Have you ever had the feeling that different fragrances from the same brand somehow have a similar scent? It makes you wonder if the perfumer is being lazy and just making slight modifications to a perfume formula to create a new fragrance. Each perfume’s formula is a trade secret, and no one can know its exact composition. Even the most skilled perfumer cannot decipher and perfectly replicate someone else’s creation. However, if there are indeed shared scent structures or core ingredients in multiple fragrances, it would undoubtedly be noticed by keen noses. Especially when people discover these commonalities, it further supports this idea… It’s highly unlikely that everyone’s sense of smell collectively malfunctioned, right?
Could we boldly speculate that perfumers actually have their own secret and exclusive formulas? These formulas are not complete perfumes but rather a semi-finished “base.” Let’s call this base “soup” for now. Just like many talented chefs who have their secret seasoning recipes, perfumers add their pre-made secret formulas to create an enhanced flavor when they encounter suitable fragrance compositions. They continue to build upon their secret “fragrance soup” to create a complete perfume.
Especially when a particular base yields remarkable results and receives widespread market approval, perfumers will enthusiastically use that base repeatedly. After all, if they can consistently succeed, why would they take the risk of trial and error?
Perfumers would naturally not openly admit to using shared components in their fragrances as it could be seen as laziness, and consumers might not appreciate it. They would prefer each perfume to be perceived as a completely new creation. However, if the existence of a base is real, it definitely won’t escape the noses of perfume enthusiasts. Especially when you compare multiple fragrances from the same brand, the commonalities become even more evident.
With that said, let’s explore some interesting brand “soup” discoveries in the world of perfumery!
Hermes
Hermes Base: Aged Mandarin Juice
Hermes is renowned for its iconic fragrances, including the Terre d’Hermes, Eau d’Orange Verte, and Jardin series. Most of these classic perfumes are created by Jean-Claude Ellena, an exclusive perfumer for Hermes. For many, it’s no secret that the brand’s base revolves around the aroma of oranges. Hermes has an ardent affection for oranges, evident in their logo, packaging, and the inclusion of oranges in almost every fragrance. However, the brand’s common base is not fresh oranges but rather the scent of aged, sun-dried mandarin peels. This aged peel aroma offers a long-lasting, layered experience that is not fleeting like the scent of fresh citrus.
Serge Lutens
Serge Lutens Base: Concentrated Preserves
Serge Lutens is famous for its bold fragrances, often with complex and mysterious sweetness. This sweetness, however, is not akin to candies or artificial sweeteners. It resembles a concoction made by simmering various spices and fruits in a large pot for seven days until it transforms into a concentrated preserve. This essence, absorbing the essence of numerous ingredients, exudes a sweet aroma that is incredibly intricate and nuanced. It seems to incorporate thousands of complex fragrances, ultimately converging into the unique sweet base that characterizes Serge Lutens.
Burberry
Burberry Base: Fine Talcum Powder
Perhaps to portray Burberry’s British heritage, many of its fragrances exude an elegant and refined character, rather than being ostentatious like other brands. The distinct base for Burberry is a subtle powdery sensation. However, don’t mistake it for the powdery scent associated with women’s cosmetics. It embodies a delicate powderiness, which when used in men’s fragrances, doesn’t come across as effeminate but rather imparts a sense of tenderness, meticulousness, and cleanliness.
Penhaligon’s
Penhaligon’s Base: Lavender Gel
Another British brand, Penhaligon’s, exhibits a more robust and traditional character. The base for Penhaligon’s fragrances is challenging to describe—it is a relatively complex blend. The most noticeable note is lavender, mingled with hints of moss, fabric, and metal. This base appears in many of their fragrances, evoking a vintage British ambiance. Overall, it exudes a gentle yet subtly traditional British aroma—gentlemanly elegance in men’s fragrances and sophisticated grace in women’s fragrances.
