Like every art, perfumery has its own language. To organise thousands of fragrances, perfumers built a classification into 7 olfactory families: citrus, floral, fern, chypre, woody, amber and leather. These same groups are also called fragrance families or scent families, and they are the quickest way into the whole subject.
Knowing which olfactory family a perfume belongs to means understanding, in a single phrase, what it says on the skin, and guessing the ones you will like next. At Carrément Belle, we compose our fragrances with a perfumer from Grasse, and have done since 1988. Here are the 7 families, their notes, their materials, and the house perfumes that belong to each.
- What are the 7 olfactory families?
- Where does the classification of olfactory families come from?
- The 7 olfactory families in detail
- Olfactory family or facet: what is the difference?
- How to recognise a perfume's olfactory family?
- The olfactory family of every Carrément Belle perfume
- Your questions about olfactory families
What are the 7 olfactory families?
The 7 olfactory families are citrus, floral, fern, chypre, woody, amber (also called oriental) and leather. This reference classification was fixed in 1984 by the Société Française des Parfumeurs. It sorts each perfume by the accord that dominates it, not by a gender or a season, and it works the same way for the fragrance families used elsewhere.
Some people talk about the 7 olfactory families, others look for the 7 types of perfume: they are the same seven groups. An olfactory family does not describe a single smell, it describes an accord, meaning a way of assembling raw materials. So it does not sort the different types of perfume by their concentration, but by the material that dominates them. Placing the olfactory family of the perfumes you already love is the most reliable shortcut for finding the next ones. Here is the table of olfactory families we use in the workshop to place a composition.
| Olfactory family | Typical notes | Signature materials | At Carrément Belle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citrus | Zesty, tangy, sparkling, sunlit | Bergamot, lemon, orange, grapefruit, citron | alõ |
| Floral | Bouquet, powdery, honeyed, green | Rose, jasmine, tuberose, violet, lily of the valley | label rose, musc |
| Fern | Aromatic, lavender-like, dry, herbaceous | Lavender, coumarin, geranium, oakmoss, rosemary | alfred kafé, by its accord |
| Chypre | Undergrowth, damp moss, autumnal, ample | Oakmoss, cistus-labdanum, bergamot, patchouli | ïōdé |
| Woody | Warm, resinous, earthy, smoky | Sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, patchouli, oud | ippi patchouli, ippi patchouli clair |
| Amber or oriental | Suave, vanilla-like, spicy, balsamic | Cistus-labdanum, vanilla, tonka bean, cinnamon, incense | kilim, also, 555, goud, vanille |
| Leather | Dry, smoky, tarry, tobacco | Birch, styrax, cade, tobacco, burnt notes | No fragrance to date |
The materials listed in this table are detailed one by one in the blog's perfume glossary.
Where does the classification of olfactory families come from?
The classification of olfactory families appeared in the early 1900s, when synthetic chemistry suddenly widened the perfumer's palette. It was revised in 1945, then fixed in its current form in 1984 by the Société Française des Parfumeurs, which still publishes the reference the profession uses.
Perfumery is thousands of years old, but classifying smells is recent. It was in the 19th century that modern perfumery took shape, carried by synthetic chemistry. In a few decades, the number of available materials exploded. Creators composed accords no one had smelled before, and nobody quite knew how to file them all.
From the early 1900s, perfumers agreed on a first classification of perfumes. It evolved in 1945 to welcome two families that did not exist at the start: chypres and ferns. The version we use today dates from 1984, revised by the Société Française des Parfumeurs. More precise and closer to reality, it helps you form a quick idea of a composition's olfactory world.
It is also honest about its shifting borders: an olfactory family is a bearing, not a permanent label. As a sign of that evolution, the family long called oriental is now named amber in the official terminology. The two words point to the same accord, and usage keeps both.
The 7 olfactory families in detail
Each family has its founding material, its effect on the skin and its habits. Here are the seven identity cards, then the detail of each.
The zest of citrus fruit, cold pressed. Bright, tangy, immediate. It settles in the top notes and fades fast, which is where eaux de Cologne come from. Materials: bergamot, lemon, orange, citron.
The largest and oldest family. A single flower or a bouquet. Endlessly adjustable: green, fruity, powdery, musky. Materials: rose, jasmine, tuberose, violet.
An accord, not the smell of a plant. Lavender on top, a floral heart, a woody and vanilla base. Clean, crisp, a little dry. Materials: lavender, coumarin, geranium.
The contrast of a citrus opening and a mossy base. A sense of damp undergrowth, of the turning season. Materials: oakmoss, cistus-labdanum, bergamot.
Present in most perfumes today. Warm, dry or earthy depending on the wood. They hold the base of the composition. Materials: sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, patchouli.
The suave, spicy side of perfumery. Resins, vanilla, spices, balsamic notes. The most enveloping trail of the seven. Materials: cistus-labdanum, vanilla, tonka bean.
