What Is Fragrance?

Fragrance (frgnance) is the pleasant smell of a plant or flower. The term also applies to the odors of chemicals and substances added to perfumes or other personal care products. The scents of a fragrance linger on the skin for a period of time after application and can be detected by people who are near the wearer, as well as by certain animals that have a highly developed sense of smell. The olfactory system is linked to the brain, and pleasant aromas are reported to improve mood, lower anxiety, and increase pain tolerance.

Perfume, cologne, aftershave, deodorant, and body lotions are examples of products containing fragrance. In perfumery, a specific scent is called a perfume accord and a particular combination of odorous substances are used to create it. A perfume is usually comprised of three structural parts: the “top notes,” which evaporate quickly after application; the middle or heart notes, which are more noticeable after the top notes have disappeared; and the base notes, which persist for hours after the other odors have dissipated.

The composition of a perfume is generally an alcoholic solution, and the ingredients may be natural or synthetic. The natural ingredients vary according to when and where they were grown or harvested, the way they were processed, and the extraction method employed, and even from one supplier to another. This can make it difficult to achieve consistent olfactory characteristics for the same scent, and unscrupulous suppliers may adulterate some raw materials (e.g., adding Indian jasmine to Grasse-grown rosewood) to maximize their profit margin.

Synthetic aromatics are produced through a variety of processes, and their characteristics are influenced by their chemical structure and the length of their synthesis process. They tend to be more expensive than many natural scents, but they are also less dependent on availability and may offer more olfactory effects than naturals.

Perfumes that are formulated to a specific formula and then aged over months or years, often in the presence of alcohol, will develop a more mellow and intense olfactory profile than those that are immediately bottled. Perfumes marketed as parfum, eau de toilette, and eau de cologne have different concentrations of the perfume oil mixture. These differences can sometimes be attributed to the dilution process; for example, a Chanel No. 5 EdP and the now-discontinued Eau de Toilette of the same name have different dilutions, but they have similar olfactory profiles.

In addition to perfume, a fragrance can be found in scented bath products, soaps, and shampoos; some of these are intended for men or women only. In addition, paper blotters are used by perfumers to sample and test fragrance accords and odorants. The blotters are soaked in a diluted perfume and left to dry before being compared to the scent of other blotters to determine which are most appropriate. These blotters are also known as mouillettes. These blotters are often re-used, and some perfumers keep large collections of them to use as reference for their work.