Individual notes are like single musical notes; an accord is the chord they form, several notes the nose hears as one smell. Pick one to watch it come together:
Fougère
Lavender + oakmoss + coumarin (tonka)
French for 'fern', after Fougère Royale (1882). The template for most classic 'masculines': clean, aromatic and barbershop-fresh.
Chypre
Bergamot + labdanum + oakmoss + patchouli
Named after Coty's 'Chypre' (1917), French for Cyprus. A bright citrus top falling into a dark, mossy, earthy base: elegant and a little austere. Since IFRA limited oakmoss, modern chypres lean on patchouli instead.
Amber / Oriental
Labdanum + benzoin + vanilla + spices
Warm, sweet and resinous: the sensual, enveloping style of Shalimar and countless ambers. The industry now prefers the word 'amber' to 'oriental'.
Rose & Oud
Rose + oud + saffron + amber
For centuries the heart of Arabian and Persian oil perfumes. In the 2000s Western niche houses brought it into alcohol-based perfume and it became a genre of its own.
Gourmand
Ethyl maltol + vanilla + caramel/chocolate
Born with Mugler's Angel (1992): perfume that smells good enough to eat.
Aquatic
Calone + citrus + light musks
The transparent 'sea air' style of the 1990s: clean, cool and easy to wear.
Leather
Birch tar / isobutyl quinoline + smoke + florals
Smoky, dry and animalic: from tarry, rugged leathers to soft, powdery suedes.
