Ginger

What it is

The fresh rhizome, steam distilled. The dried and ground spice smells quite different, and perfumery almost always wants the fresh version.

What it smells like

Sharp and peppery with a soapy lift, much closer to cutting into the raw root than to gingerbread. People expecting a biscuit are usually surprised by how green and cutting it is.

Where it sits

Which layer of the pyramid it is listed in, across every fragrance here that carries it. A base note is one you smell for hours; a top note is usually gone within the first.

What it turns up with

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.

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.

Azzaro (9), Armaf (8), Creed (7), Jean Paul Gaultier (7), Burberry (6), Calvin Klein (6).