Fragrance Families

Fragrance expert, author and erudite industry ambassador Michael Edwards has made many significant contributions to the fragrance industry over the past three decades.

From the Fragrances of the World guidebook (known as "The Fragrance Bible") to the unique encyclopedic online database Fragrancesoftheworld.info, to the industry respected Fragrance Wheel—he offers such a wealthy source of information that the fragrance industry did not hesitate to recognize him twice with a highly prestigious FiFi award.

Michael Edwards created the Fragrance Wheel in 1983, from a desire to group or classify fragrances according to the way they smell. The Fragrance Wheel organizes fragrances by the dominant accords that give them their special character. The families on which the wheel is based hold the key to people's likes and dislikes because each family has a characteristic scent whose personality is reflected in its fragrances. The Fragrance Wheel also maps out the connections among groups of scents. There are four major groups of families- Floral, Oriental, Woody and Fresh. These four main families are further subdivided to span the range of character within each major family. Their distribution on the wheel clearly shows how one family blends into another as the composition of a perfume changes.

The Fragrance Families located on the wheel are explained in detail below.

Citrus

From the zest of lemons, mandarins, bergamot, oranges and grapefruit come the citrus oils that lend these fragrances their distinctive, tangy aroma. Floral, spicy and woody notes transformed the light, refreshing eaux de cologne into real fragrances. A new generation of musk and tea accents adds an interesting dimension to the oldest fragrance family.

Fruity

Peaches and pears, apples and plums. A twist of tropical fruits. Essences of strawberry, raspberry and berries of all hues. Add a splash of flowers to create a family of fruity cocktails that smell delicious.

Green

Green fragrances capture the sharp scent of fresh-cut grass and violet leaves. Despite the outdoors imagery, the impact of the classic resinous galbanum accord is so potent that many green fragrances have a formal rather than sporty personality. In recent years, a palette of softer, lighter green notes has given this fragrance family fresh appeal.

Water

Redolent of the scent of soft sea breezes, the marine notes were created in 1990. The early water notes captured the ozonic aroma of wet air after a thunderstorm. Today, the water notes are more often used as an accent to enliven florals, orientals and woody fragrances.

Floral

Florals remain the most popular fragrance family. Their repertoire is vast, ranging from concertos on the theme of a single floral note to mighty symphonies of heady mixed bouquets. Headspace technology has given perfumers an avalanche of exciting new floral notes: it allows them to identify and clone the scent of blooms from which no oil can be extracted by traditional methods. Each year, unusual new notes are found, revitalising the traditional floral theme.

Soft Floral

The marriage of sparkling aldehydes and delicate flowers creates a family of soft, often powdery, abstract florals. Aldehydes are found naturally in rose and citrus oils, but in such minute amounts that they have to be re-created in the laboratory. Their natural scent is not pleasant: some have a sharp, metallic fragrance, others the burnt, waxy aroma of a just snuffed candle. Add them to flowers, however, and their subtle magic makes the blossoms sing. Their soprano notes are muted by the powdery accents of iris and vanilla to create a fragrance that is both soft and flowery.

Floral Oriental

Soft, spicy orange flower notes meld with piquant aldehydes and sweet spices to create the heart of a Floral Oriental fragrance. Born in the 1900s, Floral Orientals came back to life again in the 1970s. In the past decade, lively, fruity interpretations dominated the Floral Oriental category, but recent fragrances have developed a more subtle, muted personality.

Soft Oriental

Incense adds sensual overtones to fragrant flowers, spices and amber to create a softer style of Oriental. The base notes of a modern Soft Oriental are not as sweet or as heavy as a true Oriental and the result - a mélange of flowers and spices - is distinctly softer.

Oriental

Orientals are the exotic queens of perfumery. Sensual, often heavy, blends of oriental resins, opulent flowers, sweet vanilla and musks are introduced by refreshing citrus, green or fruity top notes. The new ‘sheer’ Orientals gained some ground in the late 1990s, but the appeal of the full-bodied, take-no-prisoners Orientals endures.

