The top note dilemma

    Aside from all the other strategies that might be used to market a perfume, the "top note strategy," as I'll call it, is of major importance. The top note is what the customer first smells when he or she samples the fragrance. These are the strongest but most volatile notes. Upon the impression these notes make, a sale can be made -- or unmade.

    We speak of a perfume pyramid with top notes at the top, "heart" notes the middle layers, and base notes providing the foundation. If a fragrance is created with this structure, the top notes evaporate first, the heart notes next, and the base notes -- the drydown as it is called when most evaporation ends -- might retain their presence for a long while.

    The top notes, thanks to their volatility, reach our nose first. But what we are really smelling at this moment is a blend of ALL the notes. The heart and base notes are muted to our senses but they are there. In their turn they will get greater play.

    The initial rush of the top notes tends to be the decision maker for the customer. Either he or she approves or disapproves, and disapproval generally means "no sale."

    A problem the retailer faces in this situation, particularly when the perfumes are quite expensive and the buyers wealthy but unsophisticated in the ways of perfume, is that once the top notes evaporate and the perfume "changes," the customer thinks the fragrance has "gone bad" and may even return it to the shop where he or she purchased it.

    One way around this has been to create fragrances that barely change scent during the evaporation process as all the materials used have similar evaporation curves. Generally this involves using what traditionally would be base notes to create the entire perfume.

    But let's set aside the creative dilemma for today and look at the marketer's dilemma, particularly the marketer of low distribution fragrances, elite specialties intended for those who want more than what I'll call "mall fragrances." Must the marketer of an elite fragrance -- a quite original fragrance -- fall victim to the "top note strategy?"

    After conceptualizing a beautiful fragrance that unfolds hour by hour, must this marketer add a perky top note to his or her formula to make the sale? Or can the buyer be trusted to "understand" how the fragrance "works."

    I offer this question without an answer.

    Think of it this way. The top notes make the immediate impression but the perfumer's real work of art lies in the heart notes of the fragrance and, it may be that the perfumer feels that any top note rush should be suppressed or eliminated so that the real message of the fragrance can be better appreciated.

    But what if the real business of the fragrance is subtle? What if it doesn't bonk you over the skull? What if it grows on you pleasantly?

    Should this be ruined by unwanted top notes for the purpose of making more sales? Must a perfume become a carnival act to sell itself?

    Perhaps these thoughts are extreme but the fragrance I'm currently working on is all in the heart notes. I'm asking myself,  "do I want to keep it that way or should I decorate it with some intense, attention grabbing, top notes?"

    My current answer is, I'll play around with it a bit more and perhaps a solution can be found that will give instant attention -- without spoiling the intended message of the fragrance.

    Wish me luck.