Feminine, masculine? Does it really matter when it comes to perfume? I wander over to  Sephora’s masculine section and bravely spray Ralph Lauren Polo on my wrist. After all, I had to wear Drakkar Noir as a perfumery student to learn its nuances and once spent a whole day drenched in Paco Rabanne, which a friend described as burly and virile. Neither of those words has ever been applied to me, but as I get a piney leathery waft of Polo I start to fidget. As much as I want to be open minded about disregarding gendered divisions, some smells seem too masculine to be comfortable for me. The biggest offenders are the fougère style fragrances like Guy Laroche Drakkar Noir, Davidoff Cool Water and Yves Saint Laurent Kouros–the style which combines the aromatic richness of lavender with citrus, geranium, amber, musk and oakmoss.

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A piece of dark chocolate is my idea of a perfect dessert. It is bitter and creamy, sweet and nutty, tender and animalic. Chocolate has such a kaleidoscopic range of flavors and aromas that it would seemingly be perfect as a perfume note. Yet, instead of conveying luscious darkness, most chocolate fragrances go no further than the creamy cocoa impression suggested by vanilla and milky notes.

As beautiful as true dark chocolate can be, it is extremely challenging to work into a composition. The very qualities that chocolate lovers crave—bitterness and richness—can register more like a gamey stew than a mouthwatering confection. Enter Arquiste Parfumeur Anima Dulcis, a fragrance that does not shy away from bringing out the animalic facets of bitter chocolate, while remaining harmonious and tempting. It is an oriental composition that hints at gourmand, but ends up in an unexpected chocolate incense territory.

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The inability of our language to fully capture the nuances of scents can be very frustrating. We associate scents with something – a place, a memory, a flavor – but most people struggle to describe smell on its own terms. Perfumers and professional fragrance evaluators overcome some of the communication issues by being trained to use specific terms to define fragrances. Often this language finds its way to press releases and perfume counters, but lacking an explanation, it is often meaningless. Who would ever guess that “aromatic” in perfumery parlance means green, camphorous, herbal notes, as opposed to “having an aroma,” as a dictionary would define it? Or how would one define balsamic, aldehydic and floralcy?

A few months ago we chatted about the terms we found confusing, and based on that discussion I made a list of common terms and perfume descriptors. This list is constantly updated, and for more information on a specific term, please click on the link associated with it. Please feel free to suggest other terms to add.

A B C F G H I L M O P R S T V W Z

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Bond No. 9 introduces a new fragrance inspired by New York’s neighborhood. Central Park West will officially launch on March 15. The notes include narcissus, black pepper, ylang-ylang, gardenia, jasmine, linden, iris, musk, white oak, treemoss, vetiver. It comes with a detachable pink flower, which can be worn as a brooch.

“Elegant thoroughfares with palatial buildings are in evidence elsewhere in Manhattan, but they’re the specialty at Central Park West, which urban planners and architectural critics regard as one of the grandest, most sumptuous addresses in America… Central Park West, the fragrance, has been designed to have the grandeur and largesse of the street itself. It starts off with a springtime wakeup call: Narcissus mingled with tangy ylang ylang and a pinch of piquant pepper. Then comes a beckoning white-petal mélange— orris, jasmine, and linden—surrounding their centerpiece, majestic gardenia. Sustaining and enriching this bouquet is an enduring base of white oak and vetiver, combined with the animal whiff of musk.”

Central Park West will be available at Bond No. 9’s six New York stores, Saks Fifth Avenue and bondno9.com. Price: 100ml, $250; 50ml, $180; body silk, $130; candle, $110; shower gel, $75. Via press release.

The niche brand A Dozen Roses has just launched a new fragrance called Electron. The collection already includes three fragrances: Shakespeare in Love, Gold Rush and Iced White.

Electron is described as “a shock to the senses. Electron is a stunning combination of Electric Pink Rose blended with a jolt of green tea, violet leaves and cattleya orchid then superchargedwith neon musk, and A Dozen Roses’ signature rose absolute.”

Available at Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Retails for $95/3.4oz. Via press release.