Chloe
Chloe Base: Honeyed Sweetness
Chloe is well-known for its collection of ribbon-themed fragrances, ranging from rose ribbons, pink ribbons, white ribbons to black ribbons, and many others. However, it’s not just the ribbon series that incorporates honey into its fragrances. Honey is a challenging note to replicate in perfumery, yet Chloe manages to achieve a high level of authenticity, offering a sweet aroma with a refreshing touch. It genuinely resembles natural honey, which explains Chloe’s fondness for this base.
Acqua di Parma
Acqua di Parma Base: Chilled Fragrant Lemonade
Lemon peel contains essential oils, emanating a fragrant aroma, and is commonly used in fresh and uplifting fragrances. Acqua di Parma takes this note to new heights with its signature lemon base. Acqua di Parma’s lemon base is refreshingly icy, tangy, and delightful, reminiscent of a chilled lemonade on a scorching summer day. With the aromatic boost from this base, each fragrance becomes a refreshing summer concoction—lemon fig sorbet, lemon vanilla cocktail, lemon almond iced tea… Does this invigorating base appeal to you?
These are just a few examples of the fascinating “soup” bases discovered in the world of perfumes. Each base adds a distinctive touch to the fragrances, creating unique olfactory experiences. Fragrance enthusiasts and connoisseurs can explore and appreciate these nuances, unraveling the hidden secrets behind their beloved perfumes.
Diptyque
Diptyque Base: Several Green Leaves
Diptyque’s fragrances are infused with a sense of verdancy, much like a dish prepared by a skilled chef who habitually garnishes it with a few mint leaves. The green leaf base in Diptyque’s fragrances adds a fresh and natural scent overall. For instance, their signature fragrance, Tam Dao, has a light but distinct freshness that sets its sandalwood apart from others. In fragrances like Ombre dans L’Eau, Do Son, and Rose, the green leaf base becomes more pronounced, giving the perfumes a vibrant touch of green, truly invigorating the senses.
Creed
Creed Base: Ever-changing Ambergris
Creed has a long-standing affinity for ambergris, which serves as the backbone of its fragrances from their earliest creations in 1781 to recent years. Ambergris is a complex, elusive, and nuanced ingredient, combining the scents of incense, earth, camphor, tobacco, musk, and the ocean. Its high level of complexity brings about tremendous variability, resulting in a wide range of variations. Sometimes it carries a delicate powdery quality, at other times it exudes warm animalistic notes, and occasionally it transforms into a cold metallic impression.
Guerlain
Guerlain Base: Guerlinade
Guerlain openly acknowledges the existence of its signature base, called Guerlinade. This base was initially created by Aime Guerlain, the second generation of the Guerlain family, and the formula includes rose, jasmine, vanilla, iris, lemon, and tonka bean. Guerlain later developed a fragrance named after this base, called Guerlinade. However, the presence of Guerlinade in Guerlain’s fragrances is not as easily detectable as in other brands. Not all fragrances utilize Guerlinade, and the proportion of this base varies in each fragrance. Perfumers are careful not to create a plethora of fragrances with identical scents. If you wish to experience the aroma of Guerlinade for yourself, give Guerlain’s “Mille et Une Nuits” a sniff.
In conclusion
Lastly, it is worth emphasizing that not every fragrance brand has a base. For instance, brands like CK and Lanvin often outsource their fragrance production to fragrance companies and do not have dedicated in-house perfumers. Each fragrance from these brands is entirely distinct, and the concept of a base does not apply.
Furthermore, there are instances where brands intentionally utilize a specific base to create a consistent stylistic characteristic across multiple fragrances, establishing a distinct and recognizable brand identity.
Regarding the phenomenon of bases in fragrance brands, there is no need to delve too deeply. The concept of a base ultimately remains an intriguing quirk. After all, most brands do not consistently employ the same perfumer, and even if they do, it is unlikely for them to stick to a single base throughout their entire career. Therefore, brands that employ a shared base are still the exception rather than the norm.
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