Sillage and other perfume lingo explained

Sillage/Projection

How strongly does a fragrance project itself is called the Sillage of the perfume. A strong sillage means you can smell the fragrance from a distance while a weak sillage means that you will need to get close to the wearer to smell the perfume.

Longevity

The duration for which a fragrance remains detectable on the skin or clothing after application. This is independent of sillage so don't think that a perfume with strong sillage will have short longevity or vice versa.

Dry Down

The final stage of a fragrance's development, when the top and middle notes have evaporated, and the base notes become most prominent. This stage lasts a longest for most perfumes.

Notes

Notes are individual fragrant components of the perfume like rose, chocolate, oud, tobacco. These ingredients may be natural or synthetic.

Gourmand

Fragrances with notes reminiscent of edible or food-like scents, such as vanilla, chocolate, or caramel.

Niche Fragrance

Traditionally Niche Perfumes were defined as perfumes created by smaller, independent, or artisanal fragrance houses, often known for their unique and high-quality compositions. Lately, the lines have blurred between Niche and designer perfumes.

Designer Fragrance

Perfumes created by well-known fashion or design houses. These fragrances are usually more widely available and may be marketed to a broader audience.

Nose

Refers to a perfumer who is responsible for creating a scent in question. These are the creative artist who spend years experimenting to come up with a unique scent. See how a perfume is made?

Flanker

A variation or spin-off of an existing fragrance with slight modifications to the original formula. They are typically released to capitalize on the hype of a well performing perfume.

Decant

A small amount of fragrance taken from a larger bottle and transferred to a smaller container for travelling or other uses.

Blind Buy

Purchasing a fragrance without having sampled or tested it beforehand.

Layering

The practice of wearing multiple fragrances at a time to create a unique scent.

We hope this helped you get upto speed with the lingo of the perfume communities. If we missed something, let us know in the comments and we'll surely explain it to you.