The rarest and most clear-cut. It chases the smell of tanned leather: smoke, tar, tobacco, burnt wood. Materials: birch, styrax, cade, tobacco.
Citrus, the family of the zest
Freshness, acidity and sunlit notes are the common ground of this olfactory family. Citrus notes are the essential oils obtained by expressing the zest of citrus fruit, the bergamot, the lemon, the orange, the grapefruit or the citron. This is the family that gave birth to the first eaux de Cologne, worn by men and women alike from the 16th century. These notes evaporate quickly: they open a perfume more than they carry it. To go further, we devote a whole article to the citrus perfume and another to the fresh perfume.
Floral, the largest of the olfactory families
This is the oldest and best stocked family in perfumery. It gathers the compositions whose main theme is a flower: rose, jasmine, violet, lilac, lily of the valley, narcissus, tuberose. A soliflore stages a single flower, a bouquet assembles several. Florals are very present in women's perfumery, but not only: so-called masculine fragrances also build beautiful floral accords, alongside spicy or aromatic ingredients. We detail its facets in our article on the floral perfume, and its softest variant in the one on the musk perfume.
Fern, a family that does not smell of ferns
This name is pure fantasy. Fern accords do not try to reproduce the smell of the plant: the name comes from a landmark perfume of 1882, and the label stuck. Ferns rest on a fairly codified accord, an aromatic, lavender-like top note lifted with thyme and rosemary, a floral heart where geranium settles, and a woody, vanilla base carried by oakmoss and coumarin. These accords have grown much lighter since. Long tied to men's perfumery, they read today as a clean, well groomed signature. Our article on the fern accord details how it is built.
Chypre, the family of the undergrowth
This olfactory family appeared late and yet holds a leading place. Its name comes from a perfume created in 1917, which borrowed the name of the island of Cyprus, and whose success ended up naming the whole category. A chypre is built mainly on an accord of oakmoss, cistus-labdanum and bergamot. Its scent is hard to describe: it evokes damp undergrowth, leaves on the ground, an autumn light. The accords were modernised with the arrival of patchouli. Among our fragrances, ïōdé is a floral chypre on a woody amber base. We come back to it in our articles on the chypre perfume and on the marine and salty perfume.
Woody, the most widespread family
Warm, resinous, smoky or damp notes: the woody family showcases fragrant woods like sandalwood and cedar, but also leaves and roots, with patchouli and vetiver. Woody notes concern a large majority of contemporary fragrances, because they hold the base of a composition. Long filed on the masculine side, they now win over every nose by pairing with floral or fruity facets. That is how our emblematic perfume ippi patchouli is built, created in 1988: an earthy, resinous core wrapped in sweet and musky nuances. Our guide to the woody perfume runs through all its nuances.
Amber, long called oriental
Known since Antiquity, amber perfumes, or oriental perfumes, make up a large share of the compositions on the market. More than a century ago this family rested on animal materials, first among them ambergris. Synthesis now recreates these notes faithfully, and ambers are enriched with suave, powdery, vanilla and spicy ingredients: cistus-labdanum, cinnamon, tonka bean, or precious woods like oud. It is the best represented family in our house: kilim, where patchouli reveals itself warm and spicy, also, our modern amber, 555 and its incense heart, and goud, where oud meets sandalwood. Read next: our guide to the oriental and amber perfume, the one on the amber perfume and the one on the vanilla perfume.
Leather, the rarest family
A little apart in perfumery, this family shelters perfumes with dry, smoky notes. These atypical fragrances try to reproduce the characteristic smell of leather, whose facets are tarry and burnt, with hints of tobacco. Leathers evoke burnt wood and keep a raw edge. Made popular in the 1920s by compositions inspired by Russian-tanned leathers, this family remains the least populated of the seven, and the one with the most room left in tomorrow's compositions. Our article on leather and perfume tells the story of this material.
Olfactory family or facet: what is the difference?
The family names a perfume's dominant accord, the facet names a secondary nuance. A perfume belongs to a single olfactory family, but it can carry several facets. Facets are countless and follow trends: marine, aldehydic, gourmand, powdery, spicy, fruity, musky, aromatic.
Each perfume is an assembly of several dozen, sometimes several hundred raw materials. The 7 olfactory families therefore break down into sub-families we call facets. A perfume can belong to the woody family while carrying fruity or spicy facets. It is this double level that makes the classification useful without making it rigid.
It is impossible to draw up an exhaustive list of the smells and facets of perfumes: they are born with the materials and with the fashions. A few markers all the same. The aldehydic facet is known by its metallic, orange-tinged notes. The marine facet evokes salty, iodine air. The gourmand facet borrows from sugar, caramel and coffee. And the powdery facet, very present in women's perfumery, softens an accord by veiling it.
This is why two people sometimes file the same perfume differently: one hears the family, the other hears the facet. Both are right.
How to recognise a perfume's olfactory family?
