The three notes of essential oils

In music, the perfect chord is made up of three notes. The same goes for perfumes, where equilibrium is obtained by combining three "notes": the head note, the heart note and the basic note.

  1. The head note is the foreground one that we sense first, like high notes in music. The citrus essences are the ideal head notes. They endow perfumes with dynamic and sparkling freshness. Conifers produce a resinous and green head note, very close to a heart note.

  2. The heart note gives perfume its real character and straightforwardness. Essences of flowers like rose, jasmine, tuberose, neroli or lavender always provide excellent heart notes.

  3. The basic note is the foundation of perfume. Its fixative role assures its stability. This is the note that we perceive the longest, like a low note in music. For a few days we can smell it on clothing that has not been washed.