How to Describe the Scents You Like at a Perfume Counter

“Something nice, not too strong” is how most conversations at a perfume counter begin, and it gives the person helping you almost nothing to work with. They will hand you whatever is new, and you will smell six things that have little in common.

A perfumer’s training is not required to do better. About twenty words, used plainly, are enough, along with a couple of sentences that say what you like and what you do not. This guide gives you both: the terms, what each one means, and a line you could say out loud.

Start with families: the broad neighborhoods

Fragrance families are the industry’s long-standing way of grouping scents by their dominant character. Systems differ. The Perfume Society, which stresses that there is no universal agreement on the families, works with eight. Michael Edwards’ Fragrance Wheel, another well-known classification, arranges fourteen in a circle. The broad ones are enough.

Family names combine. Edwards’ wheel includes hybrids such as Floral Amber and Woody Amber: flowers warmed with spices and resins, or amber woven with potent wood notes. If you like one family, its hybrids and near relations are the logical place to explore next.

Then notes: the individual ingredients you can name

A note is a single recognizable element in a fragrance, such as lemon, rose or sandalwood. An accord is several notes blended into one impression.

Notes are usually described in three layers, and the layers tell you about timing:

• Top notes are what you smell first. They are light, often citrus or herbs, and fade quickly. “I love the opening of this, but what does it turn into?”
• Heart (or middle) notes develop after the first ten to fifteen minutes and are often floral. “The heart is a bit too sweet for me.”
• Base notes, such as sandalwood and musk, last longest and slow the evaporation of the rest. “Which of these has a woody base?”

The dry-down is the later stage, when the base is mostly what remains. It is the part you live with, so it is worth asking about: “I’d like to wear this for an hour and see the dry-down before I decide.” That is a normal request, and the reasoning behind it is in our guide to trying a fragrance before buying.

Words for character

These are less formal than family names, and they are not standardized. They are still the words people at a counter use every day, so they translate well.

• Fresh: clean, bright, cooling. “Fresh, but not sharp.”
• Green: leaves, cut grass, stems. “Green and a little bitter, like crushed leaves.”
• Powdery: soft, dry, cosmetic, like face powder or talc. “Nothing powdery, please. It reads as old-fashioned on me.”
• Musky: soft, skin-like warmth. “A clean musk. I want it to smell like skin, only better.”
• Spicy: pepper, cinnamon, clove, cardamom. “Spicy in a dry way, not a sweet one.”
• Sweet: sugary, fruity or vanilla-like. “I like a touch of sweetness in the base, but not at the start.”
• Smoky or resinous: incense, wood smoke, balsams. “Smoky is fine as long as it’s in the background.”
• Aquatic or watery: sea air, rain, melon-like freshness. “I don’t get on with very watery scents.”

Opposites help as much as likes. “Dry, not sweet” or “soft, not sharp” narrows the field faster than any single adjective.

Words for how it behaves

How a scent smells and how it performs are separate questions. Three terms cover the second:

• Longevity: how long it stays noticeable on you. “I’d like it to still be there at lunchtime.”
• Projection: how far it carries from your skin. “I work in an open office, so I’d like something that stays close.”
• Sillage (say “see-yazh”): the trail it leaves as you move. “I’d like a little trail, not a cloud.”

Concentration belongs here too. Eau de toilette and eau de parfum signal lighter and richer versions, although the figures behind the names vary by brand. Asking “Is the eau de toilette a lighter version of the same scent, or does it smell different?” is a good question, for reasons set out in eau de toilette and eau de parfum: reading beyond the name.

“Dry, not sweet” tells a sales assistant more than “something nice” ever will.

Putting it together: a brief in three sentences

Before you go, write a short brief on your phone. It needs three parts.

1. What you like, with one reference if you have it. A fragrance you have worn, or just a smell you love: fig trees, clean laundry, black tea, a cedar wardrobe.
2. What you want to avoid. One or two things at most.
3. Where you will wear it. Setting and season do a lot of sorting for you.

Put together, that sounds like:

• “I like fresh, green scents and I already wear something citrusy. I’d like one with more warmth for the evening, but nothing very sweet.”
• “I love the smell of sandalwood and clean laundry. I’d like something soft that stays close, for the office.”
• “I usually go for florals. Could I try two or three that are in the same family but less powdery than the one I have?”

Then add the practical request: “Could I try them on paper first, and take a sample of one or two?”

When you cannot find the word

Comparison is always allowed. “It smells like the inside of a florist’s” or “like a wool sweater” is a perfectly good description, and often clearer than a technical term used loosely. The vocabulary is a shortcut, not a test, and the families are only a guide.

Once you can name the two or three territories you keep coming back to, choosing gets quicker, and so does building a small fragrance wardrobe around your preferences.