lex·i·con /ˈlɛk.sɪ.kən/ the vocabulary of a subject, collected and defined
Every term you'll meet on your way to knowing your taste (perfume notes, sillage, concentrations, and the language of sampling), defined in plain language, cross-referenced, and linked to a full guide where one exists.
74 entries · five chapters
what a fragrance is made of, and how its parts are described
Perfume notes are the individual scent ingredients that make up a fragrance: raw materials such as rose, sandalwood, or bergamot that a perfumer combines to build the overall composition. Notes are usually listed in three tiers: top, heart, and base.
cf.accord, olfactory pyramidfull guide →The notes directory →
Top notes are the first scents you smell on spraying, typically light and citrus-forward, lasting the first 15–30 minutes before the heart emerges. Bright openings sell bottles in store, which is why judging a perfume on its top notes alone is risky.
Heart notes are the core of a fragrance, appearing as the top notes fade, usually floral or spice accords lasting one to three hours. They define a scent’s character more than any other layer.
cf.top notes, base notes
Base notes are the deep, long-lasting foundation of a fragrance: woods, musks, resins, and ambers that anchor the lighter notes above them and remain on skin for hours or days.
The olfactory pyramid is the top-heart-base model describing how a fragrance unfolds over time. A marketing simplification (real compositions blur the layers), but a useful first map when reading a note list.
An accord is a blend of two or more raw materials that together create a new, unified impression different from any single ingredient, as chords are to notes in music. Common accords: rose-oud, citrus-musk, fougère.
An anchor is the heavier fragrance in a layered pairing: the scent that sets the base direction and is still present hours in. Woods, ambers, musks, and vanilla anchor well because their base notes persist. The anchor goes on first; the lighter accent sits above it.
An accent is the lighter fragrance in a layered pairing: the scent that adds lift over a heavier anchor. Citrus, airy florals, green notes, and clean musks make forgiving accents. One accent at a time is the beginner’s rule: each extra scent multiplies the ways a pairing can clash.
Fragrance families are the classification that groups perfumes by dominant character: floral, woody, amber, fresh, and their hybrids. Knowing your family is the fastest shortcut to scents you’ll enjoy.
cf.chypre, fougère, amberfull guide →Browse notes by family →
Chypre is a classic family built on a citrus opening over a mossy, woody base: bergamot, labdanum, oakmoss. Elegant, slightly bitter, unmistakably grown-up.
Fougère is the great barbershop family: lavender, geranium, oakmoss, coumarin. The backbone of classic masculine perfumery: fresh, aromatic, faintly powdery.
The dry-down is the final phase of a fragrance’s life on skin, after the volatile notes burn off: what a scent becomes, hours in. Many fragrances are bought on their opening and regretted on their dry-down.
cf.base notes, blind buy
Aldehydes are synthetic materials that add a sparkling, soapy, champagne-fizz lift to a composition, most famously in the grand florals of the 1920s onwards. “Aldehydic” describes that clean, slightly waxy shimmer.
cf.white florals, powdery
Amber is a warm, sweet, resinous fragrance family built on materials like labdanum, vanilla, and benzoin. The industry renamed the “oriental” family to amber in recent years; older reviews and note pyramids still use the retired name, so read the two as one family.
cf.resinous, vanilla, fragrance familiesIn the notes directory →
Animalic describes notes with a warm, feral edge: musk, civet, castoreum (today recreated synthetically), leather, and honeyed skin effects. Used in traces, animalic materials add depth and sensuality; overdosed, they growl.
Aromatic describes herbal, green-spicy notes (lavender, rosemary, sage, mint) that smell of the herb garden rather than the flower bed. The signature of the fougère family and much of classic masculine perfumery.
Balsamic describes the sweet, warm, slightly medicinal character of natural balsams and resins: benzoin, Peru balsam, tolu. The comfort-blanket base of many amber compositions.
A gourmand is a fragrance built on edible notes: vanilla, caramel, chocolate, coffee, praline. The family that smells like dessert; polarising at full strength, irresistible in moderation.
Green describes notes that smell of cut grass, leaves, and snapped stems: galbanum, violet leaf, fig leaf. Crisp and outdoorsy; the scent of spring gardens rather than the flowers themselves.
Indolic describes white flowers with a heady, overripe edge: jasmine, tuberose, and orange blossom owe their intensity to indole, a molecule they share. In small doses it reads as lush; in large, almost narcotic.
Iso E Super is a modern synthetic with a smooth, woody, velvety effect that seems to hover just above the skin. Some noses barely detect it; others get it strongly, a famous quirk of a material entire minimalist fragrances are built on.
cf.musk, skin scent
Musk is perfumery’s soft, warm, skin-like base note, today produced synthetically (white musks) rather than from animals. Clean laundry, warm skin, quiet sensuality: musk is the note you stop noticing but would miss.
Oud is resin-saturated agarwood: dark, woody, leathery, sometimes medicinal or smoky. Central to Middle Eastern perfumery for centuries and a defining note of modern niche; real oud is rare and costly, so most oud on shelves is a reconstruction.
