Identifying Perfume Families – For Beginners
What are Perfume Families?
Perfume families are groups of fragrances that are related based on their most prominent scent notes. They can differ widely in terms of overall scent profile, but their basic scent and most prominent notes are very similar.
For example; a perfume that has a dominant note of sandalwood would be a “woody” fragrance. A woody perfume that also has strong mossy notes could be a mossy-woody perfume.
Perfume Charts
Perfume charts are used to catalog perfume families. They’ve been in use in one form or another for many decades. Perfume-family charts can get very complicated. There are perfume families, subfamilies, sub-subfamilies, and so on.
We’ll leave the complex stuff for the professional perfumers as that level of depth is beyond the scope of this website. Instead, we’ll focus on a very simplified fragrance-family wheel.
A Simplified Perfume-Family Wheel
In 1983, renowned perfume historian, Michael Edwards, made a simplified wheel chart for fragrance consumers, hobbyists, and other non-professional fragrance enthusiasts to learn about perfume families. The charts on this page are based on Edwards’ work.
What is a Fougere?
Fougere is a French word that means “fern” or “fern-like.” It’s pronounced foo-jhair. As a fragrance category, the fougere has been around since the late 1800s and was originally considered a feminine fragrance. Times change, however, and now the fougere is considered a masculine fragrance.
Like all perfume families, the fougere can have a variety of scent notes, but the defining notes are coumarin, lavender, oakmoss, geranium, and bergamot.
Aromatic fougere is a subfamily of fougere, and it contains herbal, musky, or spicy notes along with classic notes.
A fougere is fresh, earthy, and clean-smelling.
Why is Fougere at the Center of the Fragrance Wheel?
Fougere is a very broad fragrance family. It borrows from all parts of the scent wheel and is, therefore, related to all the other perfume families.
The position of the fougere in the center of the wheel shows its relationship to all the other fragrance families. In some perfume-family charts or wheels, “fougere” is replaced by “aromatic,” which is usually positioned between “fresh” and “woody.”
If you’re a beginner, ignore the fougere family and focus on learning to identify the other four main perfume families.
What is the Floral Perfume Family?
The floral perfume family is exactly what it sounds like, its main notes come from flowers.
Common Flowers Used in Floral Perfumes Include:
- Lavender
- Rose
- Jasmine
- Gardenia
- Lily-of-the-Valley
- Violet
- Tuberose
- Lilac
There are 3 subfamilies in the floral perfume family: floral, soft floral, and floral oriental. Those subfamilies branch off into sub-subfamilies, but we won’t get into that here. It’s too complicated.
Floral Perfume Subfamily
This is the floral subfamily that smells like fresh-cut flowers. The main note can be a single flower, called soliflore perfume, or it can be a bouquet of flowers. There can be other scent notes supporting this perfume, but its main note is floral.
Soft Floral Perfume Subfamily
This subset of the floral perfume family is also flowery-smelling. The difference here is the addition of aldehydes in the perfume. Aldehydes are organic compounds, but perfumers typically use synthetic versions.
Aldehydes soften and brighten the floral notes in a perfume. They also lend a powdery and soapy-clean scent to a fragrance.
Floral Oriental Perfume Subfamily
Again, there’s a dominant floral note here, but the addition of sweet spices livens up the perfume and adds richness and sensuality to the delicate floral scent.
Sweet Spices Commonly Used in Perfume Include:
- Allspice
- Cardamom
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Pink Pepper
- Tonka Bean
- Vanilla
Floral-oriental perfumes are a blend of the floral-perfume family and the oriental-perfume family.
What is the Oriental Perfume Family?
The oriental-perfume family is the home of sensual, warm, and exotic fragrances. Oriental perfumes make heavy use of exotic flowers, spices, resins, vanilla, and the amber accord.
What is the Amber Accord?
The amber accord isn’t a single scent, but a mixture of scents that create a dominant note. The main scents that make up the amber accord are animalic notes like musk and civet, resins, and vanilla. Other notes can be used to support and modify the main three.
The amber accord smells slightly sweet, musky, vanilla-like, and often powdery. It’s a heady scent that pairs well with wood and leather notes.
Amber is Another Name for Oriental
Amber can be used as a synonym for oriental, but this usage shouldn’t be confused with the amber accord. Amber/Oriental fragrances contain the amber accord, but the amber accord is a fragrance note, not a fragrance family.
Soft Oriental Perfume Subfamily
Soft-oriental perfumes have soft-floral notes mixed with soft warm spices and incense. In this case, incense spans a variety of fragrances: woody, resinous, spicy, and floral. As you can see, orientals tend to be sensual and luxurious fragrances.
Oriental Perfume Subfamily
The oriental-perfume subfamily makes use of sweet warm spices, vanilla, amber, and animalics. There is less focus on floral notes in this subcategory.
Woody Oriental Perfume Subfamily
Woody-oriental perfumes have all the rich, sweet, sensual notes of their oriental siblings, but with added woody notes. Patchouli and sandalwood are commonly used in woody orientals.
Woody-oriental perfumes connect the oriental family with the woody family.
What is a Gourmand Perfume?
Though not a direct subfamily of the oriental-fragrance family, gourmand perfumes are often included with oriental fragrances because they share some base notes.
Gourmand perfumes make heavy use of vanilla, tonka bean, musk, and patchouli; notes that they share with oriental perfumes.
The top and heart notes of gourmands smell like edibles: honey, chocolate, toffee, coffee, and more.
