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The school of scent
Learn perfumery.
Plain-English guides, video masterclasses and a glossary of the words perfumers use.
Start here
Masterclass 01: Train your nose — the perfumer’s smelling method
Build an odour memory the way professionals do: short daily sessions, a shared vocabulary and timed evaluations. Four weeks, 20–30 minutes a day.
Beginner · 4 weeks · 20–30 minutes a day
Masterclasses
From first sniff to finished bottle
A complete study path in order. Each masterclass is a week-by-week plan with exercises, teaching formulas and a final project.
- Train your nose — the perfumer’s smelling methodBeginner · 4 weeks
- The perfumer’s palette — naturals and aroma chemicalsBeginner to intermediate · 6 weeks
- Building accordsIntermediate · 6 weeks
- Fragrance families and the classicsIntermediate · 6 weeks
- Oud, attars and the perfumery of the EastIntermediate · 4 weeks
- From formula to bottleAdvanced · 6 weeks
Guides
Read, then smell
2 min read
Perfumery notes explained: from bergamot to oud
What “notes” actually are, how each family smells and where it sits in the pyramid, with a guide to the 30 notes you’ll meet most often.
2 min read
Aroma chemicals: the molecules behind modern perfume
From coumarin in 1868 to Iso E Super and Ambroxan: how synthetic molecules made modern perfumery possible, and why “synthetic” doesn’t mean “cheap”.
1 min read
How to choose a perfume as a gift
Five questions that make it much easier to choose a perfume someone will actually wear.
1 min read
Layering perfume, body mist and hair mist
How to build a scent that is yours alone, with simple rules for what works together.
1 min read
How to make your perfume last longer
Skin, climate, storage and application: small habits that make a big difference to longevity and projection.
1 min read
Top, heart and base: the fragrance pyramid
Why a perfume smells different after ten minutes, and again after an hour, and how to read any pyramid on a product page.
1 min read
EDP, EDT, parfum: what the labels mean
Concentration explained: what each label really tells you, how it changes the way a scent wears, and which one suits you.
Ingredient library
Aroma chemicals, naturals & accords
What every material smells like, where it comes from, how perfumers use it and what it pairs with.
Naturals · Amber
Frankincense
Fresh, lemony and peppery at first, then smoky, resinous and spiritual.
Heart/baseAroma chemicals · Musk
Exaltolide
Elegant, warm, animalic musk.
BaseAroma chemicals · Fruity
Raspberry ketone
Sweet, jammy raspberry.
HeartAroma chemicals · Citrus
Dihydromyrcenol
Clean lime, lavender and metallic freshness.
TopNaturals · Green
Galbanum
Sharp, bitter, resinous green; like snapping a thick stem.
TopAroma chemicals · Aromatic
Linalyl acetate
Fresh, sweet, fruity, bergamot and lavender.
TopNaturals · Green
Violet leaf
Intensely green, cucumber-like, watery and earthy.
Top/heartAccords · Floral
Lily of the valley (muguet) accord
Fresh, dewy, green and delicate.
HeartPerfume glossary
Words worth knowing
- Enfleurage
- A historic extraction method in which flowers were laid on purified fat that absorbed their scent. Labour-intensive and now almost never used commercially.
- Aldehydes
- A family of molecules with a sparkling, waxy, soapy or citrusy smell. Made famous by Chanel No. 5 (1921), where they give a champagne-like lift to the florals.
- Projection
- How far a scent radiates from your skin in the first hours. Different from sillage, which is the trail it leaves as you move.
- Tincture
- An extract made by soaking a material (such as vanilla pods, ambergris or benzoin) in alcohol for weeks or months.
- Concentrate
- The perfumer’s finished formula before dilution. Also called the perfume oil or juice concentrate.
- Top notes
- The first impression of a perfume, from light molecules that fade within 15–30 minutes: citrus, herbs, light fruit, aldehydes.