We all love a good perfume. After all, perfume characteristics is what ties your whole look together and often leaves a lasting impression long after you’ve exited the room. However, finding or even understanding fragrances can often get overwhelming. With all the different options available in the market, finding the perfect fragrance that matches your style, and personality can often feel like navigating through a complex maze.
Whether you’re looking for a classy woody perfume, a long-lasting EDP perfume, or the best-smelling perfume that suits your style. It’s essential to understand the intricacies of perfume selection before you make the purchase. Now we have talked in detail about the steps to finding your signature scentin our previous blog, We all love a good perfume. After all, perfume characteristics is what ties your whole look together and often leaves a lasting impression long after you’ve exited the room. However, finding or even understanding fragrances can often get overwhelming. With all the different options available in the market, finding the perfect fragrance that matches your style, and personality can often feel like navigating through a complex maze.
What is a Fragrance Wheel?
The perfume fragrance wheel is an invaluable tool when it comes to understanding different scent categories. Created by fragrance expert Michale Edwards in 1983, the wheel of fragrance is basically a classification system that organizes common perfume scents into different families based on their olfactory characteristics. This fragrance family wheel is divided into 4 main categories: floral, woody, fresh and oriental, which are further divided into several subcategories.

Different Fragrance Families
Let’s go into detail about the different scent family wheel categories and their subfamilies:
1. Floral
One of the most popular and loved categories in the fragrance wheel is floral. These scents are typically derived from flowers like roses, jasmine, and lilies and are mostly found in women’s fragrances. The floral family in the fragrance wheel is further divided into several subfamilies:
- Floral: Classic floral fragrances like a bouquet.
- Fruity: Often contain sweet or tropical common perfume scents of fruits.
- Soft Floral: Softer touch with powdery or creamy notes of musk.
- Floral Oriental: A beautiful combination of floral notes with a subtle hint of spices.
Popular Embark Perfumes from Floral Fragrance Family - Ananda for her, Floral Oud, My Journey Kashmir.
2. Oriental
This oriental scent meaning refers to warm, spicy and exotic fragrances. They often feature ingredients like vanilla, cinnamon, and amber. The oriental fragrance family in the perfume scent wheel is further divided into 3 subcategories:
- Oriental: Core oriental scent meaning features rich and warm scents.
- Soft Oriental: Combines floral notes with warm spices for a fragrance similar to incense.
- Woody Oriental: A mix of woody and oriental scent meaning for warmth and depth.
Popular Embark Perfumes from the Oriental fragrance family: My Dream Intense for her, My Life Intense for him & My Story for her.
3. Woody
Woody scents in the fragrance family wheel are known for their earthy, warm, and sophisticated appeal.These perfumes are often combined with floral or citrusy scents, to prevent bitterness. The woody fragrance category in the fragrance color wheel is further divided into three subcategories:
- Woods: The core woody category in the scent wheel perfume creates an aromatic fragrance.
- Mossy Wood: Known to be the smoothest, often features a touch of earthiness.
- Dry Woods: A hint of smokiness of wood with oriental fragrances.
Popular Embark Perfumes from the Woody fragrance family: My Journey Rajasthan, Wood Oud, My Dream for Him.
4. Fresh
Fresh fragrances in the perfume scent wheel offer a clean and light scent that often includes citrus, aquatic, and green notes. The fresh fragrance category in the cologne wheel has four subfamilies:
- Aromatic: Fresh notes are combined with aromatic notes, like fresh herbs with floral or woody notes.
- Citrus: They have fresh and bright scents that create a sense of invigoration.
- Water: They are mostly all about recreating the freshness of the sea or air.
- Green:They have a fresh and uplifting fragrance like that of a freshly mowed lawn or crushed green leaves.
Popular Embark Perfumes from the Fresh fragrance family: Ananda for him, My Journey goa, My Journey Kerala.
How to Use the Fragrance Wheel
Understanding the fragrance wheel can help you understand fragrance much better and eventually make the whole perfume selection process a whole lot easier. So, choose your perfumes with confidence that complement your personality and style.