Marmot, wimp, chord: these words conjure up something for you, but we bet it has little to do with perfume. And yet! The vocabulary of perfumers is a happy maze of surprising words. Follow the guide, we'll take you on a little tour.
Agreement
A chord, like music, is thecombination of several essential oils - or notes, as they're called! - to create a uniform sound. There are many such chords in perfumery. Some are very famous, such as rose accord: a combination ofnatural and synthetic ingredients is used to recreate the distinctive scent of this flower (notably present in Demain Promis), which is very expensive to extract in its natural state.
Aldehyde
Aldehydes are ultra-famous synthetic molecules, and very recognisable thanks to their hot iron smell (yes, yes). As soon as you smell something metallic, warm, a little greasy and sometimes slightly orange, you can be sure that you are facing an aldehyde. To give you an idea, go smell Chanel N°5: this star perfume is a concentrate of aldehydes, and the first to have popularised them.
Base
A base is a mixture of several raw materials made in advance to help the perfumer create a perfume more easily. They are often used to introduce a new synthetic molecule: for example, the base Ambre 83, a gourmand base with vanilla fragrances, was created in 1889, fifteen years after the synthesis of vanillin. It was therefore used to "sell" vanillin to perfumers. Bases are also used to reproduce the scent of a muted flower or fruit or to replace a natural raw material that is too expensive to extract.
Leather
The leather accord is a synthetic recreation of the smell of leather. Intense, leather notes are smoky, dry and slightly tobacco. Depending on the raw materials used, the leather accord can make you think of leather goods, tobacco, old armchairs...
For the record, leather and perfume are closely linked. In the 12th century, tanners settled and prospered in Grasse. The only drawback: leather doesn't smell good... In the 16th century, gloves and leather accessories were perfumed to cover their unpleasant smell. And that's how perfume developed in Grasse!
Extract
To extract something means to isolate one or more components of a raw material through different extraction techniques: distillation, expression, enfleurage, etc. There is something for everyone (and for every cost!). These techniques produce different end products from the same raw material: absolute, essential oil, hydrolat, etc.
Gourmet
A gourmand note is a sweet note. There is no difference between the two, except that saying "gourmand" sounds more professional. Give it a try, you'll see, it has a small effect (on the other hand, the famous "gourmand croquant" combo has not yet been validated in perfumery).
Juice
In the perfume industry, "juice" is simply what you have in your bottle - what you call perfume (or eau de toilette, or eau de parfum... the differences are explained in this article). So it's a mixture of perfume concentrate, water and alcohol!
Ionones
Ionones are synthetic molecules that have the particularity of smelling like violets. As the violet is a mute flower, they are often used to reproduce its smell.
Groundhog
We would have liked to tell you about the little animals that whistle... but it's a different story in perfumery. Marmots are small containers of 2.5 to 5mL that store the perfume concentrates that perfumers create. In short, they are the chic version of the test tube.
Mouillette
You probably think of the little pieces of bread that you dip into boiled eggs. Well... it's the same principle! This time the "mouillettes", also called "touches", are small pieces of paper that are olfactory neutral and very absorbent, which allow you to smell a perfume. Perfumers dip them in their marmots to evaluate their tests. And there you have it, a story to tell at your next brunch.
Sillage
Just like the trace left by a boat on the water, the wake is the olfactory impression perceived after a person who has perfumed himself. It is said that a wake is weak, strong, unforgettable... etc.
The power of the wake has varied over time: extremely strong at the time of Louis XIV's court (it was necessary to hide dubious hygiene...), today it is preferred to be lighter and more modern.
Zesté
The word "zesty" simply refers to the zest of citrus fruit. A zesty note reflects both the bitterness of the zest and the sweetness of the fruit. A surprising combo often found in colognes from our grandparents' time, but also in Hors-Pistein a more modern version!
If the marmot is not enough for you and you want to know more, take a look at the glossary of the French Perfumers Society (SFP). Still have questions about the vocabulary of perfumers? Tell us all about it in comments :)
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Photo Credit: Myriam Tisbo | Unknown | Ayla Sobral De Brito | Jules Théret | Unknown
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