Finding Your Fragrance Family

Choosing a fragrance by its name alone can feel like a guess, especially when you're not sure yet which notes you like. 

Start by finding your fragrance family. Fragrance families group scents by their overall profile, and once you know which one you're drawn to, it's easier to narrow down what you'll enjoy. 

I use three fragrance families to organize Alora scents: fresh, floral, and warm & woody. Your preferences can overlap, and plenty of people find they love more than one. 

What Are Fragrance Families?

A fragrance note is a single ingredient you can pick out, like vanilla, lavender, citrus, or sandalwood. A fragrance family is the bigger picture, the overall personality of a scent, and the impression you're left with once all of those notes come together. 

‘Knowing your preferred fragrance family makes shopping for scents easier because you can look past the name on the label and go straight to the kind of scent you already know you love. 

Fresh Fragrances: Clean, Bright & Energizing

Fresh fragrances are crisp, light, and airy, giving a room a fresh, airy feel. Many are built around citrus like bergamot, lemon, and lime, and you'll also find mint, eucalyptus, green notes, and aquatic notes. 

You might love fresh fragrances if you prefer scents that feel clean and invigorating, if the smell of freshly washed linens or a cool morning appeals to you, or if you don't want a fragrance to feel heavy or overpowering. 

Fresh scents shine in spring and summer, and they suit kitchens, bathrooms, entryways, and other daytime spaces. After cooking, a fresh citrus room spray works especially well in the kitchen.

Alora fresh fragrances include Bimbi, Arancia, and Mare, and you’ll find them all together in my fresh fragrances collection.

Floral Fragrances: Soft, Romantic & Botanical

Floral fragrance doesn't automatically mean overly sweet or traditionally feminine. Florals can range from fresh and delicate to rich and sophisticated, and the same flower can read quite differently depending on what it's paired with. 

Rose, jasmine, lavender, gardenia, and peony are some of the most familiar floral notes, along with ylang-ylang and lily of the valley, or muguet, as the French call it. 

You might love floral fragrances if you gravitate toward gardens and freshly cut flowers, like a scent with a soft, romantic quality, or want something noticeable that doesn't feel heavy. 

Florals also blend beautifully with other fragrance families, which is where you'll find fresh florals and floral woody scents. 

Alora's floral fragrances include Bella, Isola, and Uno.

Warm & Woody Fragrances: Cozy, Rich & Grounding

Warm and woody fragrances are cozy, earthy, and comforting, with a richness that feels sophisticated. 

Sandalwood, cedarwood, amber, vanilla, musk, patchouli, and vetiver are common in warm and woody fragrances, along with cinnamon and other spices. Richer notes like vanilla are usually more noticeable in a room. 

You might love warm and woody fragrances if you reach for cozy scents at home, love fragrances that make a room feel warm and inviting, or prefer deeper scents over crisp or airy ones. 

These fragrances are especially lovely in the fall and winter, and they're beautiful in bedrooms, living rooms, and any cozy space where you spend your evenings.

Warm and woody fragrances include Caldo, Como, and Tre, and you’ll find them all together in this collection.

How to Find Your Fragrance Family

The easiest place to begin is my scent quiz. I put it together to help you find the fragrance that feels most like home, and it's a helpful shortcut if you'd rather not start from scratch. 

If you'd like to work it out on your own, a few things make it easier. 

1. Start With Scents You Already Love

Gather the candles, perfumes, lotions, soaps, and home fragrances you keep coming back to and read the notes on each one. Make a list as you go, and before long you'll see the same notes appearing again and again. 

2. Pay Attention To The Overall Feeling

Beyond the individual notes, notice how a scent makes you feel. Ask yourself which you reach for most often: something fresh and energizing, something soft and botanical, or something warm and cozy. The feeling you keep returning to is usually the clearest sign of your fragrance family. 

3. Smell Before You Buy

A product description can only tell you so much, so sample a fragrance whenever you can. If you're curious about one of ours, I'd love for you to try a sample. Give your nose time to adjust between scents, too, because smelling too many fragrances back-to-back makes them harder to tell apart. 

4. Don't Get Hung Up On One Note

A fragrance that contains vanilla isn't automatically a warm fragrance. Vanilla can also soften a floral or round out something fresh. The combination of notes determines the overall scent profile. 

What If You Like More Than One Fragrance Family?

You don't have to choose just one. Many fragrances combine families to create a more complex profile, and your favorite fragrance may fall somewhere between two of them. 

A few combinations to look for:

• Fresh + floral: light, clean, and botanical
  
• Floral + woody: sophisticated and grounded
  
• Fresh + woody: crisp, with an earthy undertone
  
• Warm + floral: rich, soft, and romantic

I love using different fragrances throughout my home, and fragrances from different families can work beautifully together from room to room. 

Your Fragrance Family Is Just a Starting Point

Once you know the families and notes you gravitate toward, use them as a filter whenever you shop. Look beyond the names, focus on the fragrance notes, and try different scents within your family. 

Changing scents often helps you notice fragrance again, since your nose can get accustomed to a scent you wear every day. It also helps to keep a running list of the fragrances you love and the notes they share. 

Finding your fragrance family takes the guesswork out of choosing a scent. Whether you're drawn to fresh citrus, soft florals, or warm woods, there's plenty of room to explore within each one, and starting with what you already love is the surest way to discover your next favorite.

If you'd like a little help deciding, our Scent Finder Quiz will point you toward the fragrance family that suits you best.