Rose
A soft, romantic floral, often associated with traditional perfumes. Depending on the variety, it can smell fresh and dewy, jammy and sweet or dry and powdery.
Timeless and tender, like love letters left in a drawer, faded over time.
Lavender
Clean, herbal and lightly floral with a hint of camphor. A familiar note used in sleep blends, spa scents, and calming aromas.
Like fresh linen in a quiet countryside cottage, or dusk settling over a summerfield.
Jasmine
Sweet, rich and heady. Jasmine is intensely floral with a slightly animalic edge, known for it's sensual character.
A midnight bloom under moonlight, bold and intoxicating.
Neroli
Bright, citrusy and floral. Distilled from orange blossom, it has a honeyed sweetness with green freshness.
Like the scent of spring air through an open window, fresh, uplifting and golden.
Peony
Soft, powdery and delicate. Peony has a rounded floral quality with subtle fruitiness, often used in feminine blends.
The fleeting beauty of a bloom just before it opens, graceful, romantic, and full of promise.
Ylang Ylang
Creamy, exotic and slightly fruity. It’s rich and heady, often used to add depth to floral blends.
A tropical breeze at dusk, warm, languid and dreamlike.
Vanilla
Warm, sweet, and creamy. One of the most recognisable and comforting notes, vanilla is often used in bakery, cosy, or sensual blends. It ranges from soft and milky to dark and smoky depending on its source.
Like the lingering scent of baked goods cooling on a kitchen counter, nostalgic, enveloping, and irresistibly familiar.
Tonka Bean
A rich, slightly spiced note with hints of vanilla, almond, and tobacco. Tonka smooths out a scent and adds a warm, comforting feel without being overly sugary.
Soft and golden, like the glow of firelight through amber glass.
Caramel
Sticky, sweet, and buttery. Caramel lends a mouth-watering richness to gourmand blends, often paired with vanilla, praline or chocolate.
It clings to the air like a secret treat, indulgent, playful, and golden-brown.
Chocolate
Deep, rich and smooth. Depending on how it’s used, it can be dark and intense, creamy and sweet, or dusted and powdery.
A decadent swirl of indulgence, sweet enough to tempt, dark enough to intrigue.
Hazelnut
Toasty, nutty and just a touch sweet. Hazelnut adds depth and cosiness to dessert-style scents without overwhelming them.
The aroma of warmth itself, soft jumpers, Sunday baking, and autumn sunlight.
Praline
Sweet, nutty, and a little toasted. Praline combines sugar and nuts to create a scent that’s rich but refined, often used to add elegance to dessert-inspired blends.
Think sugar-dusted daydreams, smooth, golden, and effortlessly decadent.
Coconut
Creamy, soft, and tropical. Coconut varies from sweet and sun-lotion-like to smooth and milky, making it a versatile note in both summer and gourmand blends.
A scent like soft skin after a day at the beach, warm, sunlit, and ever so slightly sweet.
Citrus
Bright, zesty and uplifting. A catch-all for notes like lemon, orange, bergamot, lime and grapefruit. Often used as top notes, citrus adds energy and sparkle to a scent.
Like sunlight breaking through the clouds, fresh, sharp, and full of life.
Bergamot
A citrus note with a twist, less sharp than lemon, softer than lime. It’s bright, slightly floral, and often used in fresh or calming blends.
As if tea leaves met the breeze, gentle, golden, and quietly joyful.
Orange
Sweet and juicy, orange brings a burst of brightness to fruity or festive blends. It can be fresh and zingy, or soft and honeyed depending on the variety.
Like laughter in the kitchen, round, warm, and cheerful.
Lemon
Sharp, clean, and undeniably fresh. Lemon is a high-pitched citrus note often used to lift a blend or add a crisp, cleansing edge.
Zesty and eye-opening, like cool water on a summer morning.
Fig
Soft, creamy and green, fig blends the fruit itself with its leafy stem. It’s subtly sweet, milky, and often paired with woods or florals.
A quiet afternoon in a sun-warmed orchard, soothing, mellow, and just a little wild.
Blackberry
Juicy, tangy, and rich with a dark fruit twist. Blackberry brings a ripe sweetness with a hint of tartness, often adding depth to fruity or autumnal blends.
A bramble-stained memory, sweet at first, then softly tangled.
Pear
Fresh, light and crisp with a hint of sweetness. Pear adds a subtle, juicy lift to floral, fruity or clean scents without overpowering them.
Like the scent of skin after rain, clean, delicate, and quietly radiant.
Apple
Crisp, green, or sweet depending on the variety. Apple notes can be tart and refreshing, or warm and baked depending on their use.
From orchard breeze to apple crumble, familiar, versatile, and full of character.
Eucalyptus
Cool, sharp and invigorating. Eucalyptus has a camphorous, menthol-like scent often used in fresh, clean, or decongesting blends.
Like a breath of crisp morning air, awakening, bracing, and full of clarity.
