How to choose perfume? Polymorphism and polyphony
Today we are talking about the secrets of the” structure ” of the smell, or-about the right way to distinguish high-quality perfumes.
Only cheap” consumer ” perfumes consist of one or two “odorous” components. If the toilet “deodorant” consists of a single odorous substance, then the smell of it will not actually change after use, but will be equally irritating to your nose until it wears off.
Serious perfume products-so-called “compositions”, consist of many, often many dozens of components, besides, as a rule, natural. One of the differences between natural aromatics and synthetics is the variability of smell. The synthetic flavor will either not change at all after use, or the change in smell will be minimal and imperceptible.
Natural aromatics are another matter. They are, first, to quickly evaporate. Without the use of special additives, natural smelling substances will be felt for half an hour or an hour, rarely for a couple of hours. Second, they change very quickly in the air by themselves (oxidize), and the smell also changes. Further, natural components tend to react with each other. An example of this interaction is wine, which is better the longer it stands — but all because of the slow, hidden interaction of the components.
The rule “the older the better” usually does not apply to perfumes, but even here — a mixture of many natural smelling substances reacts slowly in a closed bottle, and after printing, the reaction speed increases tenfold due to the oxygen in the air.
Finally, the nature of the reactions that occur in the perfume will be determined by the characteristics of your skin secret.
It is easy to see how complex transformations are subjected to perfume – perfume, Cologne, and the like, after use, especially if this tool contains natural components.
Another secret of high-quality perfumes is the” step-like ” smell. Natural components after application begin to react with each other — and volatilize (they reacted earlier, in the bottle, but everything happens faster because of the access of oxygen). This complex transformation leads to the fact that the same perfume will smell differently at different times.
Many perfumers distinguish three stages of the existence of the smell, or, as they say — three notes. The first note is a few minutes long — the time limits are very conditional, it all depends on the components, their combinations, the room temperature, body temperature or other surface on which the perfume was applied, and so on. We can assume that the first note, otherwise called the “head”, lasts up to a quarter of an hour. During this time, the most unstable components are evaporated and the main, fastest transformations of the smell occur due to the interaction of the components.
The second note of the smell, otherwise called “heart”, will last for several hours. Here, too,we can not clearly determine the time, let’s assume — a couple of hours. During the” heart ” note, the perfume reflects the main idea of the master perfumer, this is the “signature” smell of this brand of perfume or Cologne. During the time of the second note, the components of medium resistance evaporate and the main number of smell metamorphoses is completed.
Finally, the third note is also called “plume” or simply “plume”, and sometimes “base” or “main”. During this note, you will feel the most persistent components of the perfume product — and the results of the latest, slowest reactions of interaction between the components. The third note will sound-depending on the composition of perfumes and other conditions — up to half a day, or even up to a day, rarely longer. The duration of the third note depends on whether — and how much — special low-volatile components designed specifically to prolong the smell, such as musk or ambergris, have been added. These components are very expensive and in” consumer ” perfumes are replaced with synthetic analogues-with correspondingly disastrous results.
