What Is Sillage? Projection, Longevity and Accord Explained

Someone brushes past you on a crowded railway platform, and ten seconds later you can still smell them. That trail has a name: sillage. Sillage is the scent a perfume leaves in the air as you move, and it's one of four words every fragrance shopper hears and few can explain.

The other three are projection, longevity and accord. Here's what each one means, with a MYOP perfume to make it real, so you can walk into a store and ask for exactly what you want.

What is sillage in perfume?

Sillage is the trail of scent a perfume leaves behind you as you move. The word is French for "wake", like the ripple behind a boat. Stand still and there's no wake. Walk past someone and the trail appears, a few seconds after you've already moved on.

Sillage isn't the same as strength. Wikipedia's entry on the term makes the point that a fragrance doesn't need to be heavy to have a large sillage. It's about how the scent travels, not how thick it is, so even a light perfume can leave a long wake.

Take MYOP's Sandal Veer. It opens on grapefruit, cardamom and pepper, then settles into musk, dry amber and akigalawood, a woody note with a deep, peppery character. Our own description calls the result a trail that stays with you throughout the day. That trail is sillage. It's what your colleague catches when you walk past their desk at 6pm, long after you've left.

What is projection in perfume?

Projection is how far a perfume radiates from your skin into the air around you while you stand still. Think of it as a bubble. Sillage is the wake behind you, projection is the bubble around you, and the two aren't the same thing.

Projection is usually loudest in the first few minutes, because top notes are the lightest and most of them are gone within 15 to 30 minutes. Spray MYOP's Eau De Mauritius   and orange, citron, mint and coriander arrive straight away. That bright opening is easy to catch at arm's length. It's also the part that fades first, which is why a perfume can fill a meeting room at 9am and feel quiet by lunch.

My view: louder isn't better. A perfume that announces itself across an office lift is a courtesy problem, not a compliment. Good projection is the kind someone notices when they lean in for a hug, not the kind a stranger notices from the far side of the room.

What is longevity in perfume?

Longevity is how many hours a perfume stays on your skin before it fades away. It's the plainest of the four words, and the one Indian heat punishes first. Spray it at 8am, check it at 4pm, and you'll know more than any label will tell you.

Longevity comes from the base notes. Musk, amber, sandalwood and resins are the heaviest ingredients in a formula, so they evaporate last. Our guide to top, heart and base notes shows which layer does what. Judge a perfume at its drydown, the final stage when only the base is left, not at the first spray. Give any new perfume two hours on your skin before you decide.

Concentration matters too. MYOP uses a 50% compound formulation, reformulated for tropical weather, so it's built for the walk from an air-conditioned office into a hot afternoon in May. Oud De Beirut, from the Cosmopolitan collection, rests on Turkish Rose, Oudh and Benzoin, heavy base materials that hold on. Browse more perfumes for an Indian summer to see how the range handles the heat.

What is an accord in perfume?

An accord is a blend of two or more notes that smells like one new thing. Cardamom and cinnamon are a good example. Smell them together and you don't get two spices, you get a chai stall.

Perfumers build accords the way cooks build masalas: each ingredient is chosen for how it changes the others. MYOP's Calicut Spice is built on cardamom, cinnamon and tonka, and it reads as one warm spice accord rather than a list. Marshmallow Fluff does the same with vanilla, musk and tonka bean, giving one soft gourmand accord.

Product pages name accords in their categories: amber woody, citrus aromatic, floral gourmand. Fusion works the same way at the counter. You blend two MYOP perfumes in whatever ratio you like, and the two scents become a third. Ask the team in a MYOP store which accord a perfume leans on, and you'll know what it smells like once the opening has faded.

FAQ

What is the difference between sillage and projection? 

Projection is how far a scent radiates around you while you stand still. Sillage is the trail you leave behind as you walk away.

What is the difference between sillage and longevity?

Sillage is how far your scent travels. Longevity is how long it lasts on your skin. A perfume can leave a big trail for two hours or a faint one for ten.

How do you pronounce sillage?

It's said "see-yazh". The word is French for "wake", the trail left behind a boat.

What is a perfume accord in simple words?

An accord is two or more notes that blend into one recognizable smell, such as woody, amber or gourmand. It's how a perfumer makes something new from familiar ingredients.

Is strong sillage always good?

No. A big trail suits an evening out, but a softer one is kinder in a small office or a shared cab. Pick the trail to match the room.

How can I make my perfume last longer?

Spray on moisturized skin and pulse points, and choose a formula with a high compound percentage. MYOP's 50% compound formulation is reformulated for tropical weather.

Conclusion

You'll only understand these four words on skin. So spray one MYOP perfume on your wrist and wait an hour. Then walk across the store and ask a friend what they catch, and how far away they catch it. Your nose will teach you faster than any blog post can.

Words only go so far. Test all four at a MYOP store. Make it MYOP.