Process, development and inspiration

The Fragrance Wheel Categories
Floral (Floral + Fresh Notes). Main notes include fresh-cut flowers.
Soft Floral (Floral Notes). Main notes include aldehydes and powdery notes.
Floral Oriental (Floral + Oriental Notes). Main notes include orange blossom and sweet spices.
Soft Oriental (Oriental + Floral Notes). Main notes include incense and amber.
Oriental (Oriental Notes). Main notes include oriental resins such as frankincense, and vanilla.
Woody Oriental (Oriental + Woody Notes). Main notes include sandalwood and patchouli.
Woods Main notes include aromatic woods and vetiver.
Mossy Woods (Woody + Oriental Notes). Main notes include oakmoss and amber.
Dry Woods (Woody Notes). Main notes include dry woods and leather.
Aromatic Fougère (Fresh Notes). Main notes include lavender and aromatic herbs. This universal fragrance family includes elements from different families: the freshness of from the Citrus family, floral notes of lavender, the spicy-sweetness of a Floral Oriental, the ambery depth of an Oriental and the Mossy Woods warmth of sandalwood and oakmoss.
Citrus (Woody + Fresh Notes). Main notes include bergamot and other citrus oils.
Water (Fresh + Floral Notes). Main notes include marine and aquatic notes, generally from the chemical calone. Green (Fresh + Floral Notes). Main notes include galbanum and green notes.
Fruity (Fresh + Floral Notes). Main notes include berries and other non-citrus fruits.

Source: http://theperfumedcourt.com/fragrance_families.aspx
Source: http://www.nstperfume.com/2010/03/09/perfumista-tip-on-fragrance-families/

Did you know humans have been using perfume to fragrance themselves for thousands of years?
Throughout history, quite a few terms developed that we still use every day to discuss everything from fragrances notes to bottle manufacturing. Explore our wild, fun and fragrant world with some of the lingo below.

Library of Terms
Rendering: A 2D or 3D computer-generated image of a potential product that transforms an idea into a realistic, digital image.
Clay Mock Up: a “pre-sample” model made out of clay that will be used to imprint the custom mold sample made at the factory.
Comp: a “pre-sample” model made in-house with available materials. Comps are used to give a general idea of layout and sizing before progressing to the factory-made sample.
Sample: a factory-made model of the projected final product using all the materials that would be used in mass production. Certain finishes and fixtures may be applied by hand for the sample.
Mood Board: a creative collection of images to convey the mood, feeling or experience associated with the fragrance.
T.O.P.: Top of Production. This is a product that is pulled off the beginning of the mass production line to test for quality and address any discrepancies between the sample and the final product.
Maceration: there is a time frame in which the alcohol smells very strong and the fragrant isolates are very weak just after a fragrance is blended. Maceration means just what it says - the fragrant molecules become more dispersed in the alcohol solution and the mixture as a whole becomes more homogenous.
Longevity: how long the fragrance lasts on skin.
Sillage: the “range” or “projection” of the perfume. In other words, how long the perfume is detectable in the air after you have walked away.
Top Notes: Perceived immediately upon application of a perfume, top notes consist of small, light molecules that evaporate quickly. They form a person's initial impression of a perfume and thus are very important in the selling of the product. The scents of this note class are usually described as "fresh," "assertive" or "sharp." The compounds that contribute to top notes are strong in scent, very volatile, and evaporate quickly.
Middle/Heart Notes: The scent of a perfume that emerges just prior to when the top notes dissipate. The middle note compounds form the "heart" or main body of a perfume and emerge in the middle of the perfume's dispersion process. They serve to mask the often unpleasant initial impression of base notes, which become more pleasant with time. Not surprisingly, the scent of middle note compounds is usually more mellow and "rounded." Scents from this note class appear anywhere from two minutes to one hour after the application of a perfume.
Base Notes: The scent of a perfume that appears close to the departure of the middle notes. The base and middle notes together are the main theme of a perfume. Base notes bring depth and solidity to a perfume. Compounds of this class are often the fixatives used to hold and boost the strength of the lighter top and middle notes. Consisting of large, heavy molecules that evaporate slowly, compounds of this class of scents are typically rich and "deep" and are usually not perceived until 30 minutes after the application of the perfume or during the period of perfume dry-down. Some base notes can still be detectable in excess of twenty-four hours after application, especially the animalic and musk notes.
Dry-Down: Another term to describe the middle and base notes of a fragrance, after the alcohol and top notes have evaporated.
Blotters: Thick pieces of paper that are used to initially evaluate a fragrance. Most often seen in the “stick” format with a thin end that can dip into the tiny fragrance bottle and a thicker end to hold and label.
Custom Mold: A unique mold that is created from scratch based on a 3D rendering and mock up. This allows greater creativity, flexibility and size ranges than using stock components. Using a custom mold ensures that the bottle or cap will be one of a kind and not found elsewhere on the market, but it is most likely more expensive than using stock bottles/caps.
Stock Bottle/Cap: Bottles and caps that are found on the open market can be purchased wholesale to use for different projects. There are virtually endless options for stock components and using these is most likely cheaper than opening custom molds. However, the bottle/cap used will never be unique to the brand and could used elsewhere on the market.
UV Finish: A shiny metallic coating that is added to a product. This treatment can be used on bottles, caps, or packaging.
Soft Touch Finish: an opaque, matte finish that feels buttery and more “skin-like” than a normal glossy plastic finish.
Oil: The raw and concentrated fragrance oil that is diluted in an alcohol/water base for filling the bottles. Fragrance House: a company composed of perfumers, chemists, supply chain managers and more that source the raw ingredients and essential oils from around the world to build the chemical and artistic formula of a fragrance and mass produce the wholesale fragrance oil.
Juice: the scented liquid used to fill the bottles in mass production. This fragrance mixture is commonly composed of concentrated fragrance oil, alcohol and water.
PDQ: “Pretty Darn Quick”. In the retail industry, a PDQ is a corrugated display holding multiple products that is shipped with the product inside, which can be quickly unpacked and displayed.
Romance Copy: Text that is used to describe the feelings, emotions and stories that a fragrance evokes. Sometimes romance copy includes key fragrance ingredients and notes that make up the scent.