A is for Aurelien Guichard
One of our favourite perfumers at Lore. The fabulous Aurelien is not only the owner, creator and nose behind one of our most popular brands Matiere Premiere. He is also the man behind many, many other iconic scents in the fragrance world. Did someone say Robert Piguet? Oh yes, he’s the man at the helm of fragrance there now too.
B is for Balsamic Notes
This is a category of fragrance notes that generally refers to the sweet, warm and sometimes a little salty and sticky notes of resins and balsams. They often smell deliciously comforting, with the rich woody character this is a bit warmer and softer on the nose. Some balsamic notes you may recognise are peru balsam, styrax, benzoin, cistus labdanum. Even vanilla is sometimes categorised as a balsamic note!
C is for Cherry Punk
Lore’s best selling fragrance of 2022! We love this naughty but nice fruity fragrance by Room 1015. Inspired by punk, this fragrance is the perfect blend of sweet, pretty cherry notes and gritty leather in the base.
D is for Dry Down
E is for Eau De Parfum
EDC, EDT, EDP – what’s it all about? Well it’s the concentration of the juice – the actual scent compared to alcohol. This dictates how long the fragrance will wear on your skin, let’s break it down. Eau de Cologne (EDC) is 3 – 5% concentration and lasts around 2 hours. Eau de Toilette (EDT) is 5 – 15% concentration and generally lasts around 4 – 6 hours on the skin. Eau de Parfum (EDP) is 15 – 20% concentration and generally lasts around 8 hours on the skin. Then we go up to Parfum Extract – this is stronger again and can last up to 24 hours on the skin!
F is for Fitzroy
G is for Germaine Cellier
A powerhouse perfumer, Germaine was one of the all-time greats. One of the first renowned female perfumers in a world dominated by men, Germaine Cellier is celebrated for her perfume works, including Robert Piguet’s Fracas and Bandit. Fragrances with a bold attitude much like the woman herself – Cellier created the iconic leather/oak moss scent, Bandit for the Piguet brand in 1944 and launched the scent sending models down the runway in leather bondage gear. A pioneer badass!
H is for Heart Notes
This is quite literally the heart of your fragrance. After the top/head notes have worn off and the fragrance has started to develop, we get to the heart. This is often where florals lie. The heart of the fragrance is often the loudest part, the notes of the fragrance that you remember in the scent. The heart of the fragrance is like how you would expect anything called the ‘heart’ to be; it is the part of the fragrance that should make your heart sing with joy. The base will sometimes envelop the heart notes, sometimes overpower them, or sometimes just gently add a bit of bass and depth.
I is for Incense
From the beginning of fragrance, we have always had incense. Whether wood and resin was burnt as an offering to the gods, used in part to enhance hygiene (or at least cover the stench of not bathing), incense has played an integral role in the world for fragrance right from the start, and is considered one of the first forms of fragrance.
J is for Jade & Jess
Oh hey, that’s us! We started Lore in 2017 together. We really wanted to bring a fresh and energised attitude to the world of fine fragrance and niche perfume. No longer ‘exclusive’, the world of fragrance is one to be enjoyed by all. It’s a place for storytelling, connections and fun. That’s why we do what we do, because fragrance is an extension of who you are, and we love it!
K is for Knockout
That’s how you’ll feel in one of our niche fragrances. 😉 But in all seriousness, when we talk about knockout scents, we are generally referring to the stronger ones. Those ones that are even stronger than an Eau de Parfum – we’re talking Parfum Extract. Oh yeeeaaah. These are the fragrances that are concentrated 20% and above. So we’re talking fragrance that lasts 8+ hours… more like 24 hours. Some of these Parfum Extracts outlast showers and fresh laundry. They have depth and intensity that knock our socks off (in the best possible way).
L is for Luca Turin
M is for Musk
Ah the delightfully notorious scent of musk. This is an ingredient that is quite well known for its origins. Musk was originally found in the glands of the male musk deer. They would secrete a strong smelling odour that was then dried into powder and soaked to create the scent of musk. These days, all fragrances use synthetic musk for obvious reasons, however these synthetic versions still create that gorgeous, skin-like, dusty musk note.
N is for Nose
O is for Olfactive Memory
P is for Petals
Did you know that 1kg of jasmine oil requires a picker to pick over 3kg of petals in one morning which equals around 8 million jasmine petals? For Tuberose, the petals are larger so we’re talking around 1000 petals to produce 1kg of absolute oil. And then when it comes to rose, we’re talking 4 tonnes of petals that produce 1kg of oil… that’s 1.6 million petals. Phew! That makes us tired even thinking about it. But it also gives some insight into pricing and why good quality florals ain’t cheap!
Q is for Queen of Hungary
R is for Rose
Rose, Sweet Rose, the Queen of flowers. Roses date back thousands and thousands of years, they were continually cultivated in China where they experimented with rose breeding. Today we have over 150 species of roses and they are renowned for their beauty but it doesn’t just stop there, their scent can be incredibly complex. They can have powdery facets, fruity freshness, green tones or soft delicate sweetness. The rose bud alsosmells different to the fully bloomed rose. Additionally, the time of day can even affect the scent of rose as it is strongest in the early morning.
S is for Synthesia
T is for Through Smoke
U is for Unique
Unique, niche, indie, whatever you wanna call it, this is the fragrant world that we at Lore live in. We specialise in niche fragrance and just really love the unique character and personal stories connected to each fragrance. Why go niche over commercial? Well look, we can only tell you why we love niche. And that’s because we love independently owned fragrance houses, no multi-conglomerates around here. We love the fact that budgets go into the juice and the quality, i.e. what you actually get, rather than an epic, elaborate marketing campaign. We love that niche fragrances often pave the way in terms of new and innovative ideas, they are not bound by commercial viability, they are making truly creative fragrances that inspire.
V is for Vetiver
You may have heard about this ingredient in a lot of fragrances. Vetiver is essentially a dried grass. It creates an earthy, woody, green tone for fragrances. However, vetiver as an ingredient gets interesting when you start to consider where it comes from and how it varies based on this. Haitian vetiver (the most popular variety) often adds a really crisp, sweet, freshness to scents – much like freshly cut grass, while Javanese is almost smoky, like a Lapsang Souchong tea, it smells more woody, perhaps a tad leathery with a definite smoky tone. And then we have Bourbon vetiver, a more mineral-y version with a balmy sweetness to it, and lastly, Indian vetiver with more of a bitter green overall scent.
W is for Wheel
X is for X Marks The Spot
Y is for Ylang Ylang
You hear about these flowers in fragrance all the time, but what are they? What do they look like? And how do they smell? These gorgeous tropical flowers are shaped kind of like a star with yellow petals. Native to the Philippines, these flowers have spread throughout many countries now (including parts of Australia). Their scent is deliciously fruity, floral, kinda sweet and rich, and their medicinal properties suggest anti anxiety and mood uplifting. So in a nutshell, ylang ylang flowers smell gorgeous and help you feel fab.
Z is for Zesty Notes
This can encompass so many different things, but essentially those zesty notes are generally crisp, fresh citrus notes. They can also refer to aromatics, but generally there needs to be some kind of acidity. It’s like that moment when you taste something bitter or sour and get that zesty hit of flavour – that’s what we’re talking about, but in fragrance. A nose full of enlivening, brightness that almost acts like an amuse-bouche to leave you wanting more.
