Perfume Notes

Top Notes

Top notes, also called head notes, are very strong in scent. They are perceived immediately upon the 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 thus are very important in the selling of the product. The scents of this note class are usually described as "fresh," "assertive" or "sharp." Vetiver recommends 30 - 50% of your perfume be top notes. [Browse our top notes here]

 

Heart Notes

The heart note is the scent of a perfume that emerges just prior to when the top notes dissipate. The middle note compounds form the "heart" or main body of a perfume and emerge in the middle of the perfume's dispersion process. They serve to mask the often unpleasant initial impression of base notes, which become more pleasant with time. Not surprisingly, the scent of a heart note compounds is usually more mellow and "rounded." Scents from this note class appear anywhere from two minutes to one hour after the application of a perfumeVetiver recommends 50 - 30% of your perfume be Heart notes. [Browse our heart notes here]

 

Base Notes

The scent of a perfume that appears close to the departure of the base notes. The base and middle notes together are the main theme of a perfume. Base notes bring depth and solidity to a perfume. Compounds of this class are often the fixatives used to hold and boost the strength of the lighter top and middle notes. Consisting of large, heavy molecules that evaporate slowly, compounds of this class of scents are typically rich and "deep" and are usually not perceived until 30 minutes after the application of the perfume or during the period of perfume dry-down. Some base notes can still be detectable in excess of twenty-four hours after application, particularly the                                                                 musk type notes. Vetiver recommends 20% of your perfume be base notes. [Browse our base notes here]