Perfume Intelligence - The Encyclopaedia of Perfume

Valerian

The oil is obtained from the root of the herb, genus valeriana wallichli; originated from India; obtained by steam distillation of the comminuted, dried rhizomes; has a pale brown or amber yellow coloured liquid of a balsamic-woody, slightly spicy root like odour with a distinct note of valerian acid, more or less pronounced according to the age of the oil.

Vanilla

Of the genus vanilla planiflora var tahitensis; a rare and beautiful climbing orchid originally found in Mexico; the vanilla orchid’s trumpet-shaped flowers blossom for one day. The green pods, which take up to nine months to form are picked and fermented and then sun-dried. After a further six months the fragrance emerges on the dark brown bean, which is frosted with sugar-like crystals. Vanilla has a rich, warm and sweet aroma, well known in the kitchen but it was the Guerlain family who were amongst the first to extract the essential oils and use them in perfumery.

Vanity set

Usually a presentation of two perfume bottles and a powder box in a matching box

Vaporisateur

French meaning atomizer

Vegetable Oils

Are the most familiar carrier oils; have many interesting properties and benefits

Velverty Notes

Soft, smooth, mellow fragrance without harsh chemical notes

Venetian glass

Decorative, delicate soda lime glass made in Venice from the early Renaissance times

Verbena

The essential oil used in perfumery is distilled from the leaves of the Lemon Verbena lippia citriodara, also known in French as Veraine Citronelle; a deciduous shrub native to South America; now also cultivated in the Mediterranean region.

Vermeil

Term used to describe metal that is gilded with either silver, bronze or gold

Verre

French for glass

Verre de Soie

Meaning 'glass of silk' which it does resemble; first made by Fredric Carter at Stueben Glass Works in 1905: it had an iridescent soft white or very delicate green colouring. Verre de Soie is an art glass and is not related to iridescent pressed white glass

Viteography

The process of using glass as opposed to moulds, for printing

Vetiver

Looks like any other grass that thrives in the tropics. It was native to tropical Asia but now cultivated as far a field as Brazil and Angola. Surprisingly enough it has three Latin names; vetivara zizanoides, V. odorata and andropogon muricatus as well as local names such as khus-khus grass and khas. The essential oils are steamed extracted from the rhizomes after first being dried, the resultant viscous oil ranges in colour from dark brown to amber. It has and earthy, wood-smoke aroma with gentle notes reminiscent of sweet violets and orris.

Vials

Alternative spelling of 'Phials'; sample glass tubes of fragrances, vary in size from 1ml to 5ml in volume

Vinaigrette

A derivative from pouncet boxes but with a pierced inner lid holding wool or sponge soaked in aromatic vinegar or scented liquid: popular throughout 18th and 19th century.

Violet

A relative to the pansy; genus viola odorata; known as the sweet violet, native to Europe, Asia and North Africa. To day it is grown commercially mainly in southern France and around Parma in Italy, where two varieties are cultivated, Parma and Victoria. The concentrated oil is obtained by enfleurage, is a yellow-green viscous liquid with an intensely sweet floral fragrance reminiscent of fresh flowers.

Violet

French = violetta; German = Veilchen

Violet leaves

The oil is oabtained from the leaves and stems of the genus viola odorata; are used to add subtle violet/cucumber notes; often as a booster to iris/orris violet-like essences.

Virginia cedar

Has a sweeter and less dense aroma that cedar.

Volatile

Easily vaporized at a low temperature. Changing easily from the state of a liquid to a gas or vapour.

Volatile solvents

Used in perfumery since the end of the 29th century to extract the fragrant elements from essential oils without harming them.

Vol de Nuit

By Guerlain, created in 1933 in homage to the brave aviators of the 1920s and Air France Company. The French company Aéropostale was one of the first company's to fly the mail trans-continentally. The chief pilot of Aéropostale's operations was Antoine de St. Exupéry. After serving as a French combat pilot during World War I, he wrote several books, among them Wind, Sand and Stars, Night Flight and The Little Prince. He disappeared during the World War II while flying a reconnaissance mission in 1944.

Volume

Perfumery term used to describe a fragrances ability to spread over a wide area

Warm note

Perfumery term used to describe fragrances with a high proportion of ingredients with characteristics of fragrances of animal origins

Water hyacinth

Of the genus Eichhornia crassipes, grows on the lakes and rivers of the Pantanal tropical wetlands of Brazil

Water of the Carmelites

or Eau de Carmes: was a blend of angelica, melissa and herbsl oils made by the Carmelitie nuns of the abbey of St, Juste in France n 1379.