Smell the perfume on skin, not on paper, and give it time to settle. Top notes mislead: it is the base that reveals the olfactory family. Look for the material that stays when everything else has fallen quiet, then link it to the seven accords in the table above.
A perfume's olfactory family is not read in its opening note. An amber can open on citrus, a woody on a flower. What you should look for is the material that still holds long after, the one that structures the base of the olfactory pyramid. A simple method, in three steps: smell at the spray for the top, come back after twenty minutes for the heart, then at the end of the day for the base. Note what you recognise without hesitation. It is almost always the family.
Perceived intensity also helps you find your bearings. It depends on the formula and on your skin, but each family has its tendency.
Which olfactory family suits me?
The most reliable path is to start from what you already love. Line up three perfumes you have worn with pleasure, look for their fragrance family in the table above, and see what comes back. If all three are amber, you know where to look. If the three diverge, it is probably a facet you like, not a family. We have devoted a full guide to this question: how to choose your perfume.
The olfactory family of every Carrément Belle perfume
Our twelve eaux de parfum cover six of the seven olfactory families. The ambers are the most numerous, with kilim, also, 555, goud and vanille. The woodies rest on ippi patchouli, the chypres on ïōdé, the florals on label rose and musc. None of our fragrances is a leather.
Each fragrance comes as an eau de parfum, four of them as a perfume extract, and twelve as a home diffuser. We compose them with a perfumer from Grasse and fill them by hand in our workshop in Nîmes.
Citrus. Citrus fruit, ginger, sea spray, a vetiver base.
Floral. Rose damascena, bergamot, jasmine, a musky base.
Floral musk. Clean musks, juicy fruit and white flowers.
Aromatic, close to fern. Lavender, fresh herbs, roasted coffee.
Floral chypre. A breath of sea spray, a chypre heart, a woody base.
Woody. Earthy, sensual patchouli. The house signature, 1988.
Amber. Spicy patchouli, a powdery flower, amber woods.
Amber. Modern amber, citrus, coriander, geranium.
Amber. Pink pepper, an incense heart, a powdery, sensual base.
Amber gourmand. Vanilla absolute, almond and caramel.
Two fragrances complete the collection. ippi patchouli clair takes our woody and lights it up with mandarin, on a pralined trail: eau de parfum and home diffuser. goud files soft oud and sandalwood among the woody ambers: eau de parfum and home diffuser.
So a leather is missing from our collection, and we would rather say so than force a fit. It is also the rarest family in perfumery, across every house.
Your questions about olfactory families
How many olfactory families are there?
Seven, in the reference classification of the Société Française des Parfumeurs: citrus, floral, fern, chypre, woody, amber and leather. Some houses announce four, six or fourteen, grouping or splitting differently. The 7 olfactory families remain the common base of the profession in France.
What is the difference between an olfactory family and a facet?
The family names the dominant accord, the one that structures the base of the perfume. The facet names a secondary nuance, added on top. A perfume has only one olfactory family, but it can carry several facets: a woody with a fruity facet, an amber with a gourmand facet.
How do I know which olfactory family suits me?
Take three perfumes you have loved, look for their family in our table, and see what comes back. If all three belong to the same group, you have your family. If they diverge, it is a facet that draws you. Smelling on skin, never only on paper, remains the only reliable method.
Which olfactory family does patchouli belong to?
Patchouli is a woody material, obtained by distilling dried leaves rather than a wood. It also serves as a pillar of modern chypres and enters many ambers. One material can feed several families: it is the overall accord that decides, not the ingredient alone.
Which olfactory family does vanilla belong to?
Vanilla belongs to the amber family, once called oriental, alongside resins and spices. When it clearly dominates and pulls towards sugar, we speak of a gourmand facet. Our vanille eau de parfum is a good example: amber by construction, gourmand by character.
Olfactory families or the fragrance wheel: what is the difference?
Olfactory families are the French reference: seven accords, each sorted by the material that dominates. The fragrance wheel, more common in English, arranges similar groups, sometimes called fragrance families or scent families, around a circle to show which ones neighbour each other. The names line up: citrus, floral, fern or fougère, chypre, woody, amber and leather.
Are olfactory families masculine or feminine?
None is by nature. Commercial habits have tied florals to the feminine and ferns to the masculine, but nothing in the classification says so. Our twelve eaux de parfum are unisex: it is the skin that decides, not the aisle.
- The 7 olfactory families are citrus, floral, fern, chypre, woody, amber and leather.
- The current classification dates from 1984 and comes from the Société Française des Parfumeurs.
- The family is read in the base of the perfume, not in its opening note.
- One family, several facets: that is what lets two woodies not resemble each other.
- At Carrément Belle, six of the seven olfactory families are represented, the ambers in the lead.
The Discovery Set brings our eaux de parfum together in sample format, so you can take the time to find the olfactory family that suits you. Your first set is refunded as a voucher on your next order.
The Discovery Set
Excellent site thks
Thank you Jerry !