How are perfumes composed? Understanding the olfactory pyramid.

A fragrance is never a simple blend of beautiful scents.
It is an invisible architecture, a meticulous composition designed by the perfumer, which evolves over time upon contact with the skin.
This construction is based on a fundamental principle of perfumery: the olfactory pyramid.

The olfactory pyramid: the architecture of a perfume

Like a tree composed of roots, a trunk, and leaves, the olfactory pyramid is divided into three levels, each playing an essential role in the evolution of the perfume.

1. Top notes

These are the first scents perceived immediately upon spraying.
Fresh, light, and very volatile, they create the first impression and immediately awaken the senses.

They mainly consist of citrus, aromatic, or fresh notes. Their mission is to captivate instantly, but their duration is short: they usually evaporate in a few minutes.

2. Heart notes

When the top notes fade, the heart notes take over.
They constitute the soul of the perfume and reveal its true personality.

More rounded and enveloping, often floral or spicy, they ensure the transition between the initial freshness and the depth of the base.
These notes settle durably and persist for several hours.

3. Base notes

Deep, warm, and sensual, base notes are the foundations of the perfume.
Woody, amber, resinous, or musky, they guarantee the longevity, stability, and olfactory signature of the fragrance.

These are the notes you can still perceive at the end of the day, sometimes even until the next day.

The Minalys Olfactory Vision

At Minalys, each creation is based on a mastered, vibrant, and authentic olfactory balance.
Noble and carefully selected raw materials interact to offer a harmonious evolution on the skin.

A successful fragrance is one whose pyramid is coherent, balanced, and true to the emotion it wishes to convey, like the natural architecture of a tree, structured in three stages.

Once the structure of the perfume is understood through the olfactory pyramid, it becomes simpler to explore the olfactory families, these great sensory universes that give the perfume its character and reveal the one that suits you.

Click here to learn more about our Perfume Tree, emblem of Maison Minalys, which is directly inspired by this perfume architecture.