How to read a fragrance pyramid
Beauty · Fragrance guide
On every fragrance card we sell, you will find three lines: top notes, heart notes, and base notes. They are the most useful part of the card and the one almost no one reads, because it looks like a list of ingredients, when in fact it is a sequence over time: it tells you what you will smell now, what you will smell in an hour, and what you will smell tonight.
Learning to read it is the quickest way to stop buying fragrances at random. In the boutique, it is also the first thing we explain to anyone who arrives saying, «I want something different, but I don't know what».
The three stages, and why they exist
A fragrance is not a fixed smell: it is a blend of molecules that evaporate at different rates. The lightest disappear first, while the heaviest remain attached to the skin for hours. The pyramid is simply this, arranged in order.
Top notes - the first few minutes
They are the most volatile molecules: citrus, green notes, fresh aromatics such as mint or basil, and light spices. They last only briefly - minutes, not hours - and create the opening. That is why you should never choose a fragrance based on the first thirty seconds: what you smell when testing it on a blotter is almost entirely top notes, and in fifteen minutes it will be gone.
Heart notes - the middle hours
They emerge when the top notes fade and are the most recognisable part of the fragrance: flowers, full-bodied spices, fruit, and richer green notes. This is the true character of the composition, the part people around you will associate with you. If you like a fragrance at first but find it tiring after an hour, the problem almost always lies here.
Base notes - what remains
Woods, resins, musks, amber, vanilla, leather, oud. These are the heaviest molecules; they evaporate slowly and remain on the skin for hours or all day. The base is also what determines whether a fragrance lasts: two fragrances with the same opening can behave completely differently depending on what lies beneath.
So how do you test a fragrance? On your skin, not on a blotter, and wait at least half an hour before deciding. One fragrance at a time - by the third, your nose becomes saturated and can no longer distinguish anything. And if you can, smell it again at the end of the day: that is the fragrance you will actually wear, not the opening.
How to use the pyramid to choose
Here is the practical point. Take a fragrance you have loved — even a mass-market one, it does not matter — and look at its pyramid. If the heart is a white flower and the base is a creamy wood, you know two things about yourself that are worth more than any commercial description, and you can search by similarity instead of trial and error.
This is exactly the criterion we used to build our catalogue. Each fragrance is classified by olfactive family — the category to which the composition as a whole belongs — and by prominent ingredient, meaning the raw materials that truly stand out in the top or heart notes. The distinction matters: a musk mentioned at the bottom of a list of twenty notes does not make a fragrance musky.
The eight families, one line each
Woody — dry cedar, creamy sandalwood, earthy vetiver, resinous oud: the backbone of niche perfumery. Oriental — amber, resins, warm spices, balsams: the most enveloping and long-lasting.
Floral — in niche perfumery, they are never simply a bouquet of flowers: jasmine becomes almost animalic, tuberose fleshy. Aromatic — lavender, sage, rosemary: the cleanest and easiest to wear every day.
Gourmand — vanilla, caramel, cocoa, almond: immediate, but they should be chosen by looking at what lies beneath the sweetness. Spicy — pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron.
Citrus - bergamot, lemon, grapefruit: the most volatile by nature, which is why they last less. Leather - tanned leather, smoke, birch: the most distinctive and least neutral family of all.
Eau de toilette, eau de parfum, extrait
They are not different qualities of the same fragrance: they are different concentrations of essences in alcohol, and they change the way the fragrance occupies space.
Eau de toilette generally contains between 5 and 15%: it opens well, projects for a short time, and needs to be reapplied in the afternoon. Eau de parfum contains between 15 and 20%: it is the most common format and the best compromise between projection and longevity. Extrait de parfum starts at 20% and in some cases goes much higher: it stays closer to the skin and lasts considerably longer.
The practical consequence surprises almost everyone: extrait is not the one that can be smelled the most. It is the fragrance noticed by people who embrace you; eau de parfum is noticed by those who walk past you. If you are looking for presence, moving up in concentration is not automatically the best choice.
