Somewhere between a blackberry, a strawberry, and a blackcurrant: the raspberry note has a decidedly berry-like nuance. It’s sweet as candy, and yet has a rather soft effect. This fruity note is most often found in feminine fragrances. Raspberry’s bright red, sugary smile is best in feminine scents, where it’s vivid juiciness can play off against heavy, full florals or warm spices like pink pepper, basil, etc. Raspberry is also a fantastic note in gourmand perfumes, as it naturally heightens anything with chocolate, caramel, vanilla, or coffee notes. Raspberry blends in best with other berry fruits like blackberry, strawberry, etc, but it can also shine as a contrast to green, dewy notes and earthier vetiver and oakmoss. Raspberry fragrances are just the ticket for spring and summer, and if they’re blended with aromatic spices, a lovely fall option as well.

Jasmine is the ultimate aphrodisiac in perfume. It is the most intimate, sexy, gorgeous, and sensually appetizing of all the major white floral notes. Jasmine’s buttery, silky, vanilla-and-heated skin aroma is found everywhere in perfume, in both men’s and women’s scents. It’s incredible versatility is hard to match: it can soar on its own, or be artfully blended into the background, to provide a dangerous growl to an simple, demure floral bouquet. It’s also one of the most popular notes, especially in women’s perfume, so if you enjoy jasmine’s torrid sensuality, you can build a devastating fragrance collection in no time.

Orange Flower

Patchouli is a deeply spiced, thickly herbal and immediately recognizable note - it’s “dirty hippie” reputation doesn’t do it justice. Patchouli’s scent lies somewhere between cumin’s sharp and acrid tang and nutmeg’s smooth, sweet warmth, and it can carry a fragrance or blend easily with other, spicier notes. It is ideal in heated, spicy perfumes that feature leather, smoke, resins, and lighter aromatic notes like lavender and geranium. Patchouli’s exotic strength can be an acquired taste in perfume, but it’s many moods and blends make it an endlessly fascinating note to explore in the spicy end of the scent spectrum.