Chypre Accord

Note Profile

Abstract

About

The chypre accord is a structure, not a single material. It is a bright citrus opening over a base of oakmoss and cistus labdanum, usually with rose and jasmine in between. Both sources describe it the same way: the accord is the contrast. A sparkling citrus top burns off in about thirty minutes and leaves something dark, damp and mossy behind.

Scent Profile

Mossy oakmoss character dominates and gives the accord its name. Under it, cistus labdanum brings a warm amber-resinous, balsamic weight, and a damp earthy quality reads as forest floor, wet earth after rain and old books. A bright, almost aggressive citrus sits on top and is gone within about half an hour. Dry woody depth comes from oakmoss and patchouli together, and a rose and jasmine floral heart is layered over the base. Below those, musk adds a light powdery softness and a faint animalic edge, patchouli a cool camphoraceous lift, and labdanum a thin leathery streak.

ScentWheel

Breadthmedium

EnvelopeBase · ~24h lasting

Family Woody & Earthy, Amber · Musk · Leather, Fresh & Citrus, Floral

Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.

Origin

Named after Coty's Chypre of 1917, which fixed the structure the whole family is built on. It is a compounded accord assembled from named materials rather than one product with a datasheet. Wikipedia gives the parts: citrus top notes, a middle centred on cistus labdanum, and a mossy-animalic base from oakmoss, with patchouli and musk in support and a floral component from rose and jasmine oil. No manufacturer sells a single material under this name, so this vector describes the classical structure rather than any one company's base.

Usage in Perfumery

Perfumers build the accord rather than dose it. It is the backbone of the chypre family and of the leather and floral chypres that grew out of it. Bergamot carries the top, labdanum and oakmoss carry the base, and patchouli deepens the drydown. The point of the accord is the contrast between the two ends, so it is used where a composition needs a bright opening and a dark floor at once.