To be a fragrance fan you have no chance of finding your way through the scent ocean. Choosing the right fragrances for your collection is based on knowledge of fragrance families, whether you’re a seasoned collector or just beginning. Perfume families help understand based on their dominant characteristics. If you need to broaden your collection or understand fragrance composition better, this guide to fragrance families is for you!
What Are Fragrance Families?
Broadly speaking, fragrances are categorized into fragrance families, which are the ranks by which scents are classified according to their main ‘notes’ or scent profile. These families assist collectors and perfumers in exploring this vast territory with a bit more structure and joy in the journey of fragrances. The overall scent type goes hand in hand with each family of several subcategories that detail the scented family’s basic notes.
Fragrance families form the basic blueprint for all perfumes and scents as you begin to explore the world of fragrance. There are different kinds of these families as different genres of music do, offering variety and catering to different moods, occasions, and preferences.
The Main Fragrance Families: An Overview
Fragrance families are built around various scents and different scents make up each fragment. Here are the main families you’ll encounter:
- Floral: Fresh flowers, roses, jasmine and lavender. The perfume world tends to go to floral fragrances – and it’s usually very light, romantic, feminine scents.
- Oriental: Ingredients for these are vanilla, amber, and patchouli, these are warm, rich, and spicy scents. For evening wear or colder months, oriental fragrances are perfect.
- Woody: They are named as they do — as the names seem to suggest, these fragrances carry a scent of trees and forests, with hints of cedarwood, sandalwood, pine, etc. Sometimes woody fragrances are groundling and calming.
- Fresh: These fragrances are light, airy, and invigorating, and usually feature citrus, mint, or aquatics. Daytime wearing fresh scents is just perfect for warm days.
- Fruity: Fruity and tangy fragrances are a bit playful and a bit vibrant. Some notes that you might discover in this family: mango, peach, and apple, them usually used for younger, casual scents.
- Gourmand: All are sweet, dessert-like fragrances with edible qualities such as chocolate, caramel, & coffee. Gourmand perfumes are for the person who desires sweetness and warmth.
These categories each break down into subfamilies, which helps you get a bit more of a sense of what to expect. For example, a floriental blend would be floral and oriental while a fruity floral would be sweet fruitiness and floral.
How Fragrance Families Impact Your Collection Diversification
It helps to consider how you might build your collection diversification and consider fragrance families. First, you can feel free to start with one family, but then you’ll find that branching to other families will add another layer to the scent experience. Say, you have a lot of floral scents, and you want to add a woody or fresh scent that can help round out your collection.
Scent layering also understands these families. Once you’ve learned which families go together well, you can begin to combine different oils and fragrances to make more customized scents. An example would be Sandalwood Australian oil from HBNO, sandalwood Australian oil blended with the fresh sort of citrus note from lime essential oil, which would aid in creating an invigorating, balanced, and ground scent.
Why Fragrance Families Matter for Collectors
Learning about fragrance families is important for collectors because it will help you know how to choose a new fragrance with intent. Knowing what works within a family rather than randomly picking up perfumes that just ‘might’ suit your taste, lets you curate your collection based on specific preferences. You may want to add new essential oils for blending into scents or you want to expand your scent collection with additional perfumes, but understanding the main scent categories will lead you towards the scents that will complement your personality.
If you’re a person who enjoys experimenting with different blends, knowing your fragrance families lays the foundation for you to play with scent combinations. Think of blending these two two fragrances: the blend of frankincense with chic rose fragrance gives a rich yet fresh experience; a blend of eucalyptus and mentha piperata oil for an energizing, minty experience.
How to Experiment with Fragrance Families
To test out different fragrance families it’s great fun to try them out through essential oils. Say you are drawn to the idea of fresh citrusy scents, then you could throw lime essential oil or Orange essential oil from HBNO into your toolbox. These oils are two in one: uplifting and grounding. The lime has a zesty bright fragrance that is perfect to wear this invigorating all-day fragrance.
If you’re into woody notes, try cedarwood or pine needle essential oil. Frankincense and the oils listed above are the perfect oils to layer with to create a more complex earthy fragrance that can go from day to night.
How Understanding Fragrance Families Helps You Build Your Signature Scent
Part of creating a signature scent is learning about fragrance families, because not only do you get to diversify your collection, but also understand how one smells best with another. Let’s explore different scent categories mix oils, and ultimately create a scented signature, both of which show you and your personality.
Take, for example, someone like yourself who enjoys fresh citrusy fragrances yet would also prefer something warm and comforting, who might give it a go with frankincense and lemon essential oil. The power of lemon with the depth and complexity of frankincense will yield that freshness with the depth and complexity of frankincense – a fragrance that’s uniquely you.
If you like balmy and spicy combinations then trying out cinnamon bark and cedarwood may be the perfect way to create a balanced fragrance for cooler weather. Cinnamon bark and cedarwood make for a cozy scent to put you in the mood for winter.
Conclusion: Exploring Fragrance Families with HBNO
If you want to refine your collection or try new scents, you need to understand fragrance families. As you start to explore your scent categories you’ll uncover a new world of possibilities to mix, layer, and create a scent you love. HBNO provides an array of essential oils and fragrances to complement your selection, so if you’re after the sweetness of mango fragrance, the warmth of cinnamon leaf essential oil, or just the freshness of eucalyptus essential oil, we have you covered.
You can test HBNO’s oils and fragrances so that you can explore the family of fragrances beyond mere perception. Make new blends, find your signature scent, and start creating your future by mastering these families. When you are next wondering what perfume to add to your collection, consider what family the perfume is in – the family will form your decision. Happy collecting!
