Effortlessly bright, energetic and light, citrus notes bring a zesty vibrancy to both feminine and masculine fragrances. Perfect to spritz on a summer’s day, fragrances belonging to the citrus family are renowned for evoking a sparkling freshness—tangy yet sweetly inviting. Citrus notes are often balanced with other olfactory families—most notably in floral and ambery fragrances—but blend beautifully with almost any accord.

Blood Orange

Pimento berries are best known under the name allspice, and have a distinctive aroma that’s a mix between cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg—not unlike the notes in the now-infamous pumpkin spice latte. A recurring feature in exotic amber and spicy compositions, pimento is often used in chypre compositions because of its dryness and helps to balance out the woodiness while spicing things up.

Vetiver is a profoundly earthy note with dry, woody facets that recall a soft, smoky warmth. It is an intense, grounding scent with surprising undertones of mildew and even grapefruit. For the perfume fan that loves the earthy smell of the woods, nothing beats vetiver. Vetiver is grass whose roots create a smoky, mossy, mineral scent when distilled. It is one of the most complex ingredients found in fragrance, with over 150 separate aromatic compounds, and it also acts as one of the best fixatives available to perfumers, which accounts for its frequent presence in fragrance. There’s also nothing quite like the scent of vetiver. It’s both immediate and ancient, with a similar smell to the soft earth of virgin forests.