Projection and longevity are two different things
They are always confused. Projection - known in the industry as sillage, from the French - is how far the fragrance extends from you: how much of it is noticed by someone who enters the room after you have left. Longevity is how many hours it remains perceptible on your skin.
They are independent. Some fragrances last twelve hours but stay close to the skin, while others fill a room and disappear in three hours. When someone says “this fragrance doesn’t last,” nine times out of ten they mean they can no longer smell it on themselves - but that is normal: the nose becomes accustomed to its own fragrance within minutes, while others can still smell it perfectly well.
Why the same fragrance smells different from person to person
It is not a myth. The skin's pH, body temperature and how moisturized the skin is change the speed at which molecules evaporate, and therefore the balance between the three stages. On dry skin, fragrance evaporates faster and lasts less; on oilier skin, base notes cling and remain much longer.
That is also why giving someone a fragrance as a gift is difficult, and why the rule we follow in the boutique is to start with the family of a fragrance you have seen that person wear, not with the one you like.
Three things that make a fragrance last longer, and cost nothing. Apply it to moisturized skin — a neutral cream before perfume makes more difference than any trick. Spray it on pulse points, where blood flows close to the surface: the crook of the elbow, the base of the neck, behind the ears. And do not rub your wrists together: it is the most common gesture and the only one we recommend you stop.
Where to go next
If you already know which family you are looking for, start there: niche perfumery is divided by family and ingredient for precisely this reason. If you are looking for a starting point, we have created two different paths — one and the other — even though the fragrances are the same: in niche perfumery, they have no gender.
And if you have a fragrance you love and want something similar, write to us with its name: that tells us where to direct you. It is the question we are asked most often, and the one we are happiest to answer.
Frequently asked questions
What is a fragrance's olfactory pyramid?
It is the structure of a fragrance divided into three stages over time: top, heart and base notes. It is not a list of ingredients but a sequence: the lightest molecules evaporate immediately and form the opening, the intermediate ones give it character during the central hours, and the heaviest remain on the skin until evening.
How long do top notes last?
A few minutes, generally between five and fifteen. These are the most volatile molecules - citrus, green, and fresh aromatic notes - and they create the opening. This is why you should never choose a perfume based on the first thirty seconds: what you smell during the test is almost entirely the top notes, and in fifteen minutes they will be gone.
What is the difference between eau de toilette, eau de parfum, and extrait?
The concentration of fragrance essences. Eau de toilette contains between 5 and 15%, eau de parfum between 15 and 20%, and extrait de parfum 20% or more. It is not a quality scale: extrait lasts longer but stays close to the skin, while eau de parfum projects more during the first few hours. If you are looking for presence, increasing the concentration is not automatically the answer.
What is the difference between sillage and longevity?
Sillage, or trail, is how far the perfume projects from you: how much of it is noticed by someone who enters the room after you. Longevity is how many hours it remains perceptible on your skin. They are independent: some fragrances last twelve hours while staying close to the skin, while others fill a room and disappear in three.
Why can’t I smell my perfume after a short time?
Because your nose becomes accustomed to your own perfume within a few minutes: this is a normal adaptation of the olfactory receptors. In the vast majority of cases, the fragrance is still very much there, and people around you can still smell it. If you want to check, ask someone else instead of applying more sprays.
How can you make a perfume last longer?
Apply it to moisturized skin - a neutral cream beforehand makes more difference than any other measure - and to pulse points, where blood flows close to the surface: the crook of the elbow, the base of the neck, behind the ears. Avoid rubbing your wrists together. The fragrance family also matters: citrus scents are naturally volatile, while woody and oriental fragrances last much longer.
Why does the same perfume smell different on different people?
Because skin pH, body temperature, and hydration levels change how quickly molecules evaporate, and therefore the balance between the three phases of the fragrance pyramid. On dry skin, fragrance evaporates sooner and lasts less; on oilier skin, base notes remain for much longer.