Olfactory Family

Olfactory families are the broadest classification system in perfumery. The standard wheel includes Citrus (bergamot, lemon), Floral (rose, jasmine), Aromatic (lavender, herbs), Chypre (mossy, leathery), Fougère (lavender, oakmoss, coumarin), Oriental/Amber (warm, resinous, sweet), Gourmand (edible-sweet), Woody (cedar, sandalwood, vetiver), and a few transitional zones. Most modern fragrances belong to more than one family — "woody-amber-gourmand" describes a lot of contemporary releases. The Fragranova catalog uses accord profiles rather than rigid families, but the families are useful shorthand.