The 7 olfactive families of perfumes
Citrus family is the oldest one in perfumery.
In the eighteenth century, first “Eaux de Cologne” appeared and were only made of top notes. Thus, they were short lasting. Few decades ago, top notes were mixed with spices, woods or flowers : here were born new “Eaux Fraiches”.
In both case, the “citrus accord” is made of fruits zests: Orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, mandarin, and less common ones as cedrat or yuzu. Essential oils of citrus are obtained by cold pressure, as it will be described in a future article.
By-products of orange tree are also considered as citrus : orange flower and « petit grain ».
All these raw materials bring fresh notes to a perfume, slightly acid with smell of zest. Sparkling, vivifying and tonic : such are the perfumes belonging to citrus family.
Examples : Eau de Cologne Impériale of Guerlain (1856), Eau Sauvage of Dior (1956).
Floral family is the widest, including a lot of world-known perfumes.
They are worked on with one flower (a « soliflore ») or a whole bouquet (a « floral bouquet »).
Flowers used are numerous : nearly all these existing in the Nature. Essential oils of fresh flowers are obtained by steam distillation or extraction with volatile solvents : iris, lavender, geranium, jasmine, ylang … Certain flower, too fragile to be extracted, must be reconstituted chemically : lily of the valley or violet, among others.
The basic floral heart is generally accompanied with green, fruity or « aldehydée » facets. Aldehydes are a kind of molecule which gives a metallic, cold inflexion. They have been widely used for the first time in n°5 of Chanel, in 1921.
Floral perfumes are mostly for women : Diorissimo of Dior (1956, a soliflore around the lily of the valley), Paris of YSL, Arpège of Lanvin (1927). The most known floral perfume for men is Pour un Homme de Caron (1936, a soliflore around the lavender).
Woody family is also very wide.
It includes differents types of raw material :
- Dry woods : Cedar, Sandal, Oud.
- Moss : tree moss, oak moss.
- Roots and leaves : Vetiver, Patchouli.
- Balms and resins : Incense, Myrrh, Benjoin.
Woody notes can be married with various facets : citrus, spicy, marine, fruity or floral.
Woods are indispensible in perfumery. They are almost used in all perfumes, rather in men ones (Vetiver of Guerlain or Dior Homme (2006)). There are also a few feminine ones (Samsara of Guerlain (1989), Feminité du Bois of Serge Lutens).
«Fougère» family is a fanciful denomination.
It doesn’t mean compounds with the smell of the fern but a special accord : lavander, oakmoss, coumarin (straw smell), bergamot and geranium. This accord was first used in the « Fougère Royale » of Houbigant, in 1882.
There are 4 sub-families of fougères : amber, spicy, amber floral and aromatic.
Jicky of Guerlain (1889) and, a century later, Cool water of Davidoff (1988) both belong to the fougère family. Masculine, this family is a little less used than before because of the harsh regulations on moss.
Leather family gathers only a few perfumes.
They are composed of dry, burned or smoked notes, and can be matched with flowers to lighten this very strong accord.
This family isn’t very representative in actual perfumery, with only 3 sub-families. The most known may be Cuir de Russie of Chanel (1927).
«Chypre» family comes from the perfume of Francois Coty : Chypre, created in 1917.
Its particular accord is composed of bergamot, oakmoss, ciste-labdanum and patchouly.
The chypre accord can be married with almost all the raw materials existing in perfumery : leather, spices, aldehydes and green notes. However, the two main sub-families are floral and fruity, gathering a lot of perfumes launched in the market nowadays : Antaeus of Chanel (1981), Eau du Soir de Sisley (1990), Miss Dior chérie (2005)…
Past chypres (as Mitsouko of Guerlain) must be reformulated because of the moss in their composition (as explained for fougère family). That’s why they now could be a little different from their first version.
Amber family is also known as «Oriental».
Rich, solar and warm, these perfumes are mostly composed of balms, resins, woods and noble materials such as Vanilla, Sandalwood, Jasmine … Flowers, spices, fruits and citrus could also be found in their composition.
Shalimar of Guerlain (1925) and Opium of Yves Saint Laurent (1977) are the most famous oriental perfumes. Amber family still remains in perfumery, with a lot of perfumes for both women or men : Angel of Thierry Mugler (1992) or Le Mâle of Jean Paul Gaultier (1996).
(c) Laure BOYER, January 18th, 2012.