Vol. 02 · Reference

The Scent Library

A field guide to fragrance.

Chapter III

The Vocabulary.

The words critics throw around, translated for the rest of us.

Term Aromatic: Smells like
Herbs, lavender, rosemary, sage, crushed greenery.
Feels like
Walking through a warm Mediterranean garden mid-afternoon.
Term Lactonic: Smells like
Milky, creamy — coconut, sandalwood, sun lotion.
Feels like
Bare shoulders, summer skin, the inside of a peach.
Term Solar: Smells like
Sunlit florals — orange blossom, ylang, salicylates.
Feels like
Heat radiating off white plaster at noon.
Term Resinous: Smells like
Frankincense, benzoin, labdanum — sweet smoke.
Feels like
Sacred objects, ancient wood, candle wax.
Term Mineralic: Smells like
Wet stone, flint, salt, slate after rain.
Feels like
A quarry, a cathedral floor, cold water on rock.
Term Metallic: Smells like
Iron, blood, aldehydes — a cold gleam.
Feels like
Touching a doorknob in winter, the taste of a spoon.
Term Animalic: Smells like
Civet, castoreum, musk — skin and fur.
Feels like
The nape of a neck, a coat slept in.
Term Photorealistic: Smells like
An accord built to mimic a real-world object exactly.
Feels like
Smelling a perfume of 'concrete' and thinking: concrete.
Term Ozonic: Smells like
Air after a lightning strike — clean, electric, sharp.
Feels like
An open window in a storm.
Term Indolic: Smells like
White florals at full bloom — overripe, almost rotten, hypnotic.
Feels like
A jasmine vine in the dark, a funeral lily.
Term Projection: Smells like
How far the fragrance pushes off your skin into the room.
Feels like
The bubble of scent people walk into when they meet you.
Term Sillage: Smells like
The trail you leave behind as you move.
Feels like
The wake of a boat — soft, lingering, French for 'wake'.
Term Drydown: Smells like
What the fragrance becomes after the first hour — the soul of it.
Feels like
The version of someone you only meet after midnight.
Term Accord: Smells like
A blend of notes that smells like one new idea.
Feels like
A chord rather than a single note.
Term Fixative: Smells like
Heavy materials (musks, ambers, resins) that slow evaporation.
Feels like
The anchor that keeps the perfume from drifting away too fast.