How to Recognize Perfume Notes > 일반게시판

Your tongue is not designed to detect aromatic compounds

Perfume is intended for olfactory appreciation, not tasted. The notes in a fragrance—opening, middle, and dry-down|—are aromatic compounds that activate your nasal sensors, the neural pathway responsible for detecting and interpreting scents.

Your tongue cannot detect citrus, floral, woody, or musky notes because gustatory cells are incapable of perceiving the subtle scent particles that compose a perfume.

In fact, putting perfume on your tongue is unsafe.

Many perfume ingredients are solvent-laden and can be toxic when swallowed. Minimal exposure can cause discomfort, nausea, or more serious reactions.

Your palate can only detect these five tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami—and cannot distinguish the complex, shifting scent profiles that characterize a fragrance.

To truly understand a scent use your sense of smell. Apply a light mist on a perfume blotter or the crook of your elbow and wait a few moments. Note the first scent that emerges—the bright, sharp top notes. Then let the fragrance develop over time as the heart notes emerge, followed by the foundational scent residues.

Test multiple fragrances together to sharpen your discrimination. Train yourself by smelling common ingredients like citrus zest, jasmine, versace perfumes women's cocoa, cedar, or earthy musk on their own so you can distinguish them in layered compositions.

Let your olfaction guide you, not your sense of taste. Your nose is the only tool you need to master the nuances of perfumery.