Mint
Bright, green and cooling. Mint can be sweet and spearminty or sharp like peppermint, adding energy and lift to blends.
Like fresh leaves crushed between your fingers, vibrant, lively, and full of spark.
Basil
A sweet, peppery herb with green, slightly aniseed notes. Basil adds brightness and a touch of kitchen garden to fresher or citrus blends.
A sun-dappled herb garden, fragrant, grounded, and quietly confident.
Thyme
Earthy, herbal and slightly savoury. Thyme adds rustic depth to blends and balances sweetness with a subtle spiciness.
The scent of a hillside breeze, untamed, ancient, and wise.
Green Leaves
Crisp, watery and dewy. Green notes smell like crushed stems, snapped vines, or the freshness of a greenhouse after rain.
A morning walk through wild hedgerows, clean, vital, and full of promise.
Aloe Vera
Cool, fresh, and slightly watery. Aloe has a subtle green scent often used to add a spa-like or skin-care freshness to blends.
Like moisture on sun-warmed skin, soothing, light, and barely there.
Sandalwood
Smooth, creamy and soft with a subtle sweetness. Sandalwood is one of the most calming woody notes, often used to add elegance and warmth to a fragrance.
Like a whisper in a quiet room, steady, sacred, and gently soothing.
Cedarwood
Dry, clean, and pencil-shaving sharp. Cedarwood has a crisp woody scent that’s often used in fresh, masculine, or forest-inspired blends
A scent like still air among tall trees, cool, composed, and quietly powerful.
Oud
Resinous, smoky, and rich. Oud (agarwood) is deep and complex, often described as earthy, leathery, or incense-like. A luxurious and ancient scent note.
Dark and hypnotic, like an old book bound in velvet, smouldering at the edges.
Vetiver
Earthy, smoky, and slightly grassy. Derived from the root of a tropical plant, vetiver is grounding and complex, often used in unisex or deeper blends.
Like rain-damp soil beneath bare feet, wild, raw, and centring.
Pine
Fresh, green, and unmistakably crisp. Pine offers a foresty scent that’s both clean and outdoorsy, often found in winter or alpine-inspired blends.
A trail through evergreen trees, sharp, cool, and bracing.
Patchouli
Earthy, musky and slightly sweet with a vintage character. Often used in resinous or nostalgic blends, patchouli can be grounding or bold depending on its partners.
Like moss beneath candlelight, damp, deep, and full of memory.
Amber
Warm, sweet, and golden. Amber is a blend of resin, vanilla, and musk-like notes, used to create soft, comforting depth in a fragrance.
Like the last glow of sunlight through autumn leaves, rich, familiar, and quietly radiant.
Incense
Smoky, resinous, and spiritual. Often a blend of frankincense, myrrh, and other ancient resins, incense has a meditative, sacred quality.
The scent of stillness and shadow, ritualistic, whispering, and timeless.
Frankincense
Resinous, citrusy and slightly peppery. Frankincense feels sacred and warming, often paired with spices or woods in deeper blends.
Like smoke spiralling through cathedral light, reverent, resinous, and full of quiet strength.
Myrrh
Warm, earthy and subtly sweet. Myrrh is a grounded resin often used with incense, amber, or woods for added complexity.
A scent like aged parchment and candle wax, old soul, ancient warmth.
Smoke
Charred, dry, and evocative. Smoke notes can range from soft fireplace warmth to bold, leathery bonfire edges. Often used sparingly to add drama or mystery.
The after-scent of memory, lingering, ghostly, and impossible to ignore.
Resin
Sticky, rich, and warm. “Resin” can refer to several tree-derived notes (like benzoin, labdanum or opoponax), all of which bring a syrupy, smoky richness.
Like tree sap on a sunlit fingertip, deep, golden, and just a little wild.
Musk
Soft, skin-like and subtly sensual. Musk can smell clean, creamy, animalic or powdery, depending on the type used. It’s often used as a base to smooth and round out a fragrance.
Like the echo of scent on skin, warm, intimate, and quietly magnetic.
Iris
Delicate, powdery and slightly floral. Iris has a soft-focus quality that makes it a staple in powdery or vintage-inspired scents.
A scent like silk gloves in an old perfume case, elegant, refined, and touched by time.
Aldehydes
Crisp, airy and slightly soapy. Aldehydes give a scent that fizzy, sparkling lift, like clean linen or cold air.
The scent of a breeze through freshly washed fabric, airy, abstract, and endlessly clean.
Cotton
Light, fluffy and subtly sweet. Cotton notes mimic the feeling of softness and freshness, like a clean T-shirt or sun-dried sheets.
As gentle as a whisper on your skin, pure, breathable, and comforting.
Linen
Fresh, crisp and cool. Linen notes evoke the scent of just-washed fabric, blending mild floral, airy and cotton-like tones.
Like slipping between clean sheets after a long day, still, simple, and softly content.