Head, Heart, Base - Understanding the Fragrance Pyramid

The fragrance pyramid, also known as fragrance composition or fragrance structure, is nothing more than a set of different scents that unfold over time to form a single fragrance.

Head - otherwise known as the top notes. It is a prelude to a larger piece. It is the first fragrance we smell when lighting a candle or opening a bottle of perfume. It is an important component and an important moment, as it is often the first impression that makes us buy a particular fragrance. Although top notes are intense at first, they quickly fade away giving way to the following ones. Nonetheless, they are extremely important. They open up the fragrance and predetermine its further character.

Heart - otherwise known as the middle notes. Noticeable after the top notes, the middle notes provide a bridge between the first and last notes. It is the heart that gives character, enhances, highlights and creates a more or less complex bouquet. The middle notes take longer to appear, they are less intense and obvious, yet they are responsible for bringing the other scents together.

Base - deep, or base notes. It is the finish that you smell for a long time. A counterpart of a largo in music - a long, broad and slow-vanishing finale. The base is responsible for the longevity of the fragrance and it is the base that ultimately decides what we actually smell the longest. Interestingly, when perfumers create a fragrance, this is the note they start with to create their composition.

Fragrance creators blend all the notes together to ensure a harmonious development of the aroma released. This knowledge, an incredible sense of proportion and a highly developed sense of smell are possessed by few. It is like the musical talent for composing symphonies, where harmony has to be extracted from a multitude of different-sounding instruments and intermingling sounds. It is probably not without reason that an aroma is called a fragrance composition and its individual elements - notes. A good perfumer must not only have an excellent sense of smell, but also be creative, able to remember and associate fragrance nuances. Then a magnificent composition, a masterpiece, can emerge.