The world of perfumery offers a sensory experience like no other and as you dive deeper into it, you may uncover boundless information that shapes the way you enjoy your favorite fragrances. Whether you’re a perfume connoisseur or a casual user, understanding the terminology used in the perfume industry can enhance your appreciation and selection of fragrances. Three crucial terms you will often encounter and subconsciously evaluate your perfume on are sillage, projection, and longevity. These three key aspects of a perfume's performance are determined by the use of a crucial ingredient: Fixatives.
In this article, we'll delve into each of these 3 terms, explore the different types of fixatives, and discuss how they work to extend sillage, longevity, and projection. We'll also look at other factors that impact these attributes, offering a comprehensive understanding of the art and science behind making a great perfume.
What is Sillage?
Let's tackle the most unfamiliar term first. Sillage (pronounced see-yazh) comes from the French word for "wake," originally referring to the path left behind by a ship when it travels across the water, however in perfumery, sillage refers to the trail of scent left behind by the wearer. Just as a boat leaves a wake in water, a perfume leaves a trail in the air. You can best understand sillage as how long your fragrance lingers in the space after you leave it.
Importance of Sillage
- First Impression and Presence
A perfume with good sillage can captivate people around you, creating an aura of scent as you move and making a noticeable first impression. This is preferred for social events where you may want to let others know about your presence. - Social Etiquette
In an office or other professional settings, fragrances with moderate to low sillage are ideal as this prevents the smell from being too overwhelming for other users of the space.
Understanding Projection
Projection refers to the distance a fragrance radiates from the wearer. While sillage describes the scent trail, projection measures how far the scent travels from its source. Perfumes that are described as being capable of ‘filling the entire room’ when the wearer enters, are perfumes with strong projections.
Importance of Projection
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Attention Grabing
A fragrance with a strong projection, especially a generally pleasant or iconic fragrance, can help turn heads in large social settings to get all eyes on you.
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Personal Enjoyment and Social Etiquette
In an office or other professional settings, fragrances with moderate to low projection are ideal as this prevents the smell from being too overwhelming for other users of the space. A perfume with moderate projection can also create a personal bubble of scent that you can enjoy throughout the day.
Defining Longevity
Longevity refers to how long a fragrance lasts on the skin. It's a critical factor for any perfume enthusiast because it determines how long you can enjoy the scent without needing to reapply. Longer-lasting fragrances thus typically offer better value and convenience.
Importance of Longevity
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Convenience
Long-lasting fragrances reduce the need for frequent reapplication, making them more convenient for all-day wear. -
Value for Money
Perfumes with good longevity offer better value, as less product is needed over time.
What are Fixatives? How Do They Extend Sillage, Longevity, and Projection
Fixatives are ingredients added to perfumes to stabilize and enhance the fragrance, ensuring it lasts longer and projects better. Fixatives bind to more volatile fragrance molecules and slow down the evaporation rate of the more volatile components of a perfume, thus allowing the fragrance to develop gradually and last longer. Here’s how they enhance each aspect:
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Sillage
Fixatives help anchor the lighter, more volatile top notes to the skin which means that they provide a stable base for the fragrance, preventing the scent from breaking down too quickly. This stability allows the perfume to maintain its intended composition and structure over time and allows it to disperse slowly and evenly. This creates a lasting trail of fragrance molecules that do not break down too quickly and linger in the air, enhancing the perfume's sillage. -
Longevity
By stabilizing the fragrance molecules, fixatives prevent the scent from evaporating too quickly. This prolongs the perfume's presence on the skin, ensuring you enjoy the fragrance for an extended period. -
Projection
Fixatives can amplify the diffusion of perfumes, making it detectable from a greater distance. They balance the fragrance composition, allowing it to radiate outward effectively without losing its intensity.
Types of Fixatives in Perfumery
Fixatives play a crucial role in determining the final fragrance profile of a perfume. Given the potential for different types of fixatives to significantly alter the scent of a perfume, it is crucial for perfumers to carefully consider what type of fixatives to use that best complements the overall fragrance profile.
