How to Read a Fragrance Note Pyramid
Top notes, heart notes, and base notes explained — and what marketing pyramids really tell you.
Note pyramids are marketing simplifications of complex compositions. They're a map, not the territory.
Top notes appear in the first 5–15 minutes — usually citrus, fresh, or spicy. They sell the bottle; they rarely define the fragrance.
Heart notes emerge as top notes fade and dominate the first few hours. This is where florals, fruits, and the personality typically live.
Base notes are what you smell hours in and what people around you smell when they hug you the next morning — woods, resins, ambers, musks.
Some materials behave across tiers. Iris and oud often listed as 'heart' show up in the drydown. Treat pyramids as direction, not certainty.
Reviewer 'perceived' note lists are often more reliable than brand marketing pyramids, especially for niche houses with opaque compositions.