How to Read an Olfactory Pyramid

A fragrance is usually described as a pyramid with three layers, and reading it helps you understand what you are wearing. The top notes are what you meet first, bright and immediate, fading within minutes. They are the opening, not the whole story.

Next comes the heart, the character of the fragrance that settles in once the top has lifted. This is where a composition shows its true personality, and where it lives for much of the day.

Finally there is the base, the foundation that lingers longest and anchors everything above it. When we say a scent should stay in memory long after it fades, the base is often what does the remembering. Give a fragrance time on your skin before you judge it, because the pyramid reveals itself slowly.