Fragrance 101
Everything you need to know before you buy, from how a scent is actually built to why two bottles of the same fragrance can smell a little different. No jargon, no gatekeeping, just the chemistry and craft explained plainly.
Deep dives
The science and craft behind every fragrance, explained one topic at a time
The Fragrance Pyramid
Why a scent changes on your skin over the course of a day, and the molecular weight and vapor pressure that drive it.
Read the pyramid guide →Science deep diveMaceration & the chemistry of resting
What's actually happening inside the bottle during those weeks of waiting, and why it changes how a fragrance smells.
Read the maceration guide →Notes, A to Z
A comprehensive table of fragrance notes, the chemicals behind each one, and what to expect from its longevity and sillage.
Browse the notes table →Accords, explained
Ten of the most common fragrance accords, what notes build them, and which famous releases lean on each one.
See ten accord examples →Fragrance families
Chypre, fougère, oriental, and more: the classification system perfumery used long before "accords" became common vocabulary.
Explore the families →Seasonal wear
What to wear in each season and why, grounded in how heat and humidity actually change a fragrance's evaporation.
Plan your rotation →Batch variations
Why a bottle from 2019 can smell different from one made this year, and how to tell if a formula has actually changed.
Understand batch variation →Full glossary
Every fragrance term you'll see across the site, from accord to vetiver, defined in one place.
Open the glossary →Understanding concentrations
The concentration of a fragrance, meaning how much perfume oil is mixed into the alcohol base, determines both strength and how long it lasts on skin. A higher concentration generally means stronger projection and longer wear, but not always. The quality of the formulation matters just as much as the percentage on the label.
Always check the concentration before comparing prices across stores. A “$7 per ml” EDT decant and a “$7 per ml” Parfum decant are not the same value.
Decants vs. full bottles
A decant is a small, hand-poured portion of a fragrance, typically 1ml to 10ml, sold by independent sellers who buy authentic full bottles and split them into samples. It’s the cheapest, lowest-commitment way to find out if a fragrance actually works on your skin before you buy a full bottle.
| Decant / Full bottle | |
|---|---|
| Typical size | 1–10ml decant · 30–100ml full bottle |
| Cost to try | $3–$15 decant · $60–$300+ full bottle |
| Best for | Testing skin chemistry · a confirmed signature scent |
| Shelf life | Use within 6–12 months · 2–5 years unopened |
We recommend decanting first on anything over $80. Fragrance reads differently on every person’s skin, and a $5 decant beats a $150 bottle of regret.