A guide to fragrance types

A quick guide to the 7 types of fragrance from floral to fougere.

Although there are a bewildering number of fragrances, they all generally fall into one of seven categories. Some scents can fall into 2 or more categories, but here is a quick guide for anyone wanting to understand more about fragrance types.

Floral

Fragrances with floral notes such as rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, tuberose.

Fresh

Generally the citrus family of scents such as lemon, orange, bergamot, grapefruit and blood orange. Often considered clean, sunny and citrusy.

Amber

Often including spices like coriander, black pepper, cardamom and ingredients like sandalwood and vanilla. Inspired by Indian and Arabic scents.

Fougere

Also known as an ‘aromatic’, these scents often feature lavender, vetiver, oakmoss and other herby notes, and generally have a green, almost grassy smell. They’re traditionally considered more masculine but most niche fragrances are unisex.

Woody

Fairly self explanatory, but would cover the family of scents including cedarwood, sandalwood, oud, vetiver and patchouli

Chypre

These the hardest fragrance to pin down. They marry a woody, warm and dry smell with elements of the other fragrance families, they tend to be sophisticated, complicated blends and have tended to be more feminine and traditional.

Gourmand

These scents tend to be as the name would suggest, more edible in category, but usually this family is considered sweeter with notes of honey, caramel, chocolate, sweets, vanilla, tonka bean, sugar and toffee.