Perfume Notes & Scent Families

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A Stuga Reference Guide

Perfume Notes & Scent Families

How perfume is built, what each family smells like, and how to find yours.

The 30-second version

A perfume is built in three phases. Top notes are the first 5–15 minutes (citrus, herbs, light spice). Heart notes are the personality, lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours (florals, fruits, softer spice). Base notes are what stays for 4–12 hours (woods, resins, musk, vanilla, oakmoss). Perfumes are grouped into nine main families: woody, floral, oriental/amber, chypre, fougère, citrus, gourmand, fresh/aquatic, and green. Stuga makes 18 perfumes spanning most of these families, blended by hand in the Southern Highlands of NSW at full 20–25% EDP concentration.

Section One

How a perfume is built

Every perfume unfolds in three stages on your skin. This is the note pyramid — top, heart, base.

Top Notes

5–15 minutes

Bergamot, lemon, grapefruit, basil, pink pepper

Heart Notes

30 minutes – 2 hours

Rose, jasmine, peony, fig, cinnamon, saffron

Base Notes

4–12 hours

Sandalwood, cedar, vetiver, oakmoss, amber, vanilla, musk, oudh

The three layers don't play in turn — they blend and evolve. What you smell at minute one is mostly tops with a hint of what's coming. By hour three, the tops are gone and the base has settled into your skin's warmth. Perfume is a sequence, not a single smell.

"A perfume is a sequence, not a single smell. Test it at the eight-hour mark, not the eight-second one."

Section Two

The nine main scent families

Every perfume belongs to one or more families. Knowing yours cuts the search radius from thousands to dozens.

Family 01

Woody

Smells like a forest floor after rain — earthy, dry, grounded.

Built around dry, resinous wood notes with weight and longevity. Often masculine-coded but increasingly worn unisex. Sandalwood adds creaminess, cedar adds dryness, oudh adds depth and animal warmth.

Hallmark ingredients

  • Sandalwood
  • Cedar
  • Vetiver
  • Oudh
  • Patchouli

When it suits: evening, autumn, winter, professional settings, anyone who wants presence without sweetness.

Stuga matches: Obsidian → (oudh, amber, patchouli, cedar — dark evening), Phantom → (lime, black pepper, sandalwood — clean everyday), Valhalla → (bergamot, cedar, amber — polished classic).

Family 02

Floral

Smells like a garden in bloom — soft, romantic, recognisable.

The largest family in perfumery. Single-flower (soliflore) or bouquet. Rose and jasmine are the two pillars — almost every floral perfume contains one or both. Modern florals often pair with fruit or musk to feel less heavy.

Hallmark ingredients

  • Rose
  • Jasmine
  • Peony
  • Orange blossom
  • Ylang-ylang
  • Tuberose

When it suits: spring, summer, daytime, anyone who wants something instantly readable as feminine — though many florals work unisex.

Stuga matches: Desire → (rose, jasmine, vanilla), Dream → (French rose, citrus, orange blossom), Whisper → (peony, jasmine, citrus), Royalty → (saffron, jasmine, amber — powdery floral).

Family 03

Oriental / Amber

Smells like warm spice, resin, and skin — sweet, dense, exotic.

Rich and warm, built on a base of amber, vanilla, and balsamic resins, often layered with spice. The industry has largely moved to the term "amber" — same family. These project well and last long.

Hallmark ingredients

  • Amber
  • Vanilla
  • Benzoin & labdanum
  • Cinnamon & clove
  • Saffron

When it suits: evening, cold weather, occasions, anyone who wants warmth and presence.

Stuga matches: Ember → (cinnamon, vanilla, sandalwood), Nomad → (cloves, vanilla, cinnamon), Bliss → (saffron, amber, sandalwood).

Family 04

Chypre

Smells like a damp forest with a citrus opening — dry, sophisticated, classic.

A defined structure rather than a list of ingredients: bergamot at the top, floral at the heart, oakmoss and labdanum at the base. Coined by Coty in 1917; codified by Guerlain's Mitsouko (1919), still the textbook reference. Chypres feel grown-up — there's no sweetness to hide behind.

Hallmark ingredients

  • Bergamot (top)
  • Rose or jasmine (heart)
  • Oakmoss (base)
  • Labdanum
  • Patchouli

When it suits: autumn, work, anyone over the sweet stuff.

Stuga matches: we don't currently make a textbook chypre. Eclipse → (pineapple, birch, oakmoss) and Royalty → have chypre-adjacent structures with mossy, resinous bases.

Family 05

Fougère

Smells like a clean barbershop — herbal, fresh, mossy.

French for "fern" — though no fern is actually used. A defined accord: lavender, coumarin (hay-like sweetness), oakmoss, and geranium. The backbone of classic men's perfumery — Drakkar Noir, Cool Water, Azzaro Pour Homme are all fougères.

