Scent Word Families: Soapy
What Does Soapy Mean in Perfumery?
Soapy: What Does it Mean in Perfumery?
Soapy belongs to the scent word family
Soapy seems like it would be an easy word to describe. But in perfumery, it can have a few different nuances, and I had some fun in researching this week’s scent word!
Soapy *does* describe a “clean” scent, originally deriving from the aroma of old-fashioned soap bars. But it’s also a little bit more than that as it can have floral and/or citrus undertones and skew towards bitter or sweet.
The underlying chemical component which gives a fragrance a soapy aroma is the aldehyde. But it’s not all aldehydes. Aldehydes are an interesting component to the perfumer because they can be used to skew a perfume in a certain direction. In the case of soapy, it is the long-chain aldehydes (C11-C16) which can lean towards a soapy or waxy aroma, while adding depth and warmth to a fragrance, as well (1).
For the botanical perfumer, creating a soapy scent can sometimes be problematic - unless you combine botanical essences which contain a significant amount of C11-C16 aldehydes. These might include:
Citrus oils such as bergamot (Citrus bergamia), yellow mandarin (Citrus reticulata): C-11, dodecanal aldehyde
Cilantro leaf (Coriandrum sativum): C-11
Grapefruit peel (Citrus paradisi): C-13 (2)
But combining these botanicals with other aromas, such as floral, can result in a soapy-floral or a soapy-citrus fragrance. And so on. A perfumer often has to be a skilled artist to create the desired outcome!
Learning scent language is key to understanding the perfume process. By grouping related words into similar groups, you can see both how they interact with each other and how they ultimately work together (or against) to help you to create a beautiful fragrance.
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What did you learn from this article? Drop me your thoughts in the comments below.
References:
Scent Journer. The Role of Aldehydes in Modern Perfumery.
Alpha Aromatics. 2019. What are Aldehydes and How are They Used in Perfumery?
“What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.”
Yiddish Proverb