How we counted
The dataset holds 307 perfumes people still search for today. So this is not a census of every launch. It is a portrait of the perfumes that lasted. Each perfume counts once per note, whether the note sits in the top, heart or base. Before 1970 the dataset only has 18 perfumes, so we group them together and read those older figures with care.
Oakmoss, the big loser
Before 1990, 31% of the perfumes in the dataset contain oakmoss. Since 2010 the figure is 2%. Oakmoss is the backbone of the chypre, from Mitsouko (1919) to Eau Sauvage (1966). Its fall is mostly about regulation. IFRA first capped how much could be used. Then a 2017 EU regulation banned two of its allergens, atranol and chloroatranol. Recent chypres such as Aventus (2010) use oakmoss with those molecules removed.
Aldehydes belong to the pre-war years
22% of the perfumes made before 1970 contain aldehydes. Since 2000 they show up in only 2%. N°5 (1921) made them famous and Arpège (1927) followed. Today you mostly find them in perfumes built to smell like clean laundry, such as Byredo Blanche (2009).
Ambroxan, the note of our time
No perfume in the dataset contains it before 2008, when Escentric Molecules bottled it on its own as Molecule 02. It then appears in 11% of 2010s perfumes and 19% of those launched since 2020. Ambroxan smells like synthetic ambergris: woody, salty, a little mineral. It is the reason so many recent men's perfumes leave a clean trail that is still on your jacket the next morning.
Vanilla went out and came back
It sits in 50% of pre-1970 perfumes, thanks to Shalimar and the orientals. It drops to 19% between 1970 and 1989, the era of fougères and loud chypres. Since 2020 it is back to 50%. Tonka bean follows the same curve, more sharply: 13% before 1990, 28% today. Praline did not exist in the dataset before La Vie Est Belle (2012) and now appears in 9% of 2020s perfumes.
Pink pepper and oud, the newcomers
Pink pepper first shows up with Estée Lauder Pleasures (1995). Since 2000 it is in 17% of perfumes, usually in the top notes for a fizzy opening. Oud arrives in 2006 with Montale Black Aoud, and Tom Ford takes it to designer counters a year later with Oud Wood. Still, it tops out at 9% of perfumes launched since 2000. It is a loud note and it stays a specialty.
Fewer perfumes for men or for women
Before 1970, 11% of the perfumes in the dataset are unisex. In the 2010s the share climbs to 37%. Niche houses drove this: Le Labo, Byredo and Maison Francis Kurkdjian rarely assign a gender. The big fashion houses still sell their best-sellers in a men's and a women's version.
What it means when you play Perfumdle
In the daily game, the base note you get at the start often gives away the era. Oakmoss points to a perfume from before 1990. Ambroxan or praline almost always means a launch after 2010.
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Source: Perfumdle, "The notes that defined each decade", https://perfumdle.com/en/fragrance-notes-by-decade/