PERFUME TERMS EXPLAINED: A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO FRAGRANCE LANGUAGE

The fragrance world is full of beautiful bottles, captivating notes… and a whole lot of unfamiliar vocabulary.

If you've ever watched a perfume review or read a fragrance description and thought, “Wait, what’s sillage?” — you're not alone. I promise you, I have been there. Heck, I'm still a student and will forever be. Perfume has its own language, and if you're just getting into scent, it can feel like you’re reading a foreign dictionary, but it's not, I promise.

So let’s simplify it.

Whether you're just starting your fragrance journey or you’ve already got a growing collection, this guide breaks down the most commonly used perfume terms so you can read, watch, and feel like you're more than a novice. I got you!

1. Fragrance Notes

Think of notes as the ingredients in a perfume — but also as stages in a story.
Every fragrance is composed of top, middle (heart), and base notes, which unfold over time:

• Top Notes – What you smell first. These are light, fresh, and evaporate quickly. (Ex: citrus, herbs)

• Heart Notes – The core of the fragrance. These emerge after the top fades and last longer. (Ex: florals, spices)

• Base Notes – The deepest, richest scents. These anchor the perfume and stay the longest. (Ex: woods, musk, amber)

Together, these notes create the full character and dry-down of your scent. I wrote a blog post on this in more detail and you can read more about it HERE.

2. Dry-Down

The dry-down is how a perfume smells once it has settled on your skin — typically 30 minutes to an hour after application.

It’s the phase where the top notes have evaporated, the heart notes have softened, and the base notes shine through and anchors the fragrance. This is often the true scent of a fragrance, and what people around you are most likely to remember, so choose carefully lol.

If you don't know which you prefer, try them all (not at the same time though...ha), let them dry down and see how you feel. You may be pleasantly surprised. Don't rush this process, this is the fun part.

3. Sillage (pronounced see-yazh)

Sillage is the trail your fragrance leaves behind — that gorgeous cloud of scent that lingers after you walk past someone. Some may call it your "scent trail" which is a term that I absolutely love.

A perfume with strong sillage can be noticed from a short distance, while a perfume with soft sillage stays closer to the skin.
Sillage is affected by how much you spray, where you apply, and even your skin chemistry. I would suggest playing with your fragrance to see what kind of a scent trail you personally prefer.

4. Projection

Projection is how far your fragrance pushes out into the air after it's been applied. Think of it as your scent’s “volume" or "scent bubble.”

• High projection: Others can smell it without being close to you

• Low projection: It stays intimate and closer to the skin

Fragrances can have high projection at first and then settle into a softer radius as they dry down, so you definitely want to wear it on the skin and note how it changes and projects over time. For me, I like a low to medium projection. It just depends on whaat I'm doing and where I am going. Fresh or Aquatic fragrances are generally on the lower projection side and Oud fragrances are typically very high projection. Everything else falls in the middle, generally speaking of course as there are definitely exceptions.

5. Longevity

This one’s simple — how long your perfume lasts after application. What I've learned about longevity is that it's not dependent upon how expensive a perfume is. I have less expensive fragrances that outlast more expensive fragrances, so the two are not mutually exclusive.

Longevity depends on:

• The perfume’s concentration (EDT vs EDP vs Extrait)

• Your skin type (oily skin holds scent longer)

• The environment (heat and humidity boost wear)

• The ingredients (resins, woods, and ambers tend to last longer than citrus or florals)

Pro tip: If your favorite scent disappears fast, try layering it with matching lotion or spraying a bit on fabric (carefully).

6. Skin Chemistry

Skin chemistry refers to how your body’s natural oils, pH level, and heat interact with a fragrance. That’s why the same perfume can smell sweet and clean on your friend, but warm and spicy on you. You never want to judge a fragrance by how it smells on someone else, you may end up disappointed.

Your skin chemistry can affect:

• How quickly a fragrance evaporates

• How certain notes are amplified or muted

• Whether the perfume becomes sweeter, sharper, or more powdery

It’s also why sampling on your own skin is non-negotiable. Test before you commit. By testing I mean, go to a store like Ulta or Sephora or a department store like Macy's, Dillards, Nordstrom, Saks, Bloomingdale's or Harrod's if you're fancy. Smelling the scent on a fragrance blotting strip is okay, but not at all definitive. What I would suggest is that once you find a fragrance that you think you might like, spray it on the inside of your wrist, walk around with it for at least 30 minutes.

Once the top notes (the notes you smell when you spray initially) wear off, then you are introduced to the middle notes (heart notes) which is the true essence of the fragrance. It will eventually change a bit again but the heart notes and the base notes (they anchor the fragrance and give it longevity) work together. After 30 minutes, what you smell is what you get. Now, you can decide whether it's a love or a hard pass.

7. Flanker

There are 3 brands that come to mind immediately when I hear the word "flanker." Marc Jacobs has Daisy, which has Daisy Intense, Daisy Dream, Daisy Eau so Fresh, Daisy Pop, Daisy Love Pop, Daisy Eau so Fresh Pop, Daisy Wild, Daisy Wild Intense and Daisy Love. Valentino has Born in Roma Donna, Born in Roma Donna Extradose, Born in Roma Donna Green Extravaganza, Born in Roma Donna Coral Fantasy and Born in Roma Donna Yellow Dream. Carolina Herrerra has Good Girl, Good Girl Blush, Good Girl, Very Good Girl, Very Good Girl Elixir, Very Good Girl Glam and Good Girl Legere.

So, essentially you could call a flanker a variation of the original or the original with a twist. Most Fragrance houses that experience good success will create a flanker to see if it sells as well, and then another and another as you can see with the 3 examples that I just gave.

I'm not a huge fan of the Good Girl flankers, but I LOVE the original. As for Marc Jacobs and Valentino, they can do no wrong in my eyes so flanker away.

In a nutshell, that’s a flanker — a new version or twist on an original fragrance. Flankers usually keep some of the DNA of the original but tweak the notes, strength, or focus to create something slightly different. They’re a great way to explore new versions of a perfume you already love.

8. Gourmand, Musk, Aldehydes... and Other Common Descriptors

• Gourmand: A scent that smells sweet or edible — like vanilla, caramel, or coffee

• Musk: A warm, skin-like scent often used as a base note (can be clean, animalic, or powdery)

• Aldehydes: Synthetic compounds that give a sparkling, fizzy, or metallic brightness (famously used in Chanel No. 5)

• Oud: A rich, smoky resin from agarwood, used in many luxury and Middle Eastern fragrances

• Linear: A fragrance that smells the same from start to finish

• Complex: A scent that evolves over time with noticeable transitions

My Final Thoughts

Fragrance doesn’t have to be intimidating — you don’t need a degree in chemistry or a French vocabulary to enjoy it.
But understanding the basics gives you the power to describe what you love, find scents that suit you, and speak the language of perfume with confidence.

So next time you hear someone talk about sillage or dry-down, you’ll know exactly what they mean — and more importantly, how it applies to you.

See, I told you, I got you,

XO,

Jackie