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What Is Iso E Super, and Why It's Key To Successful Perfume Layering

Especially if you've never layered fragrances before

by Sanja Savic | COMMENT

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Iso E Super is a synthetic aroma chemical, a molecule first created and patented in the 1970s by International Fragrances and Flavors. They place it in the woody odor family and describe it as "smooth, woody, amber with unique aspects giving a velvet-like sensation." Its purpose? To intensify, add fullness and strength, and boost other surrounding fragrance notes. It makes our florals more unapologetic, our warm and gourmand notes more potent. Since it's been introduced, its use and popularity in the fine fragrance industry (but not limited to) has been as steady as they come. You know those situations when your fragrance of the day smells irresistibly alluring to others, and they beg of you the answer to just what that is that you're wearing? Well, the Iso E Super molecule has that effect.

If you're a novice to both the concept and practical perfume layering and want to know how not to go wrong when you do it — look for fragrances that contain Iso E Super. What makes it foolproof? Elena Vosnaki, fragrance author and perfume history curator may have put it best when describing the behavior and presence of Iso E Super, by saying "how unapologetically synthetic, perhaps vaguely cedar-like, slightly sweet, nuanced, even peppery (in combination with other notes) it smells when you really notice it. It seems to vanish very quickly and yet resurfaces on the skin in intervals from time to time, very discreetly: the heat of the skin is integral to its volatilizing properly and it seems that any test on paper would not give an accurate perception of its true nature."

It cannot always be detected by smell directly from the bottle, either — it needs to hit the skin and loves to mingle. We have some truly delectable perfumes here which have all been formulated with Iso E Super; they are their own superstars already, but should you decide to layer your fragrances for the first time ever, you will find they are all fantastic team players, as well.

Image via @ormondejayne

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