Powdery describes the soft, cosmetic, iris-and-violet character reminiscent of face powder or lipstick wax. A vintage-leaning texture that reads as elegant to some noses and dated to others.
Resinous describes notes drawn from tree saps and gums: frankincense, myrrh, labdanum, elemi. Dense, warm, faintly smoky materials that anchor ambers and incense fragrances.
Vanilla is perfumery’s most beloved sweet base note, from true vanilla absolute to vanillin, its synthetic heart. Comforting and creamy in gourmands; darker and boozier in ambers.
White florals are the big, heady flowers (jasmine, tuberose, gardenia, orange blossom) that dominate a composition rather than decorate it. Radiant and opulent, with an indolic edge at full bloom.
how a fragrance behaves on skin and in a room
Sillage is the scent trail a fragrance leaves behind: how far it travels from the skin and how noticeable it is to the people you pass. High sillage fills a room; low sillage stays intimate. Distinct from projection, the bubble around you while standing still.
Projection is how far a fragrance radiates from your body while you’re standing still: the bubble around you. Distinct from sillage, the trail you leave when moving.
Longevity is how long a fragrance remains detectable on skin, from spray to the last trace of dry-down. Heavily affected by skin chemistry, concentration, and weather, which is why the same bottle behaves differently on two people.
cf.skin chemistry, Eau de Parfum (EDP)Rated in every review →
Skin chemistry is the way your individual skin (its pH, oils, temperature, even diet) changes how a fragrance smells and lasts on you. The single biggest reason to sample on skin before buying.
Beast mode is community shorthand for a fragrance with enormous projection and longevity: one or two sprays carry a full day and announce you before you enter. A compliment or a warning, depending on the office.
cf.projection, longevity
A skin scent is a fragrance that sits close to the skin, noticeable only within arm’s reach: “your skin, but better.” The opposite pole from beast mode; prized for intimacy and office safety.
cf.beast mode, sillage, musk
A linear fragrance smells essentially the same from spray to dry-down, rather than unfolding through distinct phases. Not a flaw (you always know what you’re wearing), but noses that love development find linear scents dull.
A wear test is a full day spent with one fragrance on skin (through commute, office, weather, and evening) before judging it. One proper wear test tells you more than ten paper strips at a counter.
cf.sample, skin chemistry
Spray count is how many sprays a fragrance needs, and tolerates. A dense extrait may want two; a light cologne, six or more. Performance reviews are meaningless without one.
The scent bubble is the invisible radius within which your fragrance is noticeable: the practical, everyday measure of projection. Office etiquette in one image: keep your bubble smaller than your desk.
cf.projection, skin scent
Olfactory fatigue, or nose-blindness, is your nose tuning out a smell after continuous exposure, which is why you stop noticing your own perfume within an hour while everyone else still does. Re-applying because “it’s gone” is how beast mode happens by accident.
A scrubber is community slang for a fragrance so wrong on your skin that you head straight for the sink. One person’s scrubber is another’s signature: the argument for sampling before spending.
A perfume allergy is an immune response to one or more fragrance ingredients, typically causing skin irritation, headaches, or respiratory symptoms. If you react to a product, stop wearing it and consider patch-testing new scents on a small area first; the guide covers symptoms and safer alternatives.
Fragrance-free products contain no added fragrance ingredients, formulated for people with scent sensitivities or allergies. Not the same as “unscented”, which may use masking scents to neutralise base odours; read labels carefully if you react.
the strength ladder: how much perfume is actually in the bottle
Concentration is the proportion of aromatic compounds in a fragrance: the ladder from eau fraîche up to extrait that largely determines strength, longevity, and price. The ranges are conventions, not regulations: houses vary, so treat every tier as “typically”.
Extrait de parfum is the strongest common concentration, typically 20–40% aromatic compounds. Dense, long-lasting, worn in small doses; usually the most expensive form of a scent.
Eau de Parfum (EDP) is a concentration tier of typically 15–20% aromatic compounds in alcohol. An EDP usually lasts longer and projects more than the same scent’s EDT, and it is the most common tier in premium fragrance today.
Eau de Toilette (EDT) is the tier of typically 5–15% aromatic compounds, lighter, brighter, often fresher in character than the same scent’s EDP, and friendlier to hot weather and offices.
Eau de Cologne (EDC) is historically a citrus-herbal style; today also the typically 2–5% concentration tier: light, splashy, short-lived, made for refreshment. In US usage, “cologne” loosely means any men’s fragrance.
Eau fraîche is the lightest tier, typically 1–3% aromatic compounds, often carried in more water than alcohol. A splash of scent for gym bags and heatwaves, gone within the hour and made for it.
Parfum de toilette is a largely retired tier from the 1980s, sitting between EDT and EDP in strength. Found today mostly on vintage listings; treat it as an EDP in all but name.
