Shopping for your next fragrance can be a tricky business; after all, with so many to choose from, how do you decide? Our guide to fragrance strengths and types, with our easy-to-use fragrance wheel, will help you figure out which fragrance you’d like to try next.

Fragrance Families

The first step to finding your favorite fragrance is to understand the different scent families that every scent is based on. The four main types are warm, woody, oriental, and fresh, with each effect brought out by different combinations of fragrances. Fresh scents, like Davidoff Cool Water, generally rely on aquatic and citrus notes, whereas warm scents like DKNY’s Be Delicious use more florals and juicy fruit scents. Next, take a look at our fragrance strength chart to understand the longevity of different fragrance types.

Fresh

Fresh fragrances usually comprise of citrus, water and green notes. This means they have refreshing, zesty and vibrant smells. Citrus-based fragrances are usually created with lemon, mandarin and bergamot, while water fragrances are made with aquatic notes like sea spray; think L’Eau d’Issey by Issey Miyake, or Acqua di Gio by Armani.

Fresh green fragrances are often reminiscent of herbal and leafy scents for a crisp, uplifting smell. They can sometimes be referred to as aromatic fougère fragrances, created with notes of lavender, rosemary or basil.

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