There is limitless vocabulary you can use to describe the various aspects of fragrances and everything that goes with it. 

Somehow, we still have not reached the end of that list. 

Barnyard - This refers to a fragrance with an intense earthy, woody, ‘dirty’/actual dirt, potent aroma that oftentimes will smell like an actual barnyard or farm. 

Blind Buy - This describes the act of buying a fragrance without ever having smelled it. You are literally blind to how the fragrance smells. 

Blotters/Blotter Cards - These are the little strips of paper that you can find at pretty much any fragrance store. You spray a fragrance on them so that you can try/smell a scent before trying it on the skin.

Boozy - This refers to a fragrance that has an aroma of liquor or a cocktail. This will usually be a scent that has an actual liquor note in it, like Whiskey, Rum, Bourbon, Cognac, etc.

Carnal/Narcotic - This describes a scent that is rich and intense, very sensual, and/or intoxicating. They are the type of fragrances that when you smell them, they kind of take over all of your senses and you might feel your skin get a little tingly or feel your chest expand a little more, and give a general sexy vibe. 

Coffret - This is a type of discovery set, which will typically come with 3-6 travel atomizers in 5-10ml sizes. These sets will vary depending on the brand. They are a great way to travel with your fragrances, or have a larger size that will give you more time and quantity to try before committing to a full bottle. 

Concrete - This is a waxy substance that is produced from the oils of various plants and flowers during the distillation process. It’s typically more dense and concentrated and captures more of the essence of the source material that it came from. When you see ‘Concrete’, it means it’s a more intense version of that ingredient. For example, there’s Iris, then the Iris Absolute is an even more strong ingredient, and then Iris Concrete is even more strong than the Absolute, and more easily detectable. 

Crisp - This refers to a fragrance that is clean, fresh, invigorating with maybe a little bit of a bite or sharpness to it. These will be scents that are super clean in the way of something like fresh mountain air or snowy air.

Depth - This one is a way to describe a fragrance that has a little bit more going on in its composition. Maybe more warmth, more rich or heavy, or more intensity.

Dewy - This will be a scent that evokes an essence of fresh, cool, moist, water essence of morning dew.

Dummy Bottle - These are display bottles that are the same size as the actual fragrance. They are usually empty and sealed and unopenable. 

Earthy - This basically means a fragrance is reminiscent of nature. This can mean woody notes, but also encompasses soil, grasses, Moss, capturing the essence of being in the woods. 

Eau de Cologne - Once upon a time, “Cologne” would refer to a masculine fragrance. “Eau de Cologne” however, typically refers to the fragrance variation as far as the oil percentage. Originally, ‘Eau de Cologne’ was the name of a fragrance that was created in Cologne, Germany, and translates to ‘Water of Cologne’ or ‘Water from Cologne’.

Ethereal - This refers to a fragrance that has an otherworldly or dreamy aroma. It can be wispy, delicate, super light and airy. 

Factice - A giant bottle made to look like the real fragrance bottle. This is only for display purposes and the bottle will usually be empty, sometimes filled with colored water to look like the juice of the fragrance.

Femme - This is the french word for ‘Woman and refers to a fragrance made for women.

Fixative - An ingredient added to a fragrance to help keep things from evaporating too quickly and helping the scent to last on the skin. These will typically be your ‘heavier’ base notes like woods, resins, earth tones such as Vetiver, Patchouli, Moss, Amber, Vanilla, etc.

Flanker - This is basically a new version of an existing fragrance. This could be something like Absolu Aventus and Aventus Cologne being the flanker of Aventus, or the various Versace Eros fragrances, or Amouage Guidance 46 is the flanker of Guidance.

Hedione - A synthetic ingredient that tends to make a fragrance more luminous or helps to boost other notes in the fragrance. It oftentimes will have a Jasmine like aroma, and can give fragrances without a Jasmine note a ‘Jasmine vibe’.

Homme - This is the french word for ‘Man’ and refers to a fragrance made for men.

Juice - This refers to the liquid itself, that is inside the bottle. 

Layering - This refers to using multiple products together, such as a shower gel and a lotion and a fragrance, or putting on more than one fragrance to create something new or make your scent pop or last longer.

Olfactory - This refers to or relates to the sense of smell.

Performance - This refers to the overall lifespan of your fragrance. Essentially, how long it lasts, how strong it is, how far it projects and how other people are perceiving it.

Petally - This describes an aroma of flower petals.

Powdery - This describes a fragrance that can smell like talcum or baby powder, but oftentimes more like cosmetic powders. It sometimes can include Baby’s Breath, Orange Blossom, lipstick, or a general aroma of Powder. 

Reformulation - This refers to the changing of a fragrance’s ingredients, therefore changing how it smells.

Scent Bubble - This refers to the area around a person where their fragrance is noticeable.

Synthetic - A synthetic ingredient will be a note used in a fragrance that was created in a lab.

Tart - This refers to a fragrance that typically has more Citrus notes to it, and will be a little sharp, tangy, almost bitter to where you can kind of tell that maybe the fragrance used more of the peels or rinds of a citrus vs the citrus juices.

Velvety/Buttery - Both of these terms kind of go hand in hand and describe fragrances that are smooth, creamy, rich, Ambery, warm, comforting. 

Vintage - This refers to a fragrance that is older, as in this scent was made decades ago and is no longer being made. What is still available is considered vintage. It can also sometimes refer to the aroma of a fragrance having a smell that is ‘old fashioned’.