Scent Families

Welcome to the world of fragrance! When it comes to scents, there's a wide variety of fragrance families to explore, but the four main categories are floral, fresh, woody, and oriental. Each of these four scent families can be further subdivided to encompass a range of unique scent characteristics within each major family. For example, you might come across subcategories like festive, bakery, smoky, green, spiced, water, aromatics, and fruity when exploring these fragrance families. With so many options to choose from, you're sure to find a scent that speaks to your personal style and preferences!

Scent Families

The Four Main Scent Families

Floral

Floral fragrances continue to reign supreme as the most popular fragrance family in the world of perfumery. Within such a vast global floral collection to pull from ranging from single floral notes like gardenia to complex mixed bouquets like wildflowers, floral scents offer a wide range of options for fragrance lovers. Every year, perfumers from around the globe discover new floral notes that breathe new life into traditional floral themes. It's an exciting time to be exploring the world of floral fragrances, and there's never been a better time to discover your signature scent!

Oriental

When it comes to the hierarchy of scent families, oriental fragrances reign supreme. These complex and often weighty scents are the exotic leaders of the perfume world. They blend musk, vanillas, opulent flowers and sensual oriental resins to create a heady aroma, often complemented by refreshing top notes of fruit, citrus or greenery scents. Though these fragrances tend to be on the heavier side, their unique and alluring scents are sure to captivate anyone who experiences them. Discover the allure and mystery of oriental fragrances today.

Woody

At Violet Matters, we have a soft spot for woody fragrances! From the timeless scents of sandalwood, cedar, pine, and oak, woody fragrances hold a special place in many of our wax melt scents. We love how these fragrance front-runners can bring a sense of warmth and earthiness to any room, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere. Join us in embracing the comforting and familiar scents of woody fragrances today.

Fresh

Fresh fragrances are the ultimate in aromatic, balanced, and crisp scents, making them the premier effervescent fragrances within the four main fragrance families. These fragrances are known for their bright, clean, and classic aromas, but at the same time often have a soft scent touch. The fresh family fragrances are dynamic and popular scents, with both feminine and masculine sensibilities. Experience the uplifting and invigorating scents of the fresh fragrance family today.

What is the fragrance wheel & how does it work?

A fragrance wheel is a useful tool that helps us to understand the relationships between different scent categories.

The fragrance wheel is useful for understanding both complete fragrances and individual fragrance notes. Generally, fragrance oils are composed of several notes or more that combine to create the entire scent.

For our purposes "scents" refers to the complete fragrance oil, while "notes" refer to the individual fragrance components that together create a complete fragrance.

What are fragrance notes?

Fragrance notes are the individual scents that make up a complete fragrance. These notes are classified into three levels based on how quickly they evaporate and how long they last:

  1. Top notes: These are the initial scents that you smell when you first encounter a fragrance. They are typically composed of lighter, more volatile aromas such as citrus, herbs, or florals. Top notes are the most fleeting and evaporate quickly, usually within 10-15 minutes.
  2. Middle notes (or heart notes): These scents emerge after the top notes have dissipated and provide a fuller and more rounded fragrance experience. They are typically composed of warmer, more complex aromas such as spices, florals, or fruits. Middle notes can last for several hours.
  3. Base notes: These are the final and longest-lasting scents in a fragrance, providing depth, richness, and longevity. Base notes are typically composed of heavier and more tenacious aromas such as woods, musk's, or resins. They can last for several hours to several days.

Violet Matters Scent Scale

Our eco-soy melts, room diffusers and car fresheners come in a variety of different fragrances and scent strengths. We have devised our own rating system which evaluates the strength of the fragrance in each of our melts, diffusers and air fresheners to help you choose the best product to suit your personal preferences. We meticulously test each scent selection to ensure that every melt, diffuser and air freshener consistently emits a wonderful aroma.

  • Subtle

    These are our softer scents that are perfect for smaller spaces such as toilets, bathrooms, bedrooms and home offices. They are excellent for meditation and yoga sessions. This is the perfect choice if you desire a subtle fragrance that won't overwhelm your space. These scents also work well as car fresheners.

  • Strong

    These are our most versatile fragrances and are ideal for creating a pleasant atmosphere in medium to small spaces around the house, such as bedrooms, bathrooms, home offices, and more. They will work in larger rooms such as a living or a family room however the scent throw will not be as domiant as those fragrances with a higher star rating.

  • Striking

    These are our strongest fragrances and they have an intense throw that can an overwhelm a very small space. Ideal for lounge rooms and large bedrooms. This is suitable for those who are truly passionate about strong fragrances and are not afraid to go all in.
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