Perfume notes are the scent descriptions a product page sorts into three tiers: top notes are the first impression, heart notes (also called middle notes) are the character, and base notes are the dry-down. Once you can read those tiers you can judge a fragrance before you buy it, and a 2 ml trial of the five perfumes read below costs between ৳150 and ৳1,334.
A note list is a map, not a recipe. This guide explains the pyramid, separates notes from accords, shows where to find both on an AUROME product page, and then reads five real fragrances from the catalogue line by line. If you are still deciding how much to buy once you have chosen, the decant size guide and the explainer on what a perfume decant is cover that side.
What are top, heart and base notes?
The fragrance pyramid is a way of describing how a scent is arranged over time. Product pages group notes into three layers, and AUROME’s product pages label them the same way.
- Top notes are the first impression, what you smell in the opening minutes after spraying. Citrus such as lemon or bergamot, apple and light spices are typical top notes.
- Heart notes are the character of the fragrance, the layer that takes over as the opening settles. Florals such as jasmine, lavender and rose, and spices such as cardamom, often sit here.
- Base notes are the dry-down, what stays on skin and clothes the longest. Musk, amber, vanilla, sandalwood, patchouli, cedar and oud are common base notes.
The tiers are ordered by how quickly the materials tend to evaporate. Lighter materials usually fade first, and heavier molecules that evaporate slowly are what you notice at the end. That is a general tendency, not a timetable: there is no fixed number of minutes per layer, and the catalogue does not publish one for any note. Skin, climate and how much you spray all change how a fragrance unfolds, so treat the pyramid as the order of events rather than their length.
What is the difference between notes and accords?
Notes are the individual scent descriptions named in the pyramid. Accords describe the overall impression the finished scent gives. A fragrance can smell “woody” or “sweet” without a note called woody or sweet appearing anywhere in its pyramid, because an accord is a character built from several notes working together.
On AUROME’s product pages the two are shown separately. The pyramid lists notes under Top, Heart and Base. Beside it, the main accords are drawn as bars, with the strongest accord first. You can browse both: woody, sweet, citrus, fresh spicy and vanilla are accord pages, while bergamot and vanilla are note pages. The same word can exist on both lists and mean different things. Across the catalogue, 89 products carry the oud accord but only 33 list oud as a note, so a perfume can read as oud-like without oud being named in its pyramid.
There is also a third label, the fragrance family, such as Oriental Spicy. Think of it as a broad shelf: the family tells you which neighbourhood a perfume belongs to, the accords tell you its dominant character, and the notes tell you what to look for in the detail.
How do you read the notes on a product page?
You do not need to memorise note names. A short routine works on any product page.
- Read the accord bars first. The longest bars are what the fragrance will mostly smell like, and they are the quickest filter for “do I like this style”.
- Read the base notes next. They are the part of the fragrance you live with for most of the day, so a base you dislike is a stronger warning than a top note you dislike.
- Scan the heart for something you already know you enjoy, such as lavender or jasmine.
- Check the top notes last. They set the first impression and tell you how bright or sweet the opening will be.
- Look at the season and occasion tags and the concentration. They are hints about where a scent fits, not rules.
A caution: a note name is a description of a scent impression, not a promise that the named material is in the bottle in a recognisable form. A grapefruit note should smell like grapefruit, but it is a perfumer’s version of it. Use the list as a guide to character.
Five fragrances read note by note
These five were picked because they show five different accord families. Notes, accords, family and season tags are exactly as shown on each product page; prices are for the decant sizes sold here.
| Fragrance | Strongest accords | Family | 2 ml / 5 ml |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lattafa Khamrah decant | Sweet, Warm spicy, Vanilla | Oriental Spicy | ৳150 / ৳315 |
| Rasasi Hawas Ice decant | Fruity, Citrus, Sweet | Aromatic | ৳179 / ৳390 |
| Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue For Her decant | Citrus, Woody, Fresh | Floral Fruity | ৳277 / ৳603 |
| Dior Sauvage Eau de Parfum decant | Fresh spicy, Citrus, Amber | Oriental Fougere | ৳637 / ৳1,384 |
| Creed Aventus decant | Fruity, Sweet, Woody | Chypre Fruity | ৳1,334 / ৳2,899 |
1. Lattafa Khamrah: sweet and spicy, with a deep base
Khamrah opens with bergamot, cinnamon and clary sage, moves to praline, sweet fruity notes and tuberose, and finishes on vanilla, precious woods, oud, myrrh, tonka bean, benzoin and amber. Its base holds seven notes against three at the top, and the accords lead with Sweet, Warm spicy and Vanilla, so the dry-down carries much of the character. Oud is listed as a base note, yet there is no oud accord, a good example of why notes and accords are separate. The page tags it Fall and Winter and Dinner, Evening and Night. It is a Lattafa eau de parfum, and a 2 ml trial is the cheapest way to see whether that sweetness suits you.
