What are notes of scents?

Have you ever heard the words “top note”, “middle note”, and “base note” when looking for perfume before? Some people know these words exactly, but some may not have any idea about them. Today we’ll introduce these 3 words for you.

You may wonder “What are notes of scents?”, or “Does the scent have notes?”

Exactly, there are notes of scents because the matter of scents has many hidden complexities. Each scent will gradually evaporate according to the duration of the scent note.

First of all, let’s get to know each note of the scents, which are Top Note, Middle Note, and Base Note.

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Top Note, or opening note, is the first scent that can be perceived. When we spray perfume, the Top Note is the first scent we smell. This scent note only lasts for the first 10-20 minutes and then the scent starts to fade away, so it is the lightest scent among the 3 notes.

Top notes are mostly citrus (lemon, orange zest, bergamot), light fruits (grapefruit, berries), and herbs (clary sage, lavender).

Although this scent note is the one that fades the fastest, that doesn’t mean it’s not important because the first scent we smell will be the first impression and is an important factor in deciding whether we like or dislike this scent.
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Middle Note, also known as Heart Note. Hearing this word, you might already know that this note is the main scent of the perfume. It is a scent that replaces the faded scent of the Top Note, making the scent of the perfume more durable. This scent note will last for about 3-6 hours.

Middle Notes are mostly floral scents such as geranium, rose, lemongrass, ylang-ylang, lavender, coriander, nutmeg, neroli, and jasmine.
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And now we’re finally with the last note called Base Note that will stay with us all day. It’s a blend between Middle Note and Base Note. This scent will gradually appear after the first 30 minutes have passed. Therefore, it can be said to be the true scent of that perfume. This scent note can last for more than 8 hours.

Base Notes are mostly woody scents such as cedarwood, sandalwood, vanilla, amber, patchouli, oakmoss, and Musk.

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Every perfume needs to have these 3 notes for designing the scent because if any note is missing, the scent will be incomplete. But it doesn’t mean that every scent note must be blended in the same amount. It depends on the product and what level of longevity is desired.