Top, Heart, Base: Understanding Fragrance Notes

A perfume is not one smell. It is a structure, built in three layers that unfold over hours. Once you can hear the layers, you can read any fragrance.

Top notes: the opening

Top notes are the lightest molecules — citrus, black pepper, bergamot. They evaporate first, which is why they hit hard and leave fast. Their job is to catch your attention.

In NUIT, the opening is black pepper: sharp, dark, a little smoky. It lasts about ten minutes. If you judge NUIT in those ten minutes, you will think it is a pepper perfume. It is not.

Heart notes: the character

After twenty minutes the heart arrives. These are the middle-weight notes — rose, cedar, lavender, cardamom — and they are the true character of the scent. A perfumer spends most of their time here.

NUIT's heart is cedar: dry wood, pencil shavings, a quiet warmth. This is the part your colleagues will notice at lunch.

Base notes: the memory

Base notes are the heaviest molecules — amber, musk, sandalwood, vanilla. They can last 8 to 12 hours on skin and days on fabric. They are what lingers on a scarf the morning after.

NUIT's base is amber: resinous, golden, warm. It is the reason people ask what you are wearing at the end of the night, long after the pepper is gone.

How to use this

1. Spray once on your wrist.
2. Smell immediately — that is the top.
3. Wait 30 minutes — that is the heart.
4. Smell again before bed — that is the base.

If you love all three acts, you have found your scent. If you only love the opening, keep looking — the opening is the shortest part of the story.