Note Glossary

Several notes blended so they read as one smell. When a page says the main accord is amber, that is the overall impression rather than a single ingredient.

Warm, slightly sweet and resinous. Not a real fossil resin in modern perfume but a blend, usually labdanum with vanilla and benzoin.

A clean, faintly salty woody-musk. It is the reason so many modern men's fragrances smell smooth and slightly mineral.

Sea air and wet stone. Refreshing, and among the first notes to vanish in Lagos heat.

What is left after several hours, and what people around you actually remember. Read these first when you shop.

A bitter citrus from Calabria. Opens a huge number of fragrances because it lifts everything above it.

How much perfume oil is in the bottle. Eau de toilette is lightest, eau de parfum stronger, extrait strongest. A pure oil has no alcohol at all.

How a fragrance smells once the opening has burned off, usually from the first hour onward.

Fragrances that smell edible: vanilla, caramel, almond, chocolate, coffee.

The middle of a fragrance, carrying the hours between the opening and the base. Florals and spices usually live here.

A soft, dry cedar-like note. Some people cannot smell it at all, which is why opinions on woody scents differ so sharply.

A sticky, dark resin from rock rose. The backbone of most amber accords.

How many hours a fragrance stays detectable on skin. Oils generally last longer than sprays because there is no alcohol carrying them off.

Soft, skin-like warmth. Modern musks are synthetic, and they are what makes a fragrance smell clean rather than perfumed.

A single smell within a fragrance, like bergamot or vanilla.

The top, heart and base notes listed together. Useful, but it tells you nothing about proportion, which is why we also show accord strength.

The first ten to fifteen minutes. The loudest part of a spray and the quietest part of an oil.

Resinous wood from infected agar trees. Deep, sometimes medicinal, and expensive. Often used as a base rather than the centre.

What happens when a bottle is left open, hot or in sunlight. The scent turns sharp. Keep bottles closed and out of the sun.

Earthy and dark. In small amounts it adds weight; in large amounts it is unmistakable.

The fragrance composition without alcohol. Sits closer to the skin, lasts longer, and is gentler on sensitive skin.

How far a fragrance travels from your skin. Strong projection is noticed on entry; low projection is noticed in a hug.

Warm places where fragrance develops best: behind the neck, base of the throat, behind the ears, inner elbow.

Leathery and slightly medicinal, with a warm edge. Common alongside rose and oud.

The trail a fragrance leaves behind you. From the French for wake, as in a boat's wake.

Almond, vanilla and hay together. The soft sweetness under most gourmands.

The first impression, and the shortest lived. Citrus and green notes usually sit here.

Sweet, warm and comforting. The most requested note we stock, and the hardest to make interesting.