Gourmands are sometimes included with fruity fragrances if they focus on bright, sweet, and fruity edible notes rather than rich, sensual, dark, edible notes.
What is the Woody Perfume Family?
The woody-perfume family is dominated by a variety of woody notes. That’s not to say that all woody fragrances smell like a forest.
Dry earthy scents like vetiver, woody-spicy scents like patchouli, and aromatic woods like cedar and sandalwood are included in the woody-fragrance family.
Common Notes in Woody Fragrances Include:
- Cedarwood
- Sandalwood
- Vetiver
- Pine
- Oakmoss
- Balsam
- Leather
- Patchouli
Woody Perfume Subfamily
The woody-perfume subfamily favors aromatic-woodsy scents like vetiver, patchouli, and sandalwood. This subgroup is also known as simple-woodsy perfume or pure-wood perfume.
Mossy Woody Perfume Subfamily
Oakmoss features heavily in mossy-woody perfumes. Mossy-woody fragrances are less aromatic than the woody-perfume subfamily and are more earthy-smelling.
Dry Woods Perfume Subfamily
Dry-wood perfumes make heavy use of cedarwood. Fragrances in this subfamily are reminiscent of aged woods rather than fresh-cut, aromatic, woody notes. Leather and tobacco notes also feature strongly in this subfamily.
What is a Chypre Perfume?
Pronounced sheep-ruh, Chypre is French for the island of Cyprus. This fragrance family’s name comes from a Coty perfume released in 1917 called Chypre.
At its heart, the chypre is a woody fragrance, which is where you’ll usually find it on fragrance wheels that include it. The defining characteristics of a chypre are woody, mossy, floral, and animalic.
The chypre isn’t a direct subfamily of the woody-fragrance family, but it shares many of the characteristics and nuances of woody fragrances. It also has shared notes from other fragrance families, making the chypre hard to pin down.
If you’re a beginner, ignore the chypre family and focus on learning to identify the four main fragrance families.
What is the Fresh Perfume Family?
The fresh-perfume family is best described as bright, lively, uplifting, cooling, and clean-smelling. Fragrances in this category tend to be best suited to warm weather.
Members of the fresh family are typically of a lighter perfume concentration like an eau de cologne or an eau de toilette.
This is a very popular fragrance family and for good reason. Fresh fragrances are rarely offensive to others even in close quarters, they’re suitable for almost any occasion, and they tend to mix pleasantly with most people’s body chemistry.
What is the Green Perfume Subfamily?
Green perfumes smell like green plants. Think green grass, green leaves, green tea, and green vegetables. They are fresh, vibrant, earthy, and clean-smelling.
Commonly Used Scents in Green Fragrances Include:
- Galbanum
- Cucumber
- Violet Leaf
- Lily-of-the-Valley
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Basil
What is the Watery Perfume Subfamily?
Watery perfumes, better known as aquatic fragrances, smell like, or are reminiscent of, water. An aquatic perfume can smell like freshwater, seawater, the beach, alpine lakes, and rainfall. They are brisk, crisp, clean-smelling, and sometimes salty.
Other names for aquatic fragrances are marine, oceanic, and ozonic.
The ozonic note replicates the heavy smell in the air that’s noticeable just before, and just after, it rains. That heavy smell in the air is ozone.
Scents Commonly Used in Aquatic Fragrances Include:
- Calone (a synthetic note that smells of ocean breeze)
- Cucumber (both green and aquatic)
- Water Lily
- Sharp Citrus Notes
- Lotus
- Cedarwood
- Seawood
- Watermelon (fruity, sweet, and aquatic)
What is the Citrus Perfume Subfamily?
The citrus-perfume subfamily is dominated by citrus scents: lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, and bergamot. They are crisp, sharp, and fresh-smelling. They can be sweet or bitter depending on the formulation.
Despite being mostly edible fruits, the citrus family is separate from both fruity fragrances and gourmand(edible) fragrances. Citrus notes are used in a huge variety of fragrances. They are typically top notes as they have little tenacity, meaning they have a short lifespan.
Citrus perfumes often come in eau fraiche concentration, which include splashes, mists, and aftershaves; light scents used after bathing, shaving, before bed, or to freshen up.
For stronger perfume concentrations with longer lifespans, citrus notes need to be bolstered with other notes that have more tenacity like florals and/or aromatics.
What are Fruity Perfumes?
Fruity perfumes have prominent notes of sweet edible fruits except citrus, which is its own perfume subfamily.
Depending on the fragrance chart, fruity perfumes can sit between fresh fragrances and floral fragrances, or be included as a subfamily of the floral-perfume family.
Due to the perishable nature of fruit, synthetic fruity notes are used in fruity perfumes to prolong longevity.
Commonly Used Scents in Fruity Perfumes Include:
- Peach
- Apple
- Mango
- Berries
- Passion Fruit
Final Notes on Perfume Families and Fragrance Charts
Perfume experts disagree on perfume classification. Because of that, there are many different fragrance charts and wheels. Some claim there are four main fragrance families, other six, and still others claim eight families. There are few hard and fast rules so don’t be afraid to disagree with someone else’s fragrance interpretation.
Perfumery is a very complex topic. It’s important for perfume consumers and fragrance hobbyists to start with something that’s easy to understand. That’s why the information on this page is based on a four-family fragrance wheel. If a more complicated fragrance chart works for you, then by all means use it.
The most important takeaway here is to enjoy fragrance. Experiment with perfume. Try new scents. Cherish old fragrances. Go on a fragrance adventure and learn a few things while you explore one of life’s most indulgent gifts: the sense of smell.
