Basic knowledge of perfumes: Fragrance families

What are fragrance families?

Fragrance families are a classification system used by the perfume industry to classify different scents into olfactory groups.

These families have evolved over the centuries thanks to constant technological discoveries, and the fragrance wheel has been modified multiple times to help you narrow down your choice of favorite perfume and distinguish scents.

What is a fragrance wheel?

The fragrance wheel is a very useful tool to determine what kind of fragrances you might like.

Groups that border each other tend to share common olfactory characteristics, similarities, and differences in their odor profile.

The main groups of Oriental, Floral, Woody and Fresh are also divided into subgroups and are a good starting point for perfumery beginners.

For example, the woody and oriental families share the theme of warm and dry, while the fresh and floral families are sparkling, powdery and airy.

flower family

Floral perfumes are one of the most popular and adored olfactory families on the market by millions of people. It is possibly the largest olfactory family that ranges from soft aroma profiles to denser and more complex ones.

The easiest way to describe how florals smell is to imagine a bouquet of flowers that features many facets of blooming scents.

Floral fragrances can be composed of notes of a single flower (soliflor) or of many flowers (bouquets). Nature has provided perfumers with a wide variety of ingredients, thanks to the many different flowers that exist throughout the world.

Classic and as old as the citrus (Fresca) family, it leans more towards the feminine side, but in recent years many floral-dominated fragrances have shown that even men can wear fragrances from the floral family and smell fresh. Wonderful.

SUBFAMILY OF FLORAL FRAGRANCES

Floral - composed mainly of fresh and captivating notes such as roses, jasmine, peonies, freesias and lilies.
Soft Floral - A musky, sweet and powdery floral olfactory composition derived from violet and lavender.
Floral Oriental - a popular variant that mixes flowers with oriental notes like vanilla and petitgrain or neroli.

OTHER FLORAL VARIATIONS

Floral Woody
Floral Green
Floral White
Floral Musk
Floral Aldehyde
Aquatic Floral
Floral Fruity

USUAL FLORAL NOTES IN PERFUMERY

Pink
Jasmine
neroli
lilies
Violet
Daffodil

Eastern family

The Oriental olfactory family is equally popular with men and women. Orientals have dominated the fragrance market in the 21st century and it looks set to stay that way.

Rich spices such as vanilla, cinnamon and cloves, and balsamic resins such as benzoin, myrrh, frankincense and amber are just some of the highlights of this broad family.

It is not uncommon for oriental perfumes to have gourmand properties ("edible" notes). Thus, this olfactory family is usually sweet, dense, sensual, powdery and inspired by oriental cultures.

Orientals are long-lasting perfumes that are often worn as evening fragrances in romantic and clubbing settings during autumn and winter, when they blend perfectly with the skin and the cold air.

SUBFAMILIES OF ORIENTAL FRAGRANCES

Soft Oriental - sensual perfumes composed of myrrh or frankincense, combined with spices such as cinnamon and cloves.
Floral Oriental - a combination of sparkling citrus blossoms with spicy vanilla.
Orientals - Pure Orientals are thick and heavy, combining musks layered with resins and spices. They are also known as "amber" fragrances. Gourmands are warm oriental compounds composed of sweet and dessert notes such as chocolate, honey, pralines with a combination of traditional oriental notes.
Woody Oriental - Dry notes from cedar, sandalwood, oak and ebony blended with a rich, warm oriental scent. One of the favorite families of perfumes among men.

OTHER ORIENTAL VARIATIONS

spicy oriental
floriental
Oriental Amber
citrus oriental
gourmand
Leather

COMMON ORIENTAL NOTES IN PERFUMERY

Vanilla
Cinnamon
Incense
Benzoin
Amber
Myrrh
Candy
Chocolate
Ron
Leather

Woody Family

The woody family leans more towards men and is usually made up of warm and rich compositions. If you like forest, sawdust, earth and dry smells, this family could be yours.

Woody perfumes fall into three main categories, but have many more variations, as it is a family of fragrances that tends to overlap more with others with the combination of fresh and resinous notes.

Woody perfumes also tend to be long-wearing, multi-season blended, and because of their warm heart, increasingly unisex.

SUBFAMILY OF WOODY PERFUMES

Woods - Warm and mysterious, the woody category is the "basic" type of woody perfume that tends to stay within the genre and is often the most popular type of modern men's perfume.
Mossy Woods - green and woody, mossy perfumes have been a basic and reference type of fragrance within classic men's perfumery during the 70s and 80s.
Dry Woods - In a way, a new type of style often found in niche perfumery and designed for those who want a pure, dry scent.
Aromatics - Woody chords mixed with aromatic herbs such as lavender, rosemary and basil dominate. Ideal for more mature gentlemen and office wear.

OTHER WOODY VARIATIONS

Oriental Woody
woody floral
woody musk
Woody Spicy
Woody Aquatic
Woody Citrus
Woody Cyprus

COMMON WOODY NOTES IN PERFUMERY

Cedar wood
Sandalwood
oak moss
Patchouli
vetiver
Pine tree
Cypress
Oak
Iso E Super

cool family

The Fresca family is the most popular of all and the only one that leans towards both the masculine and feminine sides. Perfumes have never been more accessible than they are now, and fresh fragrances have dominated the market since the early 1990s.

Of all the fragrance families, the fresh family is the one that encompasses the most subcategory varieties of all the different fresh combinations that seem to work with each other.

They are easy-to-wear perfumes, often airy, uncomplicated. Fresh perfumes are also the only group in the olfactory family that can be worn at any time of the year and on most occasions.

Fresh fragrances often have a mix of sparkling fruits, aromatic herbs, light woods, and musks in their composition.

SUB-FAMILIES OF FRESH FRAGRANCES

Citrus - Citrus perfumes have an olfactory profile of spicy and juicy aromas that mimic real citrus. Lemons, bergamots and oranges combined with light musks and woods make citrus perfumes provide energy to whoever wears them and a more complete composition.
Fruity - Fruity perfumes are also part of the fresh fragrance family, but they are sweeter and rounder. Apples, pears, peaches, strawberries and tropical fruits bring sparkle and eternal youth to these compositions.
Greens - Green perfumes overlap with other fragrance families such as aromatics, florals, chypres, and woods. These aromas are fresh, woody and, as the name suggests, green. Green perfumes also work best during spring and fall.
Water - the water olfactory family are aquatic perfumes that recall the smell of the ocean. These types of "sea breeze" fragrances are, along with citrus, the most popular perfume variant on the market today. Fresh ozonic/aquatic notes are often combined with aromatic compounds.

OTHER COOL VARIATIONS

Aquatic Woody
Fruity/Citrus Gourmands
Aromatic Fruity/Citrus
Aromatic Fresh/Green
Aromatic Spicy
Citrus Musk
Woody Citrus
Cyprus Citrus

COMMON FRESH NOTES IN PERFUMERY

Lemon
Bergamot
Lime
Pineapple
Orange
ambroxan
Sage
Thyme
oceanic notes
neroli
Lavender
woods

Conclusion

When buying perfumes it is always good to know what types of fragrance families suit your tastes, but it is also good to expand your knowledge about perfumes.

Maybe you are someone who is new to perfume collecting or you just want to know what types of fragrance families work in the longevity/projection sector.

Keep these categories in mind the next time you're looking for your next perfume.