Hallmark ingredients

  • Lavender
  • Coumarin / tonka bean
  • Oakmoss
  • Geranium
  • Bergamot

When it suits: daytime, work, anyone who wants something traditionally masculine without going into heavy oudh territory.

Stuga matches: we don't currently make a textbook fougère. The closest aromatic-woody adjacencies are Phantom → and Valhalla →.

Family 06

Citrus

Smells like fresh peel under your thumbnail — bright, sharp, alive.

The freshest family. The catch: citrus oils are volatile and disappear fast unless anchored in a heavier base. A well-built citrus uses amber, musk, or wood underneath so the brightness has somewhere to settle.

Hallmark ingredients

  • Bergamot
  • Lemon
  • Grapefruit
  • Mandarin
  • Neroli

When it suits: hot weather, mornings, anyone who wants energy without weight.

Stuga matches: Solstice → (bergamot, grapefruit, amber — citrus that lasts because it's anchored). Azure → opens citrus too before going aquatic.

Family 07

Gourmand

Smells like a dessert tray — sweet, edible, comforting.

The youngest family — properly born with Thierry Mugler's Angel in 1992. Built on edible accords: vanilla, caramel, chocolate, fruit, almond, tonka. Done well, gourmands are sophisticated. Done poorly, they smell like a body spray aisle.

Hallmark ingredients

  • Vanilla
  • Tonka bean
  • Caramel / praline
  • Fruits (pear, apple, passionfruit)
  • Chocolate

When it suits: cool weather, evening, anyone who wants warmth and easy compliments.

Stuga matches: Enigma → (passionfruit, vanilla, tonka bean — our bestseller), Intrigue → (apple, melon, tonka bean — daytime crowd-pleaser).

Family 08

Fresh / Aquatic

Smells like sea air and clean linen — light, airy, transparent.

A modern family built on calone (a synthetic with a sea-breeze quality) plus melon, cucumber, watery florals, and white tea. Cool Water (1988) was the first commercial aquatic. They feel weightless and read clean.

Hallmark ingredients

  • Calone (marine)
  • Melon & cucumber
  • White tea
  • Neroli
  • Light musks

When it suits: Australian summer, gym, office, anyone who finds heavier perfumes overwhelming.

Stuga matches: Azure → (mandarin, white tea, neroli), Sakura → (matcha, white tea, jasmine, citrus).

Family 09

Green

Smells like crushed leaves and cut stems — cool, vegetal, outdoorsy.

The least popular and most underrated family. Built on galbanum (sharp resin), fig leaf, vetiver, and herbs. Greens feel like the natural world — gardens, hedgerows, coastlines — rather than the boudoir.

Hallmark ingredients

  • Galbanum
  • Fig leaf
  • Vetiver
  • Oakmoss
  • Herbs (basil, mint, sage)

When it suits: spring, daytime, outdoors, anyone tired of the usual options.

Stuga matches: Horizon → (wild fig, sea salt, vetiver — coastal green).

Section Three

How to find your scent family

Not a quiz. Five questions, each a trade-off. Answer them honestly and you'll narrow sixteen options to two or three.

1. Do you want to be noticed, or comforted?

Noticed means projection — a perfume people can smell from a metre away. That's woody, oriental, big florals. Comforted means intimacy — close to skin, only your own circle catches it. That's aquatic, soft floral, light citrus. Neither is better. Bedroom vs boardroom.

2. Sweet or dry?

Sweet pulls you toward gourmand and oriental — vanilla, caramel, amber, fruit. Dry pulls you toward woody, chypre, and fougère — moss, cedar, oakmoss, herbs. If you find yourself reaching for sugar in coffee, you're probably a sweet-skin person.

3. Warm or cool?

Warm scents wrap around you — amber, spice, wood, vanilla. Cool scents sit lighter — citrus, aquatic, green, white florals. Warm rewards cold weather; cool survives Australian summer.

4. Day or night?

Daytime perfumes are usually lighter and easier on neighbours — citrus, aquatic, soft floral. Night perfumes can carry weight — oriental, woody, oudh. Most people own one of each rather than trying to find a single answer.

5. Familiar or unusual?

Familiar means classic florals, citrus, vanilla — easy compliments, easy starting point. Unusual means chypre, oudh, smoky leathers, unexpected pairings (Eclipse pairs pineapple with birch tar — that's not for everyone, and that's the point). Unusual makes for signature scents.

Once you have a family, narrow inside it. The Stuga 10ml Traveller ($30, in any of our 16 scents) is built for this — small enough to commit, full strength to evaluate honestly.

Section Four

Concentration: EDC, EDT, EDP, Parfum

Same fragrance, different strength. The label tells you how much actual perfume oil is dissolved in alcohol.

EDC

Eau de Cologne

2–5% oil

Splash-on freshness. 1–2 hours.

EDT

Eau de Toilette

5–15% oil

Daily wear. 3–5 hours.

