You have probably experienced this before: a perfume captivates you in a store, then smells completely different an hour later. This is not just your imagination. A perfume evolves on the skin in three stages, known as the top, heart, and base notes. Understanding them helps you choose better.
Why does a perfume evolve?
A perfume is a blend of many natural and synthetic ingredients. They do not all evaporate at the same speed. The lightest ones disappear quickly, while the heaviest ones last a long time. This difference creates the three stages of a perfume, often represented in the form of a pyramid.
Top notes: the first impression
These are the notes you smell immediately after spraying. Bright and light, they only last a few minutes, sometimes up to half an hour. They often include citrus fruits (bergamot, lemon, mandarin), aromatic herbs (mint, sage), and some light spices such as pink pepper.
Their role is to entice you. This is why you should never judge a perfume in the first few minutes.
Heart notes: the personality
Once the top notes have faded, the heart reveals itself. It gives the perfume its true character for several hours. It often includes flowers (rose, jasmine, orange blossom), warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom), or certain fruits.
Base notes: the signature
These are the heaviest and longest-lasting notes. They emerge gradually and remain on the skin—and even longer on clothing—well after the others. They often include woods (sandalwood, cedar, oud), resins (benzoin, incense, myrrh), amber, musk, or vanilla.
In oriental perfumes, the base plays a particularly important role: it is often what gives them their highly recognizable warmth.
A concrete example: Khamrah
Take Khamrah by Lattafa. At first, you smell cinnamon, nutmeg, and bergamot. Then the heart emerges, with dates, praline, and tuberose. Finally, the base settles in: vanilla, tonka bean, amber wood, myrrh, and benzoin. It is this warm, gourmand base that stays with you until evening.
How to properly test a perfume
- Test it on your skin, not just on a paper strip: perfume reacts to your body heat.
- Wait at least 15 to 20 minutes before forming an opinion.
- Smell it again a few hours later: the base notes are what you will wear for the longest time.
Choosing a perfume by its notes
If you like freshness, look for citrus and herbs in the top notes, as in Marwa or Pacific Aura. If you like flowers, look at the heart notes, as in Delilah or Ana Abiyedh Poudrée. And if you like warm, enveloping perfumes, focus on the base notes: vanilla, amber, woods, and resins, as in Liquid Brun or Eternal Vanille.
On each of our product pages, you will find the top, heart, and base notes of the perfume to help you choose.