Basic knowledge of perfumes: Fragrance families

What are fragrance families?

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

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

 

What is a fragrance wheel?

The fragrance wheel is a very useful tool for determining what types of fragrances you might like.

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

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

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

 

Floral Family

Floral perfumes are one of the most popular and beloved olfactory families on the market by millions of people. It is possibly the broadest olfactory family, ranging from soft to denser and more complex scent profiles.

The easiest way to describe how florals smell is to imagine a bouquet of flowers featuring many facets of blooming aromas.

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

Classic and as old as the citrus (Fresh) family, it leans more towards the feminine side, but in recent years, many predominantly floral fragrances have shown that even men can wear floral family fragrances and smell wonderful.

SUBFAMILIES OF FLORAL FRAGRANCES

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

OTHER FLORAL VARIATIONS 

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

 

COMMON FLORAL NOTES IN PERFUMERY

Rose
Jasmine
Neroli
Lilies
Violet
Narcissus

 

Oriental Family

The Oriental olfactory family is equally popular among men and women. Orientals have dominated the fragrance market in the 21st century and it seems this will continue.

Rich spices such as vanilla, cinnamon, and clove, and balsamic resins such as benzoin, myrrh, frankincense, and amber are just some of the prominent notes in this broad family.

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

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

SUBFAMILIES OF ORIENTAL FRAGRANCES

Soft Oriental - sensual perfumes composed of myrrh or frankincense, combined with spices such as cinnamon and clove.
Floral Oriental - a combination of sparkling citrus flowers with spicy vanilla.
Orientals - pure orientals are thick and heavy, combining musks that overlap resins and spices. Also known as "amber" fragrances. Gourmands are warm oriental compounds composed of sweet and dessert notes like chocolate, honey, pralines with a combination of traditional oriental notes.
Woody Oriental - dry notes from cedar, sandalwood, oak, and ebony wood mixed with a rich, warm oriental essence. One of the favorite perfume families among men.

OTHER ORIENTAL VARIATIONS

Spicy Oriental
Floriental
Amber Oriental
Citrus Oriental
Gourmand
Leather

COMMON ORIENTAL NOTES IN PERFUMERY

Vanilla
Cinnamon
Frankincense
Benzoin
Amber
Myrrh
Caramel
Chocolate
Rum
Leather

 

Woody Family

The woody family leans more towards men and is usually composed of warm and rich compositions. If you like forest, sawdust, earthy, and dry smells, this family might be for you.

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

Woody perfumes also tend to be long-lasting, blended for several seasons, and, due to their warm heart, increasingly unisex.

SUBFAMILIES OF WOODY PERFUMES

Woods - warm and mysterious, the woody category is the "basic" type of woody perfumes that tend to stay within the genre and is often the most popular type of modern masculine perfume.
Mossy Woods - green and woody, mossy perfumes have been a staple and go-to fragrance type within classic masculine perfumery during the 70s and 80s. 
Dry Woods - in a way, a new style often found in niche perfumery and designed for those who desire a pure, dry scent.
Aromatics - woody accords mixed with aromatic herbs like lavender, rosemary, and basil dominate. Ideal for more mature gentlemen and office wear.

 

OTHER WOODY VARIATIONS

Woody Oriental
Woody Floral
Woody Musk
Spicy Woody
Aquatic Woody
Citrus Woody
Chypre Woody

 

COMMON WOODY NOTES IN PERFUMERY

Cedarwood
Sandalwood
Oakmoss
Patchouli
Vetiver
Pine
Cypress
Oak
Iso E Super

Fresh Family

The Fresh family is the most popular of all and the only one that leans equally towards both masculine and feminine sides. Perfumes have never been as accessible as they are now, and fresh fragrances have dominated the market since the early 90s.

Of all the fragrance families, the fresh family encompasses the most varieties of subcategories from all the different fresh combinations that seem to complement 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 year and on most occasions.

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

SUBFAMILIES OF FRESH FRAGRANCES

Citrus - citrus perfumes have an olfactory profile of tangy and juicy aromas that mimic real citrus fruits. Lemons, bergamots, and oranges combined with light musks and woods make citrus perfumes bring energy to the wearer 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.
Green - green perfumes overlap with other fragrance families such as aromatic, floral, chypre, and woody. These scents are fresh, woody, and, as their name suggests, green. Green perfumes also work best during spring and autumn.
Aquatic - the aquatic olfactory family consists of aquatic perfumes that recall the smell of the ocean. These "sea breeze" type 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 FRESH VARIATIONS

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

COMMON FRESH NOTES IN PERFUMERY

Lemon
Bergamot
Lime
Pineapple
Orange
Ambroxan
Sage
Thyme
Oceanic Notes
Neroli
Lavender
Woods

 

Conclusion

When buying perfumes, it's always good to know which types of fragrance families suit your tastes, but it's also good to expand your perfume knowledge.

Perhaps you are someone just starting to collect perfumes or simply want to know which types of fragrance families perform well in terms of longevity/projection.

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