How many scent “families” are there?

[RicoSuave]

Been working my way through a TON of soap samples from both “Maggards” and “Stirling’s,” and it got me thinking - how many scent “families” are there, re: soaps/creams?

Mind you, I didn’t say number of INDIVIDUAL scents/fragrances.

Those could be literally INFINITE, but rather “groupings” of scents.

Off the top of my head, I can think of EIGHT “families” -

1. Citrus
2. Aquatic
3. Fougere, or “green”
4. Spicy
5. Tobacco
6. Barbershop
7. Sweet
8. Floral

I think I covered them all.

What do you gents think?

Did I miss any?

Thx!

 

[dabrock]

Here is the classic perfume wheel so you can see how things are classified.

 

[dabrock]

Oh, here is a more detailed one as well to give you an idea where many of those you like might fall.

 

[RicoSuave]

Yeah, but can we apply the “perfume wheel” concept to men’s shaving products, which until recently, have been notoriously limited?

Like, I would condense both “oriental” and “woods” into singular categories.

 

[dabrock]

Yeah, but can we apply the “perfume wheel” concept to men’s shaving products, which until recently, have been notoriously limited?

Like, I would condense both “oriental” and “woods” into singular categories.

This would be a good conversation to have in the frag forums, a lot of people are knowledgeable about those things there. I don't think you could condense those two since oriental can be very spicy. Think of Drakar Noir, that's an oriental, and it certainly doesn't fit with something woody and green.

Also, I think if you look at a lot of the traditional European soaps from different countries you'll find a huge variety. I think it's mostly America that has had the limited selection until recently TBH.

 

[RicoSuave]

I considered posting in the “frag” forum, but like I said before, I think scents of soaps/creams are much more limited in scope than say, perfumes.

 

[RicoSuave]

Oh, here is a more detailed one as well to give you an idea where many of those you like might fall.

View attachment 1283698

Forget about LIKE.

Its about making sure you’ve covered all the “bases” in finding something you MIGHT like.

 

[dabrock]

I considered posting in the “frag” forum, but like I said before, I think scents of soaps/creams are much more limited in scope than say, perfumes.

I don't think that's true anymore, there are certainly a lot of soaps and creams that copy many of the most popular men's colognes, plus many of the traditional soaps from the UK were actually made by perfumers so they have very traditional and complex profiles. I really can't see soaps and creams being limited right by anything other than what the producers can sell.

Forget about LIKE.

Its about making sure you’ve covered all the “bases” in finding something you MIGHT like.

True! There is so much other there, the choices are truly staggering.

 

[beginish]

I have given this strong consideration and can only come up with 2: ones I like and ones I don’t.

 

[kingfisher]

Oh, here is a more detailed one as well to give you an idea where many of those you like might fall.

View attachment 1283698

This is awesome. I wonder if there are rules, like there are with the color wheel, as to which notes blend well with others, which contrast, etc. Is it better to build a scent with one of the warm colors as a top note and one of the green/blues behind it? Are there guidelines?

For example, let's say I love peach scents, but I wanted to make a soap that wasn't entirely peach-scented. Would there be a simple rule that would tell me which other scents would "play well" with peach? For example, would it best to stay on the floral side, or would a green background work?

 

[dabrock]

This is awesome. I wonder if there are rules, like there are with the color wheel, as to which notes blend well with others, which contrast, etc. Is it better to build a scent with one of the warm colors as a top note and one of the green/blues behind it? Are there guidelines?

For example, let's say I love peach scents, but I wanted to make a soap that wasn't entirely peach-scented. Would there be a simple rule that would tell me which other scents would "play well" with peach? For example, would it best to stay on the floral side, or would a green background work?

That's a good question. It's reasonable to think that notes that are adjacent would blend better and those on opposite sides would be less likely to blend well, but the scent wheels aren't as easy to apply as colour wheels, which are standard. I've also noticed doing a bit more searching that the wheels aren't truly standard. There are some categories that are more standard, like woody and floral, but there are several versions of the wheels around.

