Bitter
The bitter accord is sharp and dry, like grapefruit pith or tonic water.
In 7 of 1747 fragrances here, most often worn in spring
What it is
Grapefruit peel, wormwood, gentian and quinine notes. The rarest direction in perfumery, since bitterness reads as a warning to most noses.
What it smells like
Sharp and drying, like tonic water or the pith of a grapefruit. It is used in small quantities to keep a fragrance from being ingratiating, and a blend built around it is deliberately difficult.
How strongly it is worn
The average strength this accord is listed at, where 100 means it dominates the fragrance.
54 / 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.
Prada (2), Carolina Herrera (1), Kilian (1), Paco Rabanne (1), Viktor & Rolf (1), Yves Saint Laurent (1).
The description above is written here. The counts, pairings and seasons are measured across every fragrance on this site that lists it. We have not smelled every bottle behind those numbers.
The most bitter fragrances here
Ranked by how strongly the catalogue lists this accord, not by how popular the bottle is.
Yves Saint Laurent
Black Opium Intense
Availability may vary
