Almond

What it is

Benzaldehyde, the same molecule that gives marzipan and cherry stones their smell. Bitter almond oil is the natural source and is used sparingly.

What it smells like

Sweet marzipan with a cherry-like bitterness underneath. The bitterness is the whole character: without it the accord collapses into plain sweetness, and with too much it tips towards the smell of a nail salon.

How strongly it is worn

The average strength this accord is listed at, where 100 means it dominates the fragrance.

74 / 100

What builds it

How much more often than the catalogue average. 1.0x would be chance, so these are the things that genuinely travel with it rather than the things that are simply common.

Accords it sits beside

Same measure, with its own family filtered out. Saying woody turns up with oud is a restatement, not a finding.

When it is worn

Against the average fragrance here. The line marks that average, so a bar past it means this is worn in that season or setting more than most.

Houses that use it most

Counted across the fragrances here, which reflects what we cover as much as what a house makes.

Carolina Herrera (6), Guerlain (5), Tom Ford (5), Parfums De Marly (4), Al Haramain (3), Burberry (3).