EDP

Eau de Parfum

15–20% oil

Most modern perfumes. 6–8 hours.

Parfum

Extrait

20–30% oil

Strongest. 8–12+ hours.

The trick the industry doesn't advertise: many perfumes labelled EDP actually sit at 12–15% oil. They project for 90 minutes and disappear. The "EDP" label has become marketing as often as measurement.

Stuga's EDP is blended at 20–25%. It behaves like an EDP should — six to nine hours of real wear, with the base still readable at the end of the day.

The 10ml Traveller is the trial format — same concentration as the full bottle, small enough to live with for two weeks before committing to a 50ml.

Section Five

How to test perfume properly

Most people decide in the first thirty seconds. That's the worst possible time.

  1. 01

    Spray, walk away, come back. Check at 30 minutes, 2 hours, 4 hours, 8 hours. The perfume you smell at minute one is not the perfume you'll wear.

  2. 02

    Test on skin, not paper. Paper strips show top notes only. Your skin chemistry — pH, oil, temperature — changes how the heart and base develop.

  3. 03

    One scent at a time. Your nose fatigues fast. After three sprays you're guessing. Coffee beans don't reset it — fresh air does.

  4. 04

    Don't trust the first 5 minutes. The alcohol is still evaporating. The perfume hasn't actually started yet.

  5. 05

    Climate matters. Australian heat amplifies projection — what's pleasant in winter can read loud in February. Cooler weather rewards deeper bases. Test in the season you'll wear it.

Section Six

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between top, middle, and base notes?

Top notes are what you smell first — citrus, herbs, light spices — and they fade in 5–15 minutes. Heart (middle) notes are the personality of the perfume — florals, fruits, softer spices — and they last 30 minutes to 2 hours. Base notes are the lasting trace — woods, resins, musk, vanilla, oakmoss — and they hold for 4–12 hours. The three layers blend and evolve on skin rather than playing in sequence.

What's the difference between EDC, EDT, EDP, and parfum?

It's the percentage of perfume oil dissolved in alcohol. EDC (Eau de Cologne) is 2–5% and lasts 1–2 hours. EDT (Eau de Toilette) is 5–15% and lasts 3–5 hours. EDP (Eau de Parfum) is 15–20% and lasts 6–8 hours. Parfum or Extrait is 20–30% and lasts 8–12+ hours. Note that many "EDPs" on the market sit at 12–15%; Stuga's EDP is blended at 20–25%, which is why a single morning spray reads through to evening.

Why does the same perfume smell different on me than on someone else?

Skin chemistry. Your skin's pH, oil production, body temperature, hydration, and even diet change how a perfume develops. Warmer or oilier skin amplifies base notes; drier skin makes top notes feel sharper and shortens longevity. This is why testing on a friend's wrist tells you almost nothing about how a perfume will smell on you.

How do I find my scent family?

Answer five questions: noticed or comforted, sweet or dry, warm or cool, day or night, familiar or unusual. Each answer points you toward two or three of the nine families (woody, floral, oriental, chypre, fougère, citrus, gourmand, fresh/aquatic, green). Then test inside that family — a 10ml Traveller is the cheapest way to do that without committing to a full bottle.

What's a chypre?

A chypre (pronounced "sheep-ruh") is a perfume structure rather than a list of ingredients: bergamot at the top, a floral heart (usually rose or jasmine), and a base of oakmoss and labdanum. The family was named after Coty's Chypre in 1917 and codified by Guerlain's Mitsouko in 1919, which remains the textbook reference. Chypres feel dry, sophisticated, and grown-up — there's no sweetness softening the edges.

What's a fougère?

A fougère (French for "fern", though no fern is used) is the backbone of classic men's perfumery. The accord is lavender, coumarin (hay-like sweetness from tonka bean), oakmoss, and geranium. Drakkar Noir, Cool Water, and Azzaro Pour Homme are all fougères. The result smells clean, herbal, slightly powdery — what most people picture as a traditional barbershop scent.

What perfumes work best in the Australian climate?

Heat amplifies projection, so heavy ouds and dense orientals can read loud in summer. Citrus, fresh/aquatic, and lighter florals carry better in 30+ degree weather — Stuga's Solstice, Azure, Sakura, and Whisper are built for this. Save the deeper bases (Obsidian, Ember, Bliss, Nomad) for cooler months when the warmth has somewhere to settle. Apply to pulse points after dressing rather than before — heat from skin opens the perfume up faster than you might expect.

Try before you commit

The 10ml Traveller

$30. Full-strength 20–25% EDP. Available in any of our 18 scents. Blended by hand in the Southern Highlands of NSW, in small batches, from raw materials we source ourselves.

Browse the perfumes →

Buying as a gift? The Stuga gift guide has plain-English picks by recipient — him who has everything, her who likes vanilla, romantic/anniversary, and so on.