When describing fragrances like Christopher Street, we have a tendency to break these scents down into three basic components: top (or head) notes, mid (or heart) notes, and dry (or base) notes. While convenient for writing up fragrance descriptions, in truth, perfume is more of an harmonious mixture than implied by such dissections. While the top, mid, and dry notes are neatly separated in copy, or as represented in fragrance triangles, in actuality most scents are so intertwined that it is almost physically impossible to separate them.
Parts of a Perfume
The top notes of a fragrance represent approximately the first 15 minutes of evaporation. They provide what is often referred to as the “freshness” or “sparkle” of a scent.
The mid notes of a fragrance represent roughly the next 3-4 hours of evaporation. They can impart a sense of personality or character to a fragrance. Hence the nickname “heart.”
The dry notes are comprised of the final 4-5 hours of evaporation. They add tenacity and depth.
What Are Top Notes?
There are roughly six families of fragrance materials that make up what are called top notes: Citrus, Herbs, Aldehydes, Greens, Marine/Aqueous, and Fruits. As you will see, each of these families of ingredients have additional relationships or effects on the other parts of any fragrance. How they present themselves in final formulation normally determines how and where they are placed in the triangle.
Citrus
Citrus notes are the most volatile of these ingredient families. While classified as top notes, citrus can also play an important role in the heart of a fragrance. Citrus oils for use in fragrance formulation are extracted from the skin of citrus fruit, not from the juice. Oil is achieved through expression or distillation. Common citrus fruit include: Bergamot, Bitter Orange, Clementine, Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Mandarin, Orange, and Petitgrain.
Herbs
Also referred to as the Aromatic family, the Herbal category can play a dominant role in both the top and mid parts of a fragrance. Traditionally speaking, herbal notes are mostly classified as having a “masculine” quality due to their abundant use in colognes and aftershaves. Herbal notes can be further broken down into Aniseed (Basil, Fennel, etc) and Medicinal (Rosemary, Artemesia, etc) subcategories. Most Herbal plants and shrubs extracted for fragrance usage are found natively along the Mediterranean shores. Common Herbs include: Artemesia, Basil, Bay Leaf, Camomile, Celery Seed, Fennel, Lavender, Mint, Rosemary, and Thyme.
Aldehydes
Aldehydes in fragrance were first discovered by Jean-Baptiste-André Dumas in 1833, and can also have a dominant role in both the top and mid parts of perfume. As referred to here, aldehydes are entirely original aroma chemicals used to give power, diffusion, and uniqueness to a fragrance (think the infamous Chanel No.5). Aldehydes can provide a dry, clean, and/or metallic facet to a formulation. Even aldehydes have a fruit-like nature (i.e. C-14 Peach Aldehyde), while odd Aldehydes have a more sour, fatty characteristic.
Greens
The green family is comprised of natural and synthetic materials that add a grassy, stem-like quality to a fragrance. Again, the impact of green notes can bleed into the heart of a fragrance. The Green family includes ingredients such as Clover, Galbanum, and Cis-3-Hexenol.
Marine/Aqueous
Reminiscent of water and/or the sea, Marine notes can add a clean or salty freshness to the top of a fragrance. The Marine family includes Seaweeds and Algae, along with synthetic inventions like Calone (L’eau D’Issey) or other ozonic creations meant to conjure up the impression of moisture felt by fresh air.
Fruits
Though normally classified as top notes, the Fruit family can play an equally important role in the middle and dry down effects of any fragrance. As most fruits tend to have a light, delicate skin, these ingredients are mostly comprised of synthetic reproductions (except in the instance of blackcurrant which is extracted from its buds and leaves). The Fruit family can be subdivided into Orchard Fruits (i.e. apple, peach, pear), Berries (i.e. blackcurrant, raspberry, strawberry), Tropical (i.e. banana, passion fruit, pineapple) and Melon (i.e. cantaloupe, honey dew, watermelon).
Based on the volatility of each of these fragrance ingredient families, the impact of certain top notes can be visualized as follows:
