Natural Perfume Wheel

The Aftelier Natural Perfume Wheel© organizes essential oils, absolutes, and natural isolates into scent families, as an invaluable tool for selecting essences when blending a perfume. Like the aroma wheels for wine and coffee, this grouping of natural essences helps you get to know the aromas of each one by what characteristics it has in common with its family and what aroma facets make it different from its family. For instance, when you want to blend with a spicy essence it is useful to look at all the sweet spices together and consider the ways they are similar to each other. Then within that group, you can focus on the individual aroma facets that distinguish each sweet spice from others in the group, to select the essence that fits best in your formula.

On the back of the Natural Perfume Wheel, each essence is classified by its register as a top, middle, or base note, according to its relative volatility -- the speed with which it diffuses into the air.