There are many different categories of fixatives, but we will first categorize them by their fixative mechanisms.
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True Fixatives
These fixatives are typically non-volatile and easily compatible with other fragrances due to their mild aroma. They are usually added to help stabilize and prolong the aroma of the volatile fragrance compounds as the fixative’s high molecular structure binds to them, slowing down the evaporation of these volatile compounds and anchoring the aroma to the skin. Some examples include Benzoin, Musk, and Ambergris.
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Artbituary Fixatives
These fixatives are not just used for their fixative properties but are also chosen for the specific note they impart to the perfume throughout all stages of evaporation, such as Patchouli, Oakmoss, and Sandalwood.
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Exalting Fixatives
These fixatives act as odor carriers, enhancing, reinforcing, or carrying the vapors of other perfume materials in the fragrance’s composition. Examples include Tolu Balsam, Peru Balsam, and Vanilla, which are primarily used in perfume formulation for their scent profile, adding complexity, warmth, and depth to the fragrance.
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So-Called Fixatures
These fixatives are typically odorless crystals or liquids with high-boiling points, resulting in a general increase in the boiling point of the entire perfume composition, paralyzing the odor of the low-boiling materials. Therefore, these materials have a purely physical effect on the fragrance’s properties with minimal impact on the fragrance. An example of this fixative is Amyris oil.
Aside from the four main categories of fixatives mentioned above, the fixatives can also be categorised by their origins.
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Natural Fixatives
These are naturally derived fixatives from botanical matter or other materials found in nature. Resins such as benzoin, myrrh, and frankincense provide depth and richness, while woods such as sandalwood and agarwood are prized for their ability to fix scents while adding a warm woody base.
- Animal-derived Fixatives
Rarely used today due to ethical considerations, these fixatives are found in animals such as Ambergris from sperm whales and natrual musk from the musk deer. - Synthetic Fixatives
Produced in a lab, these fixatives are often produced as the more sustainable (both economically and ecologically) and ethical synthetic counterparts to their natural or animal-based fixatives. Some examples include synthetic musks like galaxolide and ambrettolide and aromatic chemicals like hedione and Iso E Super which have excellent fixative properties. Other popular synthetic ingredients include Dipropylene Glycol also known as DPG and it is extensively used in fragrance formulations usually as a solvent, as it is denser than alcohol, replacing part of alcohol with DPG can enhance a scent’s longevity.
Other Factors Impacting Sillage, Longevity, and Projection
While fixatives play a significant role, several other factors influence a perfume's sillage, longevity, and projection:
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Skin Type
Oily/moisturised skin tends to hold onto fragrances longer than dry skin. The natural oils help to retain the scent, enhancing its longevity and projection. If you have naturally drier skin you can emulate this by applying an unscent lotion on the same areas before you spritz on your perfume.
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Environmental Conditions:
Various environmental conditions can affect our perfumes’ longevity, sillage, and projection in different ways. Higher temperatures and humidity levels can increase the evaporation rate, potentially reducing longevity but enhancing sillage and projection as the fragrance molecules are released at a faster rate.
- Fragrance Concentration
The concentration of fragrance oils in a perfume (e.g., Eau de Toilette vs. Eau de Parfum) directly impacts its longevity and projection. Higher fragrance oil concentrations generally result in longer-lasting and more intense fragrances. -
Application Technique
Applying perfume to pulse points (wrists, neck, behind the ears) where the skin is warmer can enhance both projection and longevity. Layering with matching body products (lotions, shower gels) can also improve performance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, fixatives are vital in ensuring that a fragrance maintains its allure throughout the day. By understanding the different types of fixatives and how they enhance sillage, longevity, and projection, perfumers can create scents that captivate and endure in any condition. Other factors, such as skin type and environmental conditions, also play a role, but with the right fixatives, a perfume can truly shine, leaving a lasting impression. At Scent Journer, our mindful approach to fragrance formulation means we carefully select each ingredient, including fixatives, to ensure they align with our values of quality and sustainability.
