What Are Top, Heart & Base Notes?
This is the one concept, above all others, worth actually understanding before you next buy perfume.
Top notes
The first impression, lasting roughly the first 5-15 minutes — usually citrus, light herbs or aldehydes. Bright, immediate, and gone before you know it.
Heart notes
Emerging as the top fades and lasting the next hour or so — typically florals, spices or fruit. This is usually what a fragrance is “about” once people describe its main character.
Base notes
The long haul — woods, resins, musk, amber and vanilla, often present from the start in trace amounts but dominant for the final, longest stretch of wear.
Frequently asked questions
Why shouldn’t I judge a perfume from the first sniff?
Because you’re only smelling the top notes — the part of the fragrance built to fade fastest, not the part you’ll actually live with most of the day.
Test the full arc — sample our Perfume Oils over a full day.
