The Olfactory Pyramid

Let's do a general culture point: 

Do you know what the Olfactory Pyramid is?

This scheme was created by the famous French perfumer Jean Carles who was born in 1892 in Grasse, was the founder of the Roure Perfumery School in 1946. 

It is to this perfumer that we owe the method according to which the good orchestration of a fragrance allows a remarkable evolution of the latter in a place by describing three distinct phases after the diffusion of a perfume.

The olfactory pyramid structures the creation of a perfume and balances the recipe of a fragrance to make it harmonious. It also serves to make its evaporation gradual and continuous.

Each fragrance conveys a different olfactory message and provokes a feeling of well-being in each of us. They also take us on an olfactory journey.

Although perfumes are constantly evolving, respecting the pyramid is essential when using natural materials. 

Part of the orchestration of a perfume are what we call "notes", they are used to understand the construction of a fragrance. A fragrance with an off-axis architecture could put forward a feeling of emptiness that could harm the beauty of the perfume.

The olfactory pyramid is composed of three notes. 

At the top, the top notes of a perfume which are related to citrus, green and fresh aromatic notes, very often have a role of propelling freshness.

There are different types of top notes, so we will mention the most common and most used. 

Namely, we have the marine notes including the calone, the helium, the floralozone

Then we have the aromatic notes which include the minty notes but also the aniseed notes and the lavender notes. 

Following these we have the citrus notes which include orange, lemon, bergamot, citron, yuzu, grapefruit and mandarin.

And finally we have the fresh fruity and floral notes.

We note two characteristics specific to these top notes which are on the one hand the fact that the top notes quickly lead to the heart notes in the construction of the perfume. And as we mentioned earlier in our explanation, a skewed architecture of a fragrance can cause a void, which does not play in favor of the beauty of the perfume.

And on the other hand, we emphasize the fact that top notes have an ephemeral side in that they do not last long (between 5 to 15min). 

Being odor propellants, the top notes will attract customers by giving them a taste of the fragrance.

These notes can be similar to a smile that triggers a discussion. 

In the middle part, the heart notes of a perfume are fruity, spicy or floral notes. These types of notes are significant in a fragrance because they last only a short time.

We have different categories of flowers and fruits present in this type of notes, namely: 

Exotic fruits such as mango, pineapple, banana or passion fruit

Juicy fruits such as pear, apple or kiwi

Red fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, red currants and blackcurrants

Watery fruits like melon and watermelon.

And finally the yellow fruits as the peach, the plum and without forgetting the apricot. 

As for the flowers present in the heart notes we have :

Flowers of the pink family including rose, geranium and peony

Powdery flowers such as iris, violet, heliotrope, mimosa and broom  

White flowers such as jasmine, tuberose, ylang-ylang, orange blossom, lily and finally frangipani  

And, spicy flowers like carnations or immortelle.

The notes of hearts are capitalized in a scented candle. They allow them to take amplitude and impregnation in the place that it perfumes.

One could compare the notes of heart to a preliminary discussion between two people which follows a smile for example.

And finally, in the lower part of the pyramid we have the base notes of a perfume which are woody, sweet and leathery notes.

One calls the note of bottom, a very intense note which is going to last in the room where the candle perfumes. Being qualified as the soul of a fragrance, the base note can last for several hours, even several days.

Different synthetic products and natural raw materials make it possible to create the base notes. 

If we choose to use natural raw materials, the perfume will be alive and evolving in time. 

On the other hand, if we use synthetic products, the fragrance will be more continuous.

Among these, we count the woody notes and the oriental or amber notes.

But also, we have the gourmand facet and the spicy facet with the warm spices.

And to finish our non-exhaustive list, we can mention the technical notes of synthesis like cashmeran or ambroxan. 

The base notes are a pillar of the orchestration of a perfume, it is crucial to learn to discover and try the fragrance with the place in which it is arranged.