2. Rasasi Hawas Ice: a bright, fruity-citrus opening
Hawas Ice lists apple, Italian lemon, Sicilian bergamot and star anise on top, plum, orange blossom and cardamom in the heart, and musk, amber, driftwood and moss at the base. The accords confirm what the top notes suggest, with Fruity and Citrus far ahead of everything else. It is tagged Spring and Summer and Casual, Day, Dinner, Evening and Office. Read this way, a citrus-heavy opening means the first impression is the point of the perfume, so judge it in the first hour and then again later in the day. Browse more from Rasasi if you like the style.
3. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue For Her: one note in two tiers
Light Blue For Her lists Sicilian lemon, apple, cedar and bellflower on top, bamboo, jasmine and white rose in the heart, and cedar, musk and amber at the base. Cedar appears twice, in the top and the base, so a note can show up in more than one layer. The accords put Citrus first, then Woody and Fresh. It is an eau de toilette tagged Spring and Summer and Casual, Day, Office and Outdoor. See the Dolce & Gabbana page for the rest of that range.
4. Dior Sauvage Eau de Parfum: the pyramid versus the accords
Sauvage Eau de Parfum is a useful case because the top is short: just bergamot. The heart lists Sichuan pepper, lavender, star anise and nutmeg, and the base is ambroxan and vanilla. Yet the strongest accords are Fresh spicy and Citrus, then Amber and Lavender. The accords describe the whole impression and not only the top tier, so the spices in the heart clearly shape its character. The page tags it Fall and Winter and Date, Dinner, Evening and Office. It is one of several Dior options.
5. Creed Aventus: accords that no note names
Aventus lists bergamot, black currant, apple, lemon and pink pepper on top, pineapple, patchouli and Moroccan jasmine in the heart, and birch, musk, oak moss, cedarwood and ambroxan at the base. The accords read Fruity, Sweet, Woody, Leather, Citrus, Smoky, Musky, Fresh and Tropical. No note says leather, smoky or tropical, so those words describe how the whole composition comes across rather than named ingredients. The page tags it Fall and Spring and Day and Office, and it is a Creed fragrance.
Which notes are most common in the catalogue?
Across the catalogue, the most frequently listed note is bergamot, followed by vanilla, musk and patchouli, with amber and sandalwood next. On the accord side, Woody is the most common main accord, followed by Aromatic, Sweet, Powdery and Citrus. That tells you what you will meet most often as you browse, not what is best. If a note appears on a page you already like, click it: the vanilla note page lists every fragrance that names it, so you can find perfumes by note.
Some note families are easy to recognise once you have met them. Citrus notes such as lemon, bergamot and grapefruit smell bright and clean. Floral notes such as jasmine, rose and orange blossom range from fresh to rich. Woody notes such as sandalwood, cedar and vetiver feel dry and grounded. Musk is soft and skin-like, and amber and vanilla are warm and sweet. Patchouli is earthy and darker, and lavender is herbal and fresh. Learning a handful of these gives you a working vocabulary for any pyramid.
How can notes help you choose a perfume?
Start from what you already wear. If you like Khamrah, search the sweet and vanilla pages for perfumes with a similar base. If Hawas Ice or Light Blue suits you, the citrus accord page is a natural next stop. In Bangladesh’s warm, humid weather, fresher citrus-led scents are an obvious place to start for daytime and richer ones suit evenings; the season and occasion tags on each page help you check that.
Two tools turn this into a shortlist. Tell the Fragrance Advisor which notes you like and it suggests perfumes to try, or answer a few questions in Match your mood to see in-stock fragrances ranked for you. To compare prices across everything, use the perfume price in Bangladesh guide. Always test in a small size first; the 2 ml travel sizes exist for exactly this.
What are fragrance notes?
Fragrance notes are the individual scent descriptions that make up a perfume, such as bergamot, vanilla or sandalwood. They are grouped into top, heart and base notes so you can see how the scent opens and settles.
How long do perfume notes last?
There is no reliable number per note. Top notes tend to fade first and base notes last longest, but longevity depends on the whole composition, the concentration, your skin and the weather. The catalogue does not publish a duration for individual notes, so judge a fragrance by wearing a small decant for a full day.
Are perfume notes the actual ingredients?
Not literally. A note is a description of a scent impression, much as tasting notes for wine describe flavours rather than listing ingredients. A tuberose or apple note tells you what the fragrance evokes, not that the named material was simply added to the bottle.
Which note of perfume is best?
None is best; it depends on what you enjoy. Musk, vanilla and sandalwood are common in the base, and bergamot is the most-listed note in the catalogue, but a note you dislike on its own can work well in a blend. Choose by the accord bars and base notes you like.
What is the 30/50/20 rule for perfume?
It is a rule of thumb you may see quoted online for how much each layer of the pyramid contributes. AUROME product pages give no percentages, so we do not rely on it. Read the notes and accords as qualitative guides.
What are the different fragrance families?
A family is a broad label for a style, such as Oriental Spicy, Aromatic, Floral Fruity or Chypre Fruity in the five examples above. Each product page shows its family, and the family pages list every fragrance in that group.
Prices checked October 2026