Fragrance is also coined as liquid emotions which a wearer expresses through untold way and gives impressions through the peculiar scent as pleasant and pungent aroma shows agility, spirit and warmth while lighter, dim and sweety smelling fragrance gives the impression of depth, sustainability in relations and deeper impact. Mostly fragrance denotes occasions as different scents are used for different occasions such as wedding ceremony, friends gathering, dating and even for the sad events.
FRAGRANCE
Fragrance sweetens the atmosphere, enlightens the minds, sharpens the memory, brightens the mood and enlivens the breath. Someone’s fragranced presence influences the minds and leaves a lasting impression on others as he draws attention and remains in the limelight. Fragrance fills the heart with pleasure and takes the imagination high above the clouds. Fragrance is a sweet, pleasant and delicate odour coming out of the liquid substance extracted from the natural products such as flowers, foliage, tree trunks, bark, fruits, spices or it may be synthetic.
- INSPIRATION
Fragrance inspires minds but the fragrance is inspired by a variety of factors as it can come from above or below, from introspection or retrospection, from inside or outside, from observation or experience and from self-motivation or demand of someone. The concept can be derived from the work of literature as a poem written beautifully describing the scent from the trees grown in abundance in a jungle can fill the mind of the scent creator with ideas and creativity. The blending of scents in an artful and expert manner can also be a unique idea as it may produce a fragrance new in smell and innovative in impression. Moreover, clients’ vision can be a driving force and great motivation for a perfumer to get to new ideas to generate a unique fragrance.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FRAGRANCE AND PERFUME
In the fashion and beauty world, usually fragrance and perfume are confused and used interchangeably but both have distinct features and connotations despite the fact that both serves the same purpose of embellishing with sweet smell. Fragrance derived from different sources such as flowers, leaves, animals, fruits or formed synthetically is the basic ingredient of perfume. Fragrance determines the kind of perfume on the basis of its concentration as parfum is different from eau de cologne because of the difference in the percentage of concentration of the fragrance. On the other hand, perfume is a mixture of fragrance, alcohol, ethanol and water used to produce a pleasant odour.
- FRAGRANCE NOTES
The period of giving away sweet smell after the application determines the notes of the fragrance and these notes are formed with ratio based on the speed of the evaporation of the fragrance. One note’s presence may change the perception of the other. A certain base or heart note may change the scent perceived when the top notes are stronger and in the same way, the scent of base notes in the dry down will often be changed as it depends on the smell of the heart notes. The dry-down is the last phase of the fragrance’s lifecycle. It is the final stage of fragrance detection when top and heart notes have completed their lifecycle and only the longest lasting part of the base note remains. The notes are classified as top/head notes, middle/heart notes and base/soul notes.
- TOP/HEAD NOTES
The top notes of the fragrance are also termed opening notes or head notes as these are sensed and recognized on immediate application. These are the lightest of all the notes and first to fade but this factor does not lower its importance. The top notes are based on citrus elements like lemon, orange zest (Zest is prepared by scraping or cutting from the outer layer of citrus fruit) or bergamot; light fruits such as berries, grapefruit or anise and fresh herbs like basil, sage, lavender etc.
- MIDDLE/HEART NOTES
Middle notes or heart notes are the main focus of the fragrance and are considered as mellow and balancing and by origin neither fresh nor deep. These notes start revealing themselves almost 15 minutes after the application and continue to exude aroma for a few hours. They act as buffer between the top notes and the base notes and have much complexity in formulation and they bring together fresh top notes and warm base notes. The 70 percent of scent is comprised of the middle notes so they stay aromatizing around for a longer time. The heart notes are derived from white flowers like jasmine, tuberose, ylang, orange blossom absolute, lily frangipani or powdery flowers like iris, violet, heliotrope, mimosa, broom or spicy flowers like carnation, immortal and flowers of the dew family such as rose, geranium and peony.
BASE NOTES
Like a swan song, the base notes or soul notes exude aroma before dying down. The base notes provide the very basis of the fragrance as the lifecycle of the fragrance wholly depends on the base notes which give the last impression of the fragrance. These notes fill the mind with memories, take someone into retrospection to the pleasant past and influence the soul. The base notes blending with the heart notes exude the core scent having link with the pleasant dry-down period. The base notes give a lasting impression and stay on the skin for hours after the top notes fade away. The main ingredient of the base notes is musk. However, the base notes have the formulation with least volatile ingredients and the largest molecules and largely depend on woody ingredients like sandalwood, cedarwood and patchouli and resin notes such as frankincense, myrrh, vanilla, amber etc.
In short, the fragrance is a mode of powerful self-expression and its formulation depends on various factors but the most important aspect is the mood of the wearer. Many use the fragrance as daily routine and apply on the skin before leaving the home whatever the occasion may be. Some people use it sparingly and restrict it for the important occasions and particularly in the social gatherings and festive occasions. Many consider using fragrance as self-satisfaction and self-motivation, others think it a way to impress others and some feel its use necessary to give pleasant expression. However, fragrance and its use are one of the finest human endeavours and innovations offering only the pleasantries.
FAQs (Frequent Asked Questions)
Are scent and fragrance same things?
The scents are naturally derived substance while fragrance is artificially formulated based on a scent.
Are fragrances safe to use on skin?
. Normally fragrances have no side effects but these may cause irritation on sensitive skins.
Do fragrances vary on the basis of the weather condition?
Yes, warm weather requires lighter aroma while pungent and sharp smelling aroma suits to cold weather.
