What Is a Fragrance Family?

Do they take an annual photo for a holiday card? Are there family reunions filled with drama? Unfortunately, no—it’s not that exciting. Fragrance families, also known as olfactive families, are simply a way to classify perfumes based on their dominant scent characteristics.

You’d think categorizing perfumes would be straightforward, but surprisingly, there’s no single industry standard. Some sources list fewer fragrance families, while others get more specific. The most widely accepted reference comes from the Society of French Perfumers, so that’s the one we’ll use today as our starting point.

The 7 Fragrance Families (According to the Society of French Perfumers)

1. Citrus Fragrances

Citrus fragrances are fresh, bright, and often associated with classic Eau de Cologne or light body splashes. They can take on different characteristics—spicy, woody, aromatic, or floral—but the dominant impression remains crisp and zesty.

Natural citrus notes, like bergamot, lemon, and orange, tend to be fleeting. While there are ways to extend them using natural fixatives, all-natural citrus perfumes won’t last as long as mixed-media versions that include synthetic aroma molecules.

2. Floral Fragrances

Floral perfumes range from floral bouquets (where multiple floral notes blend together) to soliflores (single-flower-focused fragrances). They can also take on different facets, such as:

• Aldehydic Floral (e.g., Chanel No. 5 style)
• Woody Floral
• Green Floral
• Fruity Floral
• Solar Floral
• Amber Floral

Natural floral extracts smell quite different from a flower’s scent in nature. Mixed-media perfumers often aim to recreate a flower’s headspace aroma, while natural perfumers work with the deeper, richer character of floral absolutes, CO2 extracts, and essential oils.

3. Fougère Fragrances

Fougère (meaning “fern” in French) is based on an imagined scent of ferns. The classic barbershop fragrance is a prime example, built on:

• Lavender (herbal freshness)
• Coumarin (powdery sweetness from tonka bean or hay)
• Oakmoss (earthy depth)
• Bergamot (citrusy top notes)
• Aromatic notes like geranium, rosemary, or thyme

Modern Fougères can be fresh, spicy, green, or marine, depending on the supporting notes.

4. Chypre Fragrances

Named after the island of Cyprus, Chypre fragrances are built on an interplay of bergamot and oakmoss, often with labdanum and patchouli rounding out the composition. This structure allows for many variations, including:

• Fruity Chypres
• Leathery Chypres
• Green Chypres
• Aromatic Chypres
• Floral Chypres

Due to potential skin sensitivities, modern Chypres sometimes use coniferous notes in place of high doses of oakmoss.

5. Woody Fragrances

The Woody family includes subcategories like:

• Citrus Woods
• Spicy Woods
• Ambery Woods
• Aromatic Woods
• Leathery Woods
• Fruity Woods

Oud-based fragrances fall under this family, as do compositions using sandalwood, cedarwood, guaiacwood, hinoki, cypress, pine, patchouli, vetiver, and balsams. In mixed-media perfumery, Iso E Super and Iso G Super are commonly used for a modern, sheer woodiness.

6. Amber Fragrances (Formerly Called Oriental)

Amber perfumes, once commonly called Oriental, have largely shifted terminology in the perfume industry. These compositions combine labdanum and vanilla, evoking the warmth of ambergris and the imagined scent of the gemstone amber (which, spoiler alert: doesn’t smell like amber perfumes!).

Variations include:

• Gourmand Ambers (sweet, dessert-like)
• Citrusy Ambers
• Spicy Ambers
• Leathery Ambers
• Woody Ambers
• Floral Ambers (sometimes called Florientals, though this term is also fading in use)

7. Leather Fragrances

Leather fragrances can be:

• Woody Leathers
• Floral Leathers
• Ambery Leathers
• Tobacco Leathers

They may also incorporate elements of Oud, Fougère, or Chypre structures. Many classic leather scents rely on birch tar, styrax, or castoreum (historically natural but now mostly synthetic in modern perfumery).

Are Fragrance Families Set in Stone?

Not at all! Fragrance families are guidelines, not strict categories. Also, a perfume can fit into multiple families at once.

For example, my Thorny Issue fragrance:

• It’s a rose fragrance, so it could be classified as a Floral.
• It contains labdanum and vanilla, making it a Floral Amber.
• It includes spices, so it could be a Spicy Floral Amber.
• With multiple floral notes, it could be a Floral Bouquet.
• With vetiver, patchouli, and sandalwood, it could be a Woody Floral.
• The leathery nuances could classify it as a Leathery Floral.
• With prominent green notes, it could be a Green Floral.

Ultimately, I classify it as a Modern Rose Chypre because that best captures my intent—rose with a citrusy top, green nuances, and a structured woody-ambery base. But if you smell it and think it belongs in a different family, that’s perfectly fine!

Why Learn About Fragrance Families?

Understanding fragrance families helps:

• Perfume lovers describe what they enjoy and explore new scents.
• Aspiring perfumers decide which styles to experiment with next.
• Fragrance professionals classify scents more easily for marketing and education.

In a future blog post, we’ll dive deeper into how natural perfumes fit into these families and which styles are more challenging to create using only naturals.

Have Questions?

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