It’s fitting that perfumers are so often said to “compose” fragrances. Not only do musical composers and perfumers both use notes, their creations grapple with themes, transitions, and relationships — the musical composer with instruments and the nose with scent materials. Plus, they both play with volume. In perfume, that volume is called sillage.

In brief, sillage (pronounced see-′yawj) is the reach of your waft. Sillage can be thick and fill a room, delicate but still voluminous, soft and close, or even shrill and close…

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