The ABCs of Perfumery

Systematic odour classification groups for Perfumery

The ABC's of Perfumery is very easy to learn and the most powerful tool to date for describing and classifying smells. It was published in May/June 1999 issue of Perfumer & Flavorist, the foremost journal in the perfumery and flavor industry. The Perfumer's Workbook and the Perfumer's Wizard software are both founded on the concepts of The ABCs of Perfumery system. Although listing and keeping materials with similar odour types together may seem strange at first you will find it makes a lot of sense for organ arrangement, storage and creation. Just as an painter would tend to group similar colors together or a composer position similar music instruments together to orchestrate them. It is also inherently a system based on the physical and chemical structure responsible for those odours. Tending to go from Top/High notes (A-H), through Middle/Heart notes(I-S) to Bottom/Base notes (T-Y) ending with (Z) for Solvents and materials not primarily used in perfumes for their smells. Z would include, in addition to solvents and diluents, things like Solubilizers, Anti-Oxidants, Colours, Thickeners, Additives and unscented Application product bases like soap, shampoo, diffuser, creams and lotions etc.

Profiles | Impact | Odour Life | Functions

Training the ABCs of Perfumery (PDF Download)

See All	Class	Common Description	Key Reference Materials Click to view examples
A	ALI-FAT-IC	Fatty, Waxy, Soapy, Clean	Aliphatic Aldehydes, Alcohols
B	B-iceBERG (Cooling)	Cooling, Borneol, Mint, Camphor	Menthol, Camphor, Eucalyptol
C	CITRUS	Sour, Sharp, Citrus peel	Citral, Orange, Lemon, Lime
D	DAIRY	Milky, Cream, Butter, Cheese	Diacetyl, Butyrate, Lactone, Valerate
E	EDIBLE	Vegetable, Nut, Fish, Meat	Thiazoles, Pyrazines, Sulphides
F	FRUIT	Sour, Sweet fruits, Strawberry	Allyl caproate, Verdox
G	GREEN	Cut-grass, Leaves	cis-3-Hexenol, Triplal
H	HERB (Balancing)	Cool Herbaceous notes	Lavender, Sage, (Terpene based?)
I	IRIS	Orris, Violet	Ionones, Damascones, Methyl-Ionones
J	JASMINE	Fruity, Oily, Narcotic, Jasmin	Jasmones, Hedione, Benzyl Acetate, HCA
K	KONIFER	Pine, Pineneedle, Juniper, Cypress	Terpineol, Bornyl Acetate, Coniferan
L	LINALOOL	Fresh light floral chemical	Linalool, Vertenex, DMBC
M	MUGUET	Lily of the Valley, Green, Fresh	Hydroxy, Lilial, Lyral, Nympheal
N	NARCOTIC	Heavy Sweet Florals, Absolutes	Narcissus, White Florals, Benzoates
O	ORCHID	Aromatic, Deep floral	Salicylates, Frangipani, Wintergreen
P	PHENOL	Phenol, Medicinal, Honey	para-Cresol, Ethyl Phenyl Acetate
Q	Queen of the ORIENT	Balsams, Resins (Polymerised Terpenes)	Benzoin, Tolu, Peru, Styrax, Terpenes
R	ROSE	Rose Otto, Rose Absolute, Geranium	Citronellol, PEA, Geraniol, Rhodinol
S	SPICE (Warming)	Hot Culinary, Spice	Clove, Cinnamon, Thyme, (Cyclic?)
T	TAR & SMOKE	Smoke, Tar, Burnt	Cade, Birch Tar
U	Urine Faecal ANIMAL	Animal, Faecal, Leather, Suede	Civet, Castoreum, Ambergris
V	VANILLA	Sweet Edible, Vanilla	Vanillin, Coumarin, Heliotropin
W	WOOD	Wood, Oily woods	Cedar, Sandal, Vetivert, Patchouli
X	X-rated MUSK	Sexy, Musk, Sensual, Sweet	Musk Ketone, Galaxolide
Y	EARTHY MOSSY	Yeast, Fungal, Moss, Marine	Oakmoss, Calone, Geosmin, Floralozone
Z	ZOLVENTS	Low Odour Solvents, Solubilisers, Additives	TEC, DPG, IPM, Ethanol, PG, BA, BB, DEP