To me, it looks like the wheels are used to show divisions in scents as a progression since adjacent scents seem to be closer together in profile. If someone here has more experience in the industry it would be great to hear from them.

 

[Slock]

What category does leather fall? Also some soapers claim there soaps have notes of dirt. I think some of these soapers are rebels.

 

[SCh5]

Chypre ?
Ozonic ?
“Darks” ?
”Metallics” ?
”Leather / hide “ ?

Do not see those scent families
on neither of the wheels ...

 

[dabrock]

What category does leather fall? Also some soapers claim there soaps have notes of dirt. I think some of these soapers are rebels.

Not really rebels but getting more creative! Dirt has been used in darker profiles and leather is very popular, Polo Green is an example from when I grew up. The soapers are definitely expanding, as I mentioned above. There really is very little you can't find in soaps and creams these days!

Chypre ?
Ozonic ?
“Darks” ?
”Metallics” ?
”Leather / hide “ ?

Do not see those scent families
on neither of the wheels ...

Chypre is a family that crosses many categories and I think dark is another family that's very heavy on earthy/green. Here is another wheel that places some of what you asked for.

 

[sanookd]

Been working my way through a TON of soap samples from both “Maggards” and “Stirling’s,” and it got me thinking - how many scent “families” are there, re: soaps/creams?

Mind you, I didn’t say number of INDIVIDUAL scents/fragrances.

Those could be literally INFINITE, but rather “groupings” of scents.

Off the top of my head, I can think of EIGHT “families” -

1. Citrus
2. Aquatic
3. Fougere, or “green”
4. Spicy
5. Tobacco
6. Barbershop
7. Sweet
8. Floral

I think I covered them all.

What do you gents think?

Did I miss any?

Thx!

Been working my way through a TON of soap samples from both “Maggards” and “Stirling’s,” and it got me thinking - how many scent “families” are there, re: soaps/creams?

Mind you, I didn’t say number of INDIVIDUAL scents/fragrances.

Those could be literally INFINITE, but rather “groupings” of scents.

Off the top of my head, I can think of EIGHT “families” -

1. Citrus
2. Aquatic
3. Fougere, or “green”
4. Spicy
5. Tobacco
6. Barbershop
7. Sweet
8. Floral

I think I covered them all.

What do you gents think?

Did I miss any?

Thx!

gourmand

 

[RicoSuave]

What category does leather fall? Also some soapers claim there soaps have notes of dirt. I think some of these soapers are rebels.

“Notes of DIRT?!”

Why, that would encompass a whole other category of scents, anywhere from “NYC dirt” (with faint hints of urine), or “SF dirt” (with hints of dog fecal matter and used hypodermics).

Why, the variations are LIMITLESS!

 

[RicoSuave]

gourmand

Funny, I keep coming across that term, but WHAT exactly does it mean, re: soaps/cream?

FOOD like?

 

[dabrock]

“Notes of DIRT?!”

Why, that would encompass a whole other category of scents, anywhere from “NYC dirt” (with faint hints of urine), or “SF dirt” (with hints of dog fecal matter and used hypodermics).

Why, the variations are LIMITLESS!

Let's keep this a clean discussion!

 

[RicoSuave]

Not really rebels but getting more creative! Dirt has been used in darker profiles and leather is very popular, Polo Green is an example from when I grew up. The soapers are definitely expanding, as I mentioned above. There really is very little you can't find in soaps and creams these days!



Chypre is a family that crosses many categories and I think dark is another family that's very heavy on earthy/green. Here is another wheel that places some of what you asked for.

View attachment 1284074

Funny, this matches the NUMBER of scent “families” (eight) that I mentioned in my initial post, if not the exact categories.

 

[RicoSuave]

Let's keep this a clean discussion!

Hey, you know what they say - there’s no accounting for TASTE.