The Accord of Love

The world of perfumery is about to receive company. No, not just another new scented elixir to add to the shelf, but a new core, a fresh accord, as it is referred to in perfumery. But what is an accord and why do we need one? 

If you look up the definition of an accord you will find words like; harmonious, consistent, conformity, and agreement. So a grouping? A coming together?

Although some of these words might seem more fitting for a treaty among nations or a business deal, they are also suited for perfume. A fragrance is a mixture of ingredient notes, and they will blend and work together to create something delightful. 

In perfumery, an accord is simply this:- a group of notes that are more or less always used together to create a type of scent, a style of scent if you like.

Take baking a cake as a simple example. Usually, the basic recipe involves flour and eggs and sugar. However, the way you prepare those ingredients and other additions you make to the recipe can determine whether you will be making a chocolate, lemon, or coffee cake. But it can’t be a regular cake without the key three ingredients.

In perfumery, there are a handful of well-known accords that by their very name will let people know if the scent is floral or woody, ambery or even green and fresh. There is even a scent wheel that highlights all the key accords

Take the Chypre accord, a well-known grouping, an astonishingly beautiful collection of top notes, middle notes, and base notes.

Chypre is most commonly described as fresh floral and then woody. Now, refer back to the recipe analogy. Start with the citrus at the top of the fragrance as your first ingredient. Then, choose florals for the middle, and then finalize the end of your mixture with woody notes.

This is a structure, and it is the equivalent of an instruction manual for a Chypre accord. So any Chypre perfume can open with any citrus note, then followed by any floral note and finish with a woody note. This is why you can have so many different Chypre-style perfumes.

Accords are just cornerstones of where a perfumer may start when creating a new scent. It’s also the reason why they hold so much importance in perfumery. 

Image Jasmine Gillanders

As well as Chypre, other famous accords would be Florals, Ambers, Fougere woody etc. And now, we add the new “Love Accord” to that list.

Fashion designer Elie Saab has come out with a new fragrance, ELIXIR, and the star is his new creation is the “Love Accord.” An accord that he made exclusively for his latest fragrance. 

At the heart of the perfume is the floral scent of Iris. This rooty powdery element is mixed into the new “Love Accord” and will come together as a new entity that your olfactory sense has never encountered before. 

The structure of the fragrance begins with the introduction of Neroli and Mandarin essence. It follows with the scent of Iris and the “Love Accord,” the heart of the perfume. Finishing with amber woods, Myrrh, and Benzoin for the show stopper. 

This lovely mixture is packaged in a beautiful spherical bottle with Elie Saab’s house monogram front and centre.

The “Love Accord” will be one of the newest members to join the family of perfume accords, giving even more options for you to satisfy your nose’s needs.

To find out more visit EllieSaab.com here

If you enjoyed reading The Accord of Love then why not read In a Nutshell Here

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