Real eucalyptus in the world is profoundly green with a deep floral spice. The oil enlivens us but must be dosed accordingly and rounded or else can make something smell like the spa.
Also called fougere, fern is a classic accord of oakmoss-hay-lavender absolute that smells liek more than the sum of it's parts. It is the de facto old man accord that can be modified endlessly.
Fig is crowd pleaser. It’s an accord made of molecules that smell of milky coconuts and tomato leaves respectively. Fig has become something of its own genre often blended with green notes, flowers, and wood.
Fig is crowd pleaser. It’s an accord made of molecules that smell of milky coconuts and tomato leaves respectively. Fig has become something of its own genre often blended with green notes, flowers, and wood.
Fir balsam recalls old forests. It is a dank ambery balsam that recalls the land of faeries, dryads, druids, Robinhood and the like. It is strong with maple sweet power that modifies chypres, fougere, and amber bases.
Frangipani
Also called Plumeria, a tropical flower that loves to be where good times are had. Soft woody green tones over white flowers. Called champa in India, not to be confused with champaca which is a magnolia species.
Galbanum
Green bitter gum resin of Iran. Strong visions of the inside of stems, leaves, grasses and all crushed flower parts. Literally biblical as well. Bewitchingly vegetal top note. Am I fresh? Am I off-putting? I am galbanum.
Gardenia
Another flower that doesn’t give up its oil (except via old fashioned enfleurage methods that we no longer use much). I use a gardenia base I built over the course of 2 weeks—copying a blooming plant I owned in 2017 (it died in 2019). It is creamy, tropical, & multi-faceted. It recalls tropics but also Fred Astaire’s elegant lapel.
Fresh, earthy, rose and lemon. Its green top notes help announce “plants!” among other green ideas—grass, garden, field, and fresh.
Ginger
Ginger oils are super strong and spicy. They provide wonderful tropical warmth to flowers, incense, ouds, etc. Some varieties have a revolting onion note that can be useful to wile out.
Ginger Lily
Ginger lily oil is a a spicy, balmy floral absolute with dark depth. It is humid, dirty and smells almost underground.
Grapefruit
Effervescent top note with wonderful floralcy. Screams pink or yellow and sustains freshness.
Grass
Grassy molecules provide the perfumer with realistic greens that can help speak of landscapes or boost flowers, chypres, and anything that wants to say “green”.
Grassy molecules provide the perfumer with realistic greens that can help speak of landscapes or boost flowers, chypres, and anything that wants to say “green”.
A fresh, bracing combination of coriander, cardamom, and green pepper that puts a pep in all steps taken after spraying Grey Blazer. Perfect when paired with bright citrus.
An accord of wild flowers found all over Ireland - yellow iris, sea pinks, thistle, and geranium. It provides a floral contrast to the woods, spices, and wool of Grey Blazer.
Dank sweetness with overtones of flowers & fields.
Honeysuckle
One of the most beautiful aromas on the planet. Honeysuckle is a complex accord to build - it contains shades of lemon, peach, jasmine, rose, coconut, and more.
Our generic term for burning perfumes “incense” comes for the common name for Olibanum: Frankincense (from various Boswellia plants in the family Burseraceae). Frankincense features heavily in ancient religion —Egyptian, Hebrew, Christian, Greek, and others. The bark of 10-year-old trees are cut, allowing the resin to bleed and form “tears.” These tears can be dissolved in a common solvent and used as base note (producing a balsamic orange amber note) or distilled for a complex citrus, smoky pine aroma in the top note section of a perfume.
Iso E Super
Everyone’s favorite aromachemical. Pour over anything to give radiance and presence. It softens, fills, and gives a “skin” effect. Warm and ambery like patchouli with all trace of its aromatic profile sucked out. Left with the ghost of otherworldly radiance. As it ages it can take on a useful coffee note.
The ultimate perfume material. Jasmine can blend and elevate anything it touches. Jasmine grandiflorum is pure class—green, sugar, overripe, beyond rich. Truly kaleidoscopic. Jasmine sambac is more vegetal, aquatic, and indolic.
Juniper berries provide antique wood notes, and a jammy shade of pine. They are fresh, bracing, and bring our minds out into the country, One of the oldest species around!
Ubiquitous clean flowery herb famous in soaps and perfumes. There are many varieties—some floral, others green and bitter like rosemary. Solvent extraction brings out a deep grassy hay and vegetal absolute.
Animalic and timeless. These days we use synthetic vegan reconstructions. Leather can be versatile as it ranges from clean butterscotch, to horses, to stinky animalics.
Animalic and timeless. These days we use synthetic vegan reconstructions. Leather can be versatile as it ranges from clean butterscotch, to horses, to stinky animalics.
Lily is a construct—the flower does not give its oil through extraction. When realistic, lily is a frosty complex flower that is spicy and animalic.
Lime
Lime oil provides zest and freshness with the added bonus of giving us a green top note. Limes get along with flowers, chypres, and earthy fragrances. Lime flowers smell of green orange blossom and are a nice accord in colognes.
Green, narcotic tree flower with a honeyed sweetness that blooms all over NYC. One of our perfumer David's favorite flowers - this is an accord made of a tree that lives on Jefferson Street in Bedstuy, Brooklyn!
The lotus flower climbs from ponds and lives just above the water. An absolute from its flowers keeps that DNA with it's dirty, Earthy rich floral heart. It is a very rare, mysterious note with a fineness that rivals tuberose absolute.
Magnolia doesn’t give up its oil for use in perfume and must be reconstructed. Magnolia is narcotic. In spring it displays a bouquet of husky white flower with lemon overtones. Smells very “mom” to me and like fancy skin cream.
Sweet perfumey citrus that is deeper than orange. Wonderful with flowers, ambers, patchouli, woods.
Mint
A powerful oil that can help boost many famous accords in perfume. Spearmint is especially useful in fern and colognes. Blends well with many oils in small doses.
Oakmoss, treemoss, and mossy synthetics are bold, green, and dry. Often used in chypre and fern perfumes but great in many other genres. Oakmoss absolute is especially good for armchair journeys to enchanted forests.
Musk is probably the most misunderstood concept. There are many musks—decedents of research into what made real deer musk smell so attractive. Think of musk as a white canvas on which to paint. They help fix, round, and elevate a perfume but stay in the background; more of a feeling than an aroma. Musks can be clean, dirty, creamy, fruity, fine, cheap, sweet, and many other silly adjectives to describe the indescribable.
Musk is probably the most misunderstood concept. There are many musks—decedents of research into what made real deer musk smell so attractive. Think of musk as a white canvas on which to paint. They help fix, round, and elevate a perfume but stay in the background; more of a feeling than an aroma. Musks can be clean, dirty, creamy, fruity, fine, cheap, sweet, and many other silly adjectives to describe the indescribable.
Dry red scent of the desert. Myrrh’s scent is medicinal (being one of nature’s great medicines) and camphorous with a soft Earthy floral (indole—mothballs) undertone. It’s been holy since holy was a thing.
Neroli
Distilled essence of orange blossoms, neroli is green, orange, and extremely dewy. One of the most expensive topnotes and an impoortant note in the OG cologne.