What does the term «sillage» mean?

If you’ve ever read a perfume review, you’ve probably come across the term «sillage». For some critics, sillage is an important part of their evaluation. But what does it say about a fragrance?

A ship crossing a lake will create turbulence in the water. The movement creates a trail behind the ship that often lasts a long time. This trail more commonly referred to as the wake – or le sillage in French. Well, any idea yet what this has to do with the topic? Right. In the jargon used by perfumers, sillage is the scent trail that a person leaves behind them when they walk past. Some perfumes have such a strong sillage, you can still smell their wearers long after they’ve disappeared from view. In the stairwell, the lift or even out in the street, for example.

Sillage is linked to so-called projection, which is also a technical term. It’s used to describe how far a perfume radiates off your body. In other words, if someone would have to be up close to detect your perfume or if it's noticeable from a distance. Projection is like a cloud of scent that surrounds you. If it’s big and fluffy, the projection’s strong. If the cloud’s hugging your body or just a haze, the fragrance has a weak projection. Projection isn’t solely determined by your perfume’s composition, but also by your body’s chemistry. In other words, how long and how intensely a perfume stays on your skin.

Whether you choose a product with short sillage and weak projection or one with long sillage and strong projection, is primarily a question of preference. Out of consideration for others, I’d advise taking into account where you’ll be wearing the fragrance before making your purchase decision. In small office spaces, for example, fragrances that carry may put sensitive noses out of joint.