Know your Fragrance Families

There are infinite scent notes and hundreds and thousands of scent combinations; in order to classify them into groups, we have what is called the fragrance families. A fragrance expert named Michael Edwards came up with the classification and invented the fragrance wheel.

THE FOUR MAIN FAMILIES 

Floral: The floral family is one of the most common families. Thanks to what our nature provides, there are a large number of different flowers that inspire us to create different scents. It can be a single flower note or a blended floral note.
Subfamilies: Fruity, Floral, Soft floral, Floral oriental
Examples: Rose, Orange blossom, Jasmine
Try: Accidental Crush and Hush Hush

Oriental (Amber): When you think of oriental scents, it’ll be something rich with spices and herbs. It is quite exotic, often described using words like “warm” and “sensual.” Interestingly some of the gourmand fragrances, such as cinnamon and vanilla can also fall under this category.
Subfamilies: Soft oriental, Oriental, Woody oriental
Examples: Vanilla, Myrrh, Musk
Try: 6AM Ritual and Blank Verse

Woody: Fragrances in this family are rooted in nature that have an opulent earthy characteristic. It is usually mixed with sandalwood and patchouli to create a warm woody scent, or mixed with cedar or vetiver to create a dry woody scent.
Subfamilies: Woods, Mossy woods, Dry woods
Examples: Sandalwood, Vetiver, Patchouli
Try: Sand Dunes

Fresh: This family covers a wide variety of subfamily notes; anything that speaks clean and bright can fall under this category. Many of the men’s cologne can be found with fresh family notes.
Subfamilies: Aromatic, Citrus, Green, Marine
Example: Bergamot, Sage, White flowers
Try: Forest Parade