To deliver quality, well composed scents, Journey Fragrances use the family classifications of fragrances as used by the very best perfumers to define our range of Signature and Destination Fragrances.

We also ensure our fragrances offer a variety of elements that are well balanced and deliver the complete olfactory experience with Top, Middle and Base notes.

To assist in understanding fragrance families and notes, we’ve provided the below information.

Families

Each of our fragrances fall into one of two families: Traditionals or Moderns.

Emerging around 1900, Traditional categories include:

Florals: Featuring single and multiple flower scents, the Floral category includes, white floral, spicy floral and sweet floral. Like Florals? Why not consider our floral fragrance Giverny. 

Orientals: A large fragrance family featuring the scents of vanilla and amber together with flowers and woods. Often enhanced by camphorous oils and incense resins. Like Orientals? Why not consider our oriental fragrances Petra and Muscat.

Fougère: Meaning fern in French (pronounced ‘fooj-air’) is built on a base of lavender, and is characterized by its sharp herbaceous and woody scent. Like fougères? Why not consider our fougère fragrances Nazareth and Capri. 

Chypre: Meaning cyprus in French, (pronounced ‘sheep-ra’) includes fragrancef built on a warm, mossy and woody elements with opposing fresh citrus top notes. Like chypres? Why not consider our chypre fragrances Luxor and Saigon.

Fruity: An old fragrance family that until recently consisted mainly of “freshening” eau de colognes. Now includes sweet to tangy citrus notes, berries and tropical fruit notes. Fresh and uplifting, and universally loved by all. Like fruity fragrances? Why not consider our fruity fragrances Boracay, Sapporo, Sao Paulo and Havana.

Herbaceous: With earthy and herbal notes, herbaceous fragrances are green, mossy and crisp. Classic herbal scents include mint, rosemary, lavender, coriander and basil. Like herbals? Why not consider our herbal fragrance La Rochelle. 

Gourmand: Scents with ‘edible’ or ‘dessert-like’ qualities. Gourmands often contain notes like vanilla and tonka bean and are sweet, rich, liked by most. Like foodies? Why not consider our gourmand fragrance Agra . 

Notes on notes

Top notes: Also known as ‘head notes’, top notes are the scents that are perceived immediately when experiencing the fragrance. It’s important to allow a fragrance to linger for a while, allowing the top notes to dissipate and the middle and base notes to reveal themselves.

Middle notes: Also known as ‘heart notes’, this is the scent that arrives just prior to the top notes evaporating. The middle notes are the body, support (the heart) of the fragrance but work with the base notes to set the theme of the fragrance.

Base notes: Base notes building blocks of the entire fragrance. Typically rich and ‘deep’, that are usually not perceived until 30 minutes after experiencing the fragrance.
It’s interesting to note however that unlike traditional perfumes, scented candles reveal the top, middle and base notes simultaneously due the heat from the flame allowing the true scent sensation to be experienced immediately.