Waters

When the first alcohol-perfumes were made in Italy in 14th centuary they were call 'waters' because of alcohol's resembalnce to water

Wenge

A dark African hard wood with a peppery earthy aroma

Whimsy

From the word 'whimsical'; an unusual one-of-a-kind glass item usually made by a glassworker in his spare time

White Flower notes

Alluding to the sweet soft fresh accents of lily of the valley, jasmine, gardenia, hyacinth, white honeysuckle and freesia.

Wild Cherry

Of the genus prunus virginiana; a drupe – has a single seed or kernel surrounded by sweet and fragrant pulp; the seeds as well as the pulp yield a fragrant and/or therapeutic oil by distillation

Wild Rose

French = egaltine; German = Wildrose

Wine

Used extensively by the Ancient Greek in the production of fragrances: it provided a sweetness to such materials as myrrh and spices.

Wisteria

A twining deciduous vine grown in temperate and subtropical zones worldwide; the natural oil is derived form the genus W. sinensis but the vast majority of wisteria notes in fragrances are obtained synthetically

Witch Hazel

A native to the USA; a small shrub or tree; a natural source of alcohol.

Wood

French = bois; German = holz

Woody Family

Are made-up of fragrances with bases of sandalwood, cedar wood, tambouti, pine and patchouli amongst others. A new sub group has been added ‘oceanic-woody’ with cool marine notes.

Wormwood

of the genus artemisia : powerful, camphor-like smell, green and bittersweet: the heart of it is close to sage and rosemary, the dry-down is tea-like, it is an herb.diverse family of plants, so named because at one time they were used to prepare worming medicine. , and in perfumery, wormwood and/or artemisia often refers specifically to artemisia absinthium, one of the key ingredients of Absinthe.

Wristlet

A scented-sampler bracelet made from a double-layered, paper-thin plastic wristband, very similar to a hospital bracelet; the fragrance is released when the top strip is peeled off.
Calvin Klein Cosmetics used this in their launch of cKbe

Yatagan

The elegant yatagan, or Turkish sword, was used by janissaries for over 300 years (mid-1500s till the late 1800s); bear the name of a southwestern Turkish city called Yatagan in Denizli Province (named after its Seljuk conqueror, Osman Bey, or "Yatagan Baba", who was a blacksmith).

Ylang-ylang

Of the genus cananga odorata, a tree which grows in tropical Asia; bares a yellow tendril-like flower from which a pale yellow oil is extracted, this has an intensely strong fragrance with a sweet slightly spicy cloying aroma.
First introduced into Europe in 1864.
The name means 'flower of flowers'.

Yuzu

Of the genus Citrus ichangensis × C. eticulata, Japanese (ズ, 柚, 柚子 (yuzu); 유자 (yuja) in Korean; from Chinese 柚子, yòuzi) Yuzu forms an upright shrub or small tree, which commonly contains numerous large thorns. Leaves are notable for a large petiole, resembling those of the related kaffir lime and ichang papeda, and are heavily scented. Originated in China, also grows wild in central China and Tibet. It was introduced to Japan and Korea during the Tang Dynasty and it is in these nations that it is cultivated most widely. egards; they share a similar mandarin-ichang papeda ancestryis a citrus fruit.sour mandarin and Ichang papeda. The fruit looks a bit like a very small grapefruit with an uneven skin, and can be either yellow or green depending on the degree of ripeness; and are very aromatic, typically range between 5.5 and 7.5 cm in diameter. Image is of a ripe yuzu fruit

Zagara

Italian for neroli

Zagorsk

The name of a fragrance by Comme des Garçons; named after the Soviet-era name for the town of Sergiyev Posad. The town, not far from Moscow, is home to the Holy Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius, often called the spiritual center of the Russian Orthodox Church. The symbolism of incense in the liturgy is essentially the same as it is in the Catholic Church: it represents purification, an offering, and the rising of prayers to heaven.

Zdravetz

The oil is obtained from a a small, but very hardy perennial which grows wild on rocky soil at high and medium altitudes; genus geranium macrorrhizum, orignated from Bulgari; from where it is name is derived -'zdrave' means 'health'.
The pale olive-green or pale-yellowish is water distilled; a somewhat viscous liquid from which considerable amount of large white crystals will separate on standing and on cooling.
Often used as a fixative in perfumery; has a sweet-woody, with a floral and faintly herbaceous under tone

Ver 20018

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