Fragrance Dictionary

Here at Votivo, we talk a lot about fragrance and candles. We recognize that we often use terms related to these things that not everyone may know, and that's why we developed this list of commonly used terms and their definitions. How many of these do you know?

 

 

Oud: sweet tobacco, incense, leather, smoky perfumery ingredient extracted from the wood of a decomposing Aquilaria tree (agarwood) $$$$

 

Absolute: highly concentrated perfume ingredient obtained via alcohol-extraction from plant material

 

Accord: a combination of two or more materials

 

Dry Down: base notes remaining after more volatile ingredients have dissipated

 

Gourmand: edible fragrance note (chocolate, milk, caramel, candy, nutty, baked)

 

Oriental: describes spicy or woody ingredients historically sourced from the Middle/Far East

 

Musk: soft, clean, animalic, long-lasting base note, popularized by laundry detergent

 

Note: the description of a scent

 

Top Note: normally lighter, fresher fragrance notes that the nose picks up first

 

Middle Note: full-bodied and complex, these notes are the heart of a fragrance. These are commonly light fruits or spicey herbs.

 

Base Notes: strong, bold fragrance notes that support the middle and top notes. 

 

Soliflore: description given to a fragrance capturing a singular flower

 

Nose: industry-speak for “perfumer”

 

Mushrooming: a term describing the mushroom-like shape a wick creates after burning for a time. The mushroom creates a larger flame than the candle was intended to support, and can pose a safety hazard. Therefore, it should be trimmed before the candle is lit. 

 

Tunneling: If a candle is not allowed to burn until the wax pool reaches the edge of its container, it will tunnel. Tunneling refers to the small tunnel created when a candle is burned in small increments and wax is left unused in a ring inside the glass.