CosBeauty Magazine #90

Things
to note
BEAUTY
Each parfum, eau de parfum, eau de
toilette or eau de cologne consists of
different ‘notes’ that determine the
overall scent and work in synergy to
create a specific smell:
• Top notes are otherwise called
the head notes. Perceived immediately
upon application of a perfume, top
notes consist of small, light molecules
that evaporate quickly. They form a
person’s initial impression of a perfume
and are therefore important in the
selling of the product. The scents of
this note class are usually described
as ‘fresh’, ‘assertive’ or ‘sharp’. The
compounds that contribute to top notes
are strong in scent, very volatile and
evaporate quickly.
• Middle or heart notes make up the core
of a fragrance and usually act as a buffer
for the base notes, which might not
smell quite as pleasant on their own.
They are generally composed of more
robust oils because they need to hold
up longer on the skin. And because
they’re the main fragrance, they also
have to win you over – this has to be
a scent you can live with. Heart notes
usually evaporate within two to four
hours, leaving the base note to react
with your skin.
• Base notes linger the longest on the
skin – some essential oils can last for a
couple of days. While there is a wide
variety of scents that make up top and
heart notes, there’s less diversity among
base notes. This is because there aren’t
all that many scents heavy enough
to stick around for as long as base
notes need to. Base notes generally
comprise about 20 percent of any
given fragrance. They’re often from the
woodsy family – sandalwood, amber,
musk and vanilla are among the most
popular – but vetiver and patchouli are
common too.