Peony

What it is

Also unextractable, and also entirely reconstructed. The note is usually built from rose materials with green and watery molecules on top.

What it smells like

Soft, watery and lightly rosy, with none of the depth of a real rose. It reads as fresh and unserious, which is exactly what it is used for, and it is among the most common notes in fragrances aimed at a young market.

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.

Lancome (9), Burberry (8), Calvin Klein (8), Yves Saint Laurent (7), Givenchy (5), Guerlain (4).