An attar is an alcohol-free, oil-based perfume, traditionally distilled into a sandalwood base, one of perfumery’s oldest forms, worn in tiny dabs rather than sprays. Dense, long-lasting, and close to the skin.
cf.extrait de parfum, oud
Aftershave is the lightly scented, typically 1–3% lotion or splash applied after shaving, built to soothe skin first and scent second. Its fragrance rarely outlasts the morning; a matching EDT carries the scent through the day.
the vocabulary of buying and wearing well: Scenday’s home ground
A sample is a small vial, usually 1–2ml, enough for several proper wearings on skin. The cheapest insurance in perfumery: the whole point of sampling first is never paying full-bottle price to learn a scent isn’t you.
A decant is fragrance transferred from an original bottle into a smaller one, typically 5–10ml, sold or swapped so you can live with a scent for weeks without buying the full bottle.
A tester is a retail demonstration bottle (same juice, plain packaging, often no cap) sold legitimately at a discount. Tester listings are usually genuine; sealed “testers” at deep discounts deserve scrutiny.
A blind buy is a full bottle bought without ever smelling it: on a review, a hype video, a note list. Occasionally a triumph; statistically, the way shelves fill with regret. The habit Scenday exists to end.
cf.sample, dry-down, the five decisionsfull guide →Is it worth it? →
A discovery set is a curated box of samples from one house or theme: the efficient way to survey a brand’s range before committing to any single bottle.
A fragrance wardrobe is a small, deliberate set of scents chosen to cover different contexts (work, evenings, seasons) the way a clothing wardrobe covers occasions. The opposite of one-bottle thinking and of shelf hoarding alike; many wardrobes orbit a signature scent.
cf.signature scent, scent profilefull guide →The repertoire →
Fragrance discovery is finding new perfumes through samples, decants, and curated sets rather than blind full-bottle buys, especially valuable when exploring unfamiliar notes or houses.
A flanker is a spin-off of an existing fragrance sharing its name and bottle design with a twist: Intense, Elixir, Sport. Sometimes a masterpiece, sometimes a label exercise; never assume it smells like the original.
A batch code is the small printed code identifying when and where a bottle was produced. Used to gauge age, verify authenticity, and compare reformulation eras.
cf.reformulation, tester
Reformulation is a change to a fragrance’s recipe after release, for ingredient regulation, cost, or supply. The reason a beloved scent can smell different from an older bottle, and why batch codes matter to collectors.
cf.batch code
Niche describes independent or artistic fragrance houses selling primarily through specialist channels: smaller batches, bolder ideas, higher prices. A marketing category as much as a quality tier: niche means different, not automatically better.
Designer describes fragrances from fashion and beauty houses sold through mainstream retail: broad appeal, big budgets, accessible prices. The counterpart to niche; many of the greatest perfumes ever made are designer.
The grey market is genuine fragrance sold outside a brand’s authorised retail channels: how discount sites price below department stores. Legal and usually authentic, but warranties, returns, and storage conditions are the buyer’s risk.
cf.tester, batch code
Presentation is everything around the juice: bottle, cap, box, and finish. Collectors pay for it, minimalists ignore it; either way it is part of the price, worth judging separately from the scent itself.
cf.shelf life, designer
Shelf life is how long a fragrance stays true after production, commonly 3–5 years opened, far longer unopened and stored well. Citrus-heavy scents fade fastest; dense ambers can outlive their owners.
cf.storage, batch code
Good fragrance storage is cool, dark, and stable: a drawer or box, never a sunny bathroom shelf. Heat, light, and oxygen are what turn a top note sour and a juice dark.
cf.shelf life
Fragrance layering is wearing two or more scents at once to create a personalised combination, in effect composing your own accord. Start with one dominant and one supporting scent; the how-to guide covers pairings that work.
A signature scent is the single fragrance that becomes closely associated with a person: the scent others recognise as distinctly theirs. Finding one is less about the perfect bottle and more about knowing your own taste.
cf.scent profile, fragrance layeringfull guide →Find your signature →
Choosing a perfume well means matching a fragrance to your skin chemistry, preferred note families, occasion, and season, sampled on skin before any full-bottle spend. The full method is in the guide.
cf.sample, fragrance families, scent profilefull guide →Take the quiz →
terms we coined: how Scenday talks about deciding
Scent DNA is your taste, read into a structured profile: the families, notes, accords, and wear contexts you gravitate toward, mapped by seven questions. The input every Scenday recommendation is computed from.
cf.scent profile, the five decisionsmethodology →Get your Scent DNA →
A scent profile is a summary of an individual’s fragrance preferences: the notes, families, and moods they gravitate toward. The general term; Scenday’s implementation of it is your Scent DNA.
The five decisions are the full life of owning fragrance well: sample · buy · wear · keep · replace. Scenday’s framework: every tool and guide serves one of the five.
Sample-first is the principle that skin comes before spend: no full bottle until the scent has earned it on your skin, in your life. The philosophy the whole platform is built around.
The firewall is Scenday’s rule that recommendations are computed before any partner link is attached: no fragrance house pays for placement, and money can’t move the call. The reason the answer is worth having.
If you met a term in the wild and can't find it here, tell us; the lexicon grows by request.