Odour PROFILES / Fingerprints of single materials

Even a single aroma chemical rarely exhibits a single facet in it's odour. For example, most would agree that Phenyl Ethyl Alcohol displays primarily a rose character but many find it has a green note, others comment on it's phenolic or chemical aspects. If relative proportions are allocated to each facet that the student observes, the classification then falls into place quite easily.

(e.g., PEA might be classified as Rg indicating mainly R-Rose (70%) with a secondary G-Green note (30%).

Relative IMPACT - a measure of 'speed of perception'

The expression 'impact' has been used in preference to 'strength'. Relative impact is determined by using a Micropipette to apply a fixed amount of Linalool onto a smelling strip. The test material is added until the odour impact is judged as the same. Linalool Synthetic was chosen as the control reference material as it is readily available, being one of the most abundantly used raw materials in perfumes and flavours and because the quality from the major suppliers does not vary greatly (Givaudan, IFF, etc.) Linalool isolated from natural sources is generally not suitable due to varying isomer ratios or the presence of trace components remaining from the originating source. In terms of the impact of Linalool Synthetic, it falls about midway on an exponential curve in the range of materials used by the perfumer.

Odour LIFE

Odour life is determined on the smelling strip, thinner chromatography 'paper' giving more consistent results, "to the point at which the material becomes weak and uncharacteristic of itself" measured in hours. The results of this type of examination are very dependent on the amount dipped, the type of paper or substrate, ambient temperature, humidity, air-flow and tester's differences and experience. Despite this even in poorly controlled conditions one is able to produce a set of comparative values that are worthwhile measures of raw materials relative odour lives.

Function

Every component in a perfume formula (or 'compound') is there to fulfill one or more specific functions within the odour.

Heart Material
It may be there to give the essential or heart smell of the fragrance, a rose smelling material in a Rose perfume OR balsam + vanilla in an Oriental fragrance.

Heart materials therefore cover the whole spectrum of A-Z

Modifiers
To modify or decorate the fragrance, add style, naturalness, freshness, diffusion etc. Decoration for the fragrance like a banana note in jasmin and top-note modifiers such as citrus notes (lemon, limes etc.). If modifiers are overdosed then they can become the subject and therefore the heart.

Blenders
Materials to blend and sometimes act as a bridge between very different heart and modifying notes, to round or smooth off, to harmonize. Blenders usually have impact levels of 100 or less, otherwise they will tend to present themselves as modifying notes.

Fixatives
Materials to give completion and fixing the fragrance giving a 3rd dimension, location, time, depth, substance and background. Fixatives usually have relatively longer odour lives that act as the foundation to support the structure of the Heart, Modifiers and Blenders.

"Please be clear that there are no lists of Heart materials, Modifying materials, Blender materials or Fixative materials, even though some materials or groups of materials may lend themselves more often to one function than another, as used in our Creation Kits. The point is that for a perfume to successfully convey its message each of these functions should be fufilled in the context of the objective of the perfume and the other materials present.
This is rather like a Sentence requiring Subjects & Objects (Heart), Adjectives & Adverbs (Modifiers), Conjunctions (Blenders) and Prepositions (Fixatives) to tell its story meaningfully.
More than one Function could be fulfilled by a single material e.g PEA in a Rose perfume could be utilised as a Heart (rose), a Blender (low impact) and even as a fixative (moderate-long odour life). The context of the other materials used and level at which PEA is used determining its functional positioning.
This is the essence of understanding how your perfume works or why it fails."