Top, heart, and base notes are terms that may seem confusing at first glance, but really aren't all that complicated.
However, if you don't understand the difference, you might be as confused as a hermit hippy crawling out from under his rock and venturing back to society only to find that Canada has become a bit of a ghost town...
Well, okay. Maybe fragrance notes aren't that confusing.
Fragrance notes are simply the different ingredients that make up a fragrance. In other words, citrus notes come from, well... citrus ingredients.
So when you smell a note of mandarin...
You're just smelling the mandarin orange ingredients in the fragrance (or at least an artificial fabrication of the smell of mandarin orange).
The easiest way to conceptualize fragrance notes is by a fragrance pyramid, with each layer of notes lasting progressively longer.
So let's begin by breaking down the pyramid, layer by layer...
Top Notes
Top notes (sometimes referred to as opening notes) are the scents you smell immediately after spraying on cologne or perfume. Typically, these notes are the lightest and form your first impression of the scent, but only last between 5 - 20 minutes, depending on the scent itself and the concentration of the perfume.
Top notes tend to be citrus or floral notes. Orange, bergamot, juniper berries, and herbs, such as lavender and sage, are very common opening notes.
Heart Notes
Heart notes are sometimes referred to as middle notes, as they make up the middle (or the heart) of a fragrance. Heart notes also tend to last longer, anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour, since you know, they make up the "heart" of the cologne.
Some common heart notes include (but are not limited to): geranium, jasmine, cinnamon, and black pepper.
Base Notes
Not quite like that...
These are longest lasting notes of a cologne or perfume and form the foundation (base) of the perfume. Base notes tend to begin creeping in after the top notes and may last long as 5+ hours, depending on the cologne and how it reacts with your skin and other conditions.
Base notes tend to be rich scents, and are typically comprised of woods and musk. Common base notes include cedar and sandalwood (or any other type of wood), patchouli, amber, and musk.
The easiest way to identify any of the above layers of fragrance, is to note when they first appear. Any immediate scents you pick up after spraying are the top notes. Once those dissipate after 15 minutes, and you notice some jasmine and cinnamon for instance, those are the heart notes. And of course, the longest lasting notes are base notes.
Time for an example...
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue
This D&G cologne is a popular masculine scent. Experience citrus top notes of juniper, grapefruit peel, and Sicilian mandarin, followed by heart notes of rosemary and rosewood, and spicy Szechuan pepper. Oak moss, American muskwood, and incense form the base.
So, after all that, hopefully you see that fragrance notes aren't actually all that complicated.
If you want to check out some other colognes and their fragrance notes, you can check out our brands page where we have over 50+ brands and over 250+ scents.
And if you want to try out a bunch of different colognes, and even try to identify the different fragrance notes, you can check out a 1000 Scents™ Premium Cologne Subscription and get your hands on a variety of colognes without breaking the bank.
The next time someone sniffs the air like a perfume connoisseur and gives you the stink eye while he or she rattles off different notes in a typical pretentious fashion...
You can stick it to them.
Until then,
Smell great. Be great.
And have a nice day.