Perfume Notes - Top Notes, Middle Notes And Base Notes - What Do They Mean?

We normally use the word "notes" in relation to music or to taking down notes. But did you know that perfumes are also made of a variety of notes that come together to create that special blend we call perfume?

That is one of the reasons why the perfume you wear gives out different smells at different times. The smell you get as soon as you spray the perfume on you is quite different to what you get after about 30 minutes have passed and then again during the course of the day, it can change even more. This happens when the perfume starts to evaporate and the "different notes" start to come out.

We are always told never to buy perfume after the first whiff of it. You have to let it dry on your wrist and then wait for it to evaporate before smelling it again to actually know what your bottle of perfume really smells like. It so happens that the different notes come out in stages and it's the combination of all these notes that makes your bottle of perfume give out that heavenly smell.

Now let's see, what these notes are:

In perfumery language, they are called the Top Notes, the Middle Notes and the Base notes. Easy to remember. But what do they mean?

Top notes are what you get when you open the bottle and take a sniff. This is supposed to be the most important smell as far as the manufacturer is concerned because if that first sniff is not to your liking, you are obviously not going to buy it. The top notes therefore are strong and vibrant and made to cause that first good impression. The first smell however does not last long because it evaporates rather quickly or in a matter of 10-15 minutes the most.<


Next are the Middle Notes which really is the heart and body of the perfume and helps to produce the bouquet of the fragrance. The middle notes are less strong and vibrant and lasts longer than the Top notes and appears after about 30-45 minutes after applying the perfume. It's the Middle Notes that help to balance the different blends of the perfume.

Last but not least are the Base Notes. The Base notes of a perfume hold the fragrances together. The ingredients that go into making the Base notes have the tenacity to hold the Top and Middle Notes together and stop the perfume from evaporating too quickly. The Base notes are supposed to be the dominant part of the perfume which gives the final and unique smell to a perfume.

As you can see, so many components go into the making of that dreamy bottle of perfume we treasure so much. However, it's only the expert who can separate these different notes and the structure of a particular perfume. For you and me, simply knowing the different notes of a perfume would suffice to help us select that very special fragrance of our choice.