Perfumer's Lab: Accords

The next time you catch a whiff of a fragrance -- your partner's perfume or cologne, your mother's favorite bath oil, or your preferred air freshener, close your eyes and take a deep breath. Try to pick out its parts and components. Not so easy is it?

Perhaps thinking about it in terms of music could help. Believe it or not, there are a great many similarities between the creation of fragrances and the composition of music. In fact, many of the same terms are used in both. A fragrance masterpiece is as complex, sensual, harmonizing and alluring as an opus, carefully comprised of notes and tones, as little or as many as it takes to capture its creator's vision. Like a chord in music, a fragrance contains a top note, mid or heart note, and base note. In future articles, we will explore these terms among other fragrance related topics, but these first set of articles will center around the term 'accord' and some common accords used in fragrances today. For a limited time, mention the term 'accord' in the coupon box during checkout and receive 5% off all fragrance oils along with any other discounts and reward points you qualify for. Offer expires Friday 8/28/09.

What is an accord? Similar to 'a chord' in music -- two or more keys, notes, or tones that when played together form a new sound -- an accord in fragrance is a harmonious blend of essences carefully combined to create an altogether new and different fragrance entity -- one that can stand on its own and one in which you cannot detect its individual components. This is no easy task, as it sometimes requires repeated modifications. A perfectly made accord is often used again and again as a base from which many other fragrances can stem. Thus many accords are also kept and used again in mixtures because of their unique characteristics and flexibility. Just one or two note additions in the top note and/or base note can change the accord altogether and yield a completely different stand-alone scent. Some common accords are the following:

1. Amber
2. Ambreine
3. Aquatic
4. Aromatic
5. Balsam
6. Chypre
7. Citrus
8. Cologne
9. Floral
10. Fresh
11. Fougere
12. Fruit
13. Gourmand
14. Green
15. Herbal
16. Mellis
17. Oriental
18. Spice
19. Wood

So, you too can make your own fragrance compositions. It is always fun to come up with your own very unique accords, those that only you can formulate exactly, those that you can use as a base to make countless unique fragrances. It isn't difficult, maybe a bit time consuming, but the rewards far outweigh any time invested. Also, many times, you stumble upon a magnificent fragrance or two on your way to perfecting your new accord. Save On Scents will be adding a category ACCORDS and list the fragrance components that can be used in making various accords. Keep an eye on our Twitter(tm) http://www.twitter.com/saveonscents page for sales on the hot fragrance accord of the week and SAVE!

Next up: THE CHYPRE ACCORD.

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