Perfume Glossary A–Z

The language of perfume borrows from French, music and the Gulf’s own traditions. Here’s a plain-English guide to the words you’ll meet most often.

A

Absolute: A highly concentrated aromatic material extracted from delicate flowers such as jasmine or tuberose using solvents rather than heat.

Accord: Several materials blended to create a single new impression, much like a chord in music. An “amber accord” or “oud accord” is built, not found in nature.

Alcohol Denat.: Denatured alcohol, the standard base for spray perfumes. It carries the scent and then evaporates. Denatured means it has been made undrinkable.

Aldehydes: Synthetic materials that give a sparkling, soapy or “fizzy” brightness, famous in some classic floral perfumes.

Amber: In perfumery, a warm, sweet, resinous accord, usually of vanilla, labdanum and benzoin. Not the same as fossilised amber or ambergris. Also the name of a fragrance family, formerly called “Oriental”. → The Fragrance Families

Ambergris: A rare natural material formed in sperm whales, prized for its salty, warm, skin-like scent. Most perfumes today use synthetic alternatives.

Animalic: Describes warm, musky, leathery or skin-like notes.

Aquatic: Fresh notes that evoke the sea, rain or water.

Aromatic: Herbal notes such as lavender, rosemary, sage and mint.

Atomiser: A spray bottle, often used for small travel sizes.

Attar (ittar): A concentrated, alcohol-free perfume oil, traditionally distilled into a sandalwood base. → Bukhoor, Attar and Perfume

B

Base notes: The deepest, longest-lasting layer of a perfume, such as woods, musks, resins and amber. → Top, Heart and Base Notes

Batch number: A code on the label that identifies when a perfume was made.

Benzoin: A sweet, vanilla-like balsamic resin.

Bergamot: A citrus fruit whose peel oil is one of perfumery’s most-used top notes.

Blind buy: Buying a perfume without smelling it first.

Bukhoor (bakhoor): Wood chips soaked in fragrant oils and resins, burned in a mabkhara to scent homes, clothes and hair. → Bukhoor, Attar and Perfume

C

Chypre: A classic structure of citrus top notes over a mossy, woody base of oakmoss and patchouli.

Citrus: The fresh fragrance family of lemon, orange, bergamot, grapefruit and mandarin.

Concentration: The share of perfume concentrate in a finished product. It’s what names like Eau de Parfum describe. → Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Cologne

Concentrate (perfume oil): The blend of aromatic materials that makes up the scent before it’s diluted in alcohol.

D

Decant: A small amount of perfume transferred from its original bottle into a smaller one.

Dehn al oud: Arabic for oud oil. → What Is Oud?

Dry down: The final phase of a perfume on the skin, when the base notes dominate.

E

Eau de Cologne: A light concentration, typically about 2–5%, traditionally citrus-led.

Eau de Parfum: A rich concentration, typically about 15–20%. Every Atelier T perfume is made as Eau de Parfum, blended at 25% perfume concentrate by weight.

Eau de Toilette: A lighter concentration, typically about 5–15%.

Eau Fraîche: A very light, refreshing concentration, around 1–3%.

Essential oil: A natural aromatic oil extracted from plants, usually by steam distillation or pressing.

Extrait de Parfum (Parfum): The most concentrated form of perfume, typically 20–30% or more.

F

Flanker: A new version of an existing perfume that shares its name, such as an “Intense” or “Night” edition.

Fougère: “Fern” in French. A fresh-aromatic structure of lavender, oakmoss and coumarin, the backbone of many classic men’s perfumes.

Fragrance family: A group of perfumes sharing a character: Fresh, Floral, Amber or Woody. → The Fragrance Families

G

Gourmand: Perfumes with edible notes such as vanilla, caramel, coffee or praline.

Green: Notes that smell of leaves, stems and cut grass.

H

Heart notes (middle notes): The core of a perfume, appearing after the top notes fade. → Top, Heart and Base Notes

Hand blended: At Atelier T, perfumes weighed, mixed, rested and bottled by hand in small batches. → What “Hand Blended” Means at Atelier T

I

IFRA: The International Fragrance Association, which sets safety standards for fragrance materials.

INCI: The international naming system for cosmetic ingredients. On an ingredient list, the perfume blend appears as Parfum (Fragrance).

Iris (orris): A powdery, elegant note from the dried root of the iris plant, one of perfumery’s most expensive materials.

L

Labdanum: A sticky, warm resin from the rockrose shrub, a key part of amber accords.

Layering: Wearing several scented products together, such as oil, perfume and bukhoor. → Bukhoor, Attar and Perfume

Linear: A perfume that smells much the same from first spray to dry down.

Longevity: How long a perfume remains noticeable on skin or clothes.

M

Mabkhara (mabkhar): A traditional incense burner used for bukhoor and oud chips.

Maceration: The resting period after a perfume is blended, when its materials settle and come together.

Musk: A soft, clean, skin-like note. Today it’s made synthetically; natural animal musk is no longer used in mainstream perfumery.

N

Neroli: An oil distilled from bitter orange blossom: fresh, green and floral.

Niche perfume: Perfume from smaller, specialist houses, often more distinctive than mass-market fragrances.

Note: A single recognisable smell within a perfume, such as rose, sandalwood or vanilla.

O

Oakmoss: A lichen with a damp, earthy, forest-floor scent, central to chypre perfumes.

Olfactory fatigue: When your nose gets used to a smell and stops noticing it. It’s why you can’t smell your own perfume after a while. → How to Make Perfume Last Longer in UAE Heat

Oud (agarwood): The dark, fragrant resin-filled wood of the Aquilaria tree, one of the most precious materials in perfumery. → What Is Oud?

P

Patchouli: An earthy, dark, slightly sweet leaf oil, a classic base note.

Projection: How far a perfume radiates from your skin into the space around you. Not the same as Sillage.

Pulse points: Warm areas where blood vessels are close to the skin, such as wrists, neck and inner elbows, traditionally used for applying perfume.

R

Resin: A thick, aromatic substance produced by trees, such as frankincense, myrrh or benzoin.

S

Saffron: A warm, leathery, slightly metallic spice note, much loved in Middle Eastern perfumery.

Sandalwood: A creamy, smooth, milky wood, one of the oldest perfume materials.

Sillage: French for “wake”. The trail of scent you leave behind as you move. Not the same as Projection.

Skin chemistry: The way an individual’s skin changes how a perfume smells and lasts.

Soli-flore: A perfume built around a single flower.

T

Tonka bean: A seed with a warm scent of vanilla, almond and hay.

Top notes: The first, brightest and most fleeting layer of a perfume. → Top, Heart and Base Notes

V

Vanilla: A warm, sweet, comforting note from the cured pods of the vanilla orchid, often supported by synthetic vanillin.

Vetiver: The smoky, earthy, woody root of a tropical grass.

W

Woody: The fragrance family of sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, oud and other woods. → The Fragrance Families