Top Notes: The Smile of the Perfume and the Architecture of the Olfactory Pyramid
The Orchestration of a Perfume
Perfume has something magical because it evokes poetry, dreams, arouses emotions in the person who smells or wears it, telling them a story. Like in a poem or a symphony, it is the creator’s technical mastery that allows us to embark on a true olfactory journey.
The perfumer-creator “builds,” “composes” their perfume; they give it a structure by orchestrating physical elements in a process that is also scientific. It is the choice of notes, according to their physical and chemical characteristics, which once assembled give the perfume its full dimension.
The Olfactory Pyramid
For educational purposes, the architecture of a perfume is visually represented in the form of an olfactory pyramid whose summit constitutes the top notes, the middle part, the heart notes, and the base, the base notes.
In reality, each part of this pyramid represents notes that interlock with each other and respond to one another. Thus, when a perfume is well constructed, from the start, one can smell the base notes. It is then said that “the flight prepares its conclusion” (cf. Testing a perfume).
The olfactory pyramid allows the perfumer to structure their fragrance and make it harmonious. It serves to balance the orchestration of a formula and also to make the evaporation of their fragrance continuous and gradual. It is in this way that the perfume can deliver all its facets and that the fragrance comes to life (cf. Olfactory facets).
An Evolutive or Linear Perfume
The more the perfume consists of natural notes, the more it is lively and evolutive. A perfume orchestrated solely with a majority of synthetic products would be linear (cf. How to preserve your perfume?). The ideal is to have a larger percentage of natural notes because they are the ones that give the soul, the life, the evolution, the surprise in a perfume!
As for materials resulting from synthesis, they are used to bring stability, technicality, but also power and hold to the perfume (cf. The woody facet). And of course, the perfumer resorts to them when nature refuses to deliver the notes they need, such as lily of the valley, violet, or certain dried fruits for example.
Top Notes: Definition and Role
Definition of Top Notes
As said, the top notes, at the summit of the olfactory pyramid, are those that give the first impression of the perfume. They are made up of fresh, volatile, and generally sparkling notes, which escape after the first scents of alcohol, which are even more ephemeral.
We also speak of “the flight of the perfume,” to qualify these fleeting notes that escape as soon as the bottle is opened or upon spraying, on the strip of paper called a blotter or olfactory strip (cf. Testing a perfume). These notes, depending on the support, will not give the same effect.
The Method According to Jean Carles
Jean Carles, a perfumer at Roure, now Givaudan, is the creator of Ma Griffe by Carven and Miss Dior. He is also the founder and first director of the Roure Perfumery School in the 40s.
He was the first to create a method for learning raw materials to help apprentice perfumers master this art. It is to him that we owe the concept of “top, heart, and base notes” which allows understanding the construction of a perfume.
The classification of natural and synthetic raw materials.
Jean Carles thus classified all natural and synthetic raw materials according to the following order.
Some Examples of Top Notes
- Hesperidic notes or citrus: lemon, orange, bergamot, citron, grapefruit, yuzu, mandarin (cf. The hesperidic facet)
- Aromatic notes: minty notes (spearmint or pennyroyal), anise notes (basil, tarragon, or star anise), lavender notes (lavender, lavandin, rosemary, thyme) (cf. The aromatic facet)
- Marine notes: calone, helional, floralozone (The marine facet)
- Fresh fruity notes: pear and apple (cf. The fruity facet)
- Aldehyde notes (cf. The aldehyde facet)
- Vegetal, green notes (cf. The green facet)
- Fresh floral notes (cf. The floral family)
The Top Note: A Primordial Note
The Smile of the Perfume
The top note, although ephemeral, is undoubtedly the most important and complex part to elaborate, because it requires perfect adjustment. One could compare top notes to an appetizer before a meal or a greeting during a first meeting.
Moreover, we speak of the “smile” of a perfume, like the one that makes you want to know a person. The top note is a primordial introduction in a perfume (cf. Testing a perfume).
Indeed, well orchestrated, top notes are smiling and make you want to continue smelling the evolution of the perfume. On the other hand, these same notes, poorly dosed, can be aggressive, stiff, and repel the customer who does not wish to continue smelling the fragrance.
Of the Importance of Top Notes
These top notes are very important because they only last 5 to 15 minutes at most. However, modern life means that customers are increasingly in a hurry, for example, during the discovery of a fragrance in an airport duty-free shop. Except that everything can play out on these famous top notes. A bad impression from the start can spoil a future beautiful evolution, as we have seen.
Another characteristic of top notes is that they immediately drag the heart notes into the construction of a perfume. Thus, if the architecture of the fragrance is unbalanced, a “hole,” a void may appear, which harms the beauty of the perfume.
Take Your Time to “Taste” a Perfume
You must take your time to choose a perfume. Indeed, you must let the perfume evolve on the skin, do not hesitate to take a walk outside the shop, before deciding, or try sleeping with it. If it has been the perfect companion of your dreams, if you do not have a headache the next day, it is a good sign (cf. Where to apply your perfume?).
A perfume must be present but restrained, just as it must also be comfortable for the person wearing it. It may happen that a perfume is very beautiful to the nose, but that when worn it proves “tiring,” meaning that one is not comfortable with it (cf. Making a perfume last).
The reaction of those around you is also a factor to take into account, even if one is looking for a perfume for oneself. If the chosen perfume elicits compliments, it is undoubtedly because it can become your olfactory signature.
In summary, top notes are essential in a perfume. First, because they can betray its mediocre architecture, then because they sometimes determine a purchase made in haste. It can happen that poorly orchestrated top notes, too intense or too hard, are not smiling, but can hide a splendid heart and base or even a masterpiece.