Woody Oriental

The liaison of rich Oriental notes and the potent scents of patchouli and sandalwood produced some of the most original perfumes of the 1990s. This family emphasises the woody character of Floral Orientals. The key difference is that their flowers and spices play second string to the dominant sandalwood and/or patchouli notes. The Oriental influence is more noticeable, too, and balances the deep wood notes.

Woods

Lately, perfumers have rediscovered woody notes in a big way, so it makes sense to distinguish them from the Chypre or Mossy Woods fragrances. Classic woody scents are dominated by harmonies of cedar, patchouli, pine, sandalwood and vetiver but a new palette of exotic wood notes - often cloned from headspace technology - has stimulated greater creativity in this neglected fragrance category.

Mossy Woods

Perfumers call these forest notes of oakmoss, amber and citrus Chypre fragrances. The family takes its name from the first significant mossy-woody fragrance, Chypre de Coty, created by François Coty in 1917. Chypre is the French name for the island of Cyprus, birthplace of Venus, the legendary goddess of love. From Cyprus, too, comes the oakmoss that is at the heart of all Chypre fragrances.

Dry Woods

A mossy-woody fragrance takes on a drier character with the addition of cedar, tobacco and burnt wood notes. The Dry Woods family is often called Leather, after the dry, smoky scent of Russian leather. Fresh citrus notes play an important role in most Dry Woods fragrances, lightening the deep, almost animalic heart notes.

Aromatics

This is the universal fragrance family, with sexy cool-warm notes of citrus and lavender, sweet spices and oriental woods. It takes its name from a fragrance long since discontinued: Fougère Royale, introduced by Houbigant in 1882. Men grew up on Fougères. Most of the key men's fragrances developed since the mid-1960s have come from this family; their zesty, masculine character makes men feel comfortable. Most women, too, find the blend of Fresh, Floral, Oriental and Woody notes appealing. It is a winning combination.

Fragrance Groups

Michael Edwards has also developed a 'fragrance group' scale which complements fragrance families by identifying each fragrance's personality.

Think of fragrances as musical notes, with the brightest, highest notes on the left of each fragrance family page, and the richest, deepest notes on the right.

When four fragrances from the same family are compared - one a Fresh interpretation, the second a Crisp, the third a Classical, and the fourth a Rich version - one's nose steps down the fragrance scale.

With each step the fragrance note becomes a little deeper.

Fresh > Crisp > Classical > Rich

Fresh is the most effervescent fragrances in the family.
Crisp are lively interpretations with a crisp accent.
Balanced notes are characteristic of the Classical family
The richer, deeper fragrances are known as Rich.

Fragrance Sub-Groups

Also in order to give a fuller picture of the scent, Michael Edwards includes sub-groups in each family that capture the dominant notes characterizing the fragrance.

Grouping fragrances under the heading Green, Citrus-Fruity, Water, White Flowers or Gourmand makes it easier to imagine the scent of the fragrance. Citrus-Fruity notes come from citrus oils, from apple and apricot, melon and peach, plum and exotic fruits. Their scent adds a tangy freshness quite different from the sharper Green notes.

The Gourmand notes were pioneered by Angel (1992) with its accents of caramel and chocolate. Its success started a trend that has influenced fragrances in almost every fragrance family. Gourmand notes include butterscotch, candy floss, fudge, praline and toffee.

Green notes will add the sharp freshness of green leaves, crushed grass. A hint of green will make a fragrance Crisp; a touch more will make it Fresh.

Water notes, by contrast, capture the cool freshness of sea air or the pure scent of a waterfall.

The scents of fresh White Flowers add the sweet, soft, fresh accents of lily of the valley and jasmine, gardenia, hyacinth, white honeysuckle and freesia.

Link to the Fragrance Wheel: http://www.fragrancesoftheworld.com/external/wheel/index.html