review notes that fragrance ingredients can trigger allergic contact dermatitis in sensitized individuals, and highlights allergens including cinnamic aldehyde, eugenol and isoeugenol. The same review reports that fragrance and cosmetic ingredients such as phthalates and parabens have been associated with endocrine disruption, while long-term cumulative effects remain poorly understood. These are reported associations and open questions rather than established outcomes for any individual product or person.

The review also observes that cosmetics regulation in the United States is shared across federal agencies and that existing frameworks do not fully address cumulative and long-term exposure to multiple ingredients in personal-care products. That is a statement about regulatory coverage, not guidance for any particular product.

If you have a known sensitivity, a dermatologist or another qualified clinician is the right source of advice, and ingredient lists on packaging are the place to check what a specific product contains.

• Fragrance ingredients can cause allergic contact dermatitis in people who are already sensitized.
• Reported allergens highlighted in the review include cinnamic aldehyde, eugenol and isoeugenol.
• Associations between some synthetic ingredients and endocrine disruption are reported, but long-term cumulative effects remain poorly understood.
• U.S. cosmetics regulation is split across federal agencies, and the review notes gaps around cumulative exposure.
• Glossaries cannot tell you how a product will affect your skin; a clinician can help with a known sensitivity.

Sources: Frontiers in Toxicology (via PubMed Central)