A fragrance brief is the document a brand gives to perfumers and fragrance houses before any creation starts. Everything the perfumer composes will be measured against it, so a vague brief usually leads to long rounds of trials and a result nobody fully owns.
A good brief answers six questions.
1. Who is the brand, and what is this fragrance for?
Start with the brand story and the role of the new fragrance in the range: a first signature, a flanker, a limited edition, a scent for a space. Perfumers need to know what the fragrance must say, not only how it should smell.
2. Who will wear it?
Describe the customer in concrete terms: age range, markets, habits, the fragrances they already buy. A customer in Dubai and a customer in Paris often expect a different intensity and longevity, and the brief should say which market comes first.
3. What is the olfactive direction?
Name the olfactive family you have in mind (floral, woody, amber, chypre, fougère, citrus), give two or three reference fragrances, and say what to avoid. References are not there to be copied; they give everyone the same starting point.
4. What is the product?
Concentration (eau de toilette, eau de parfum, extrait), bottle size, distribution channels and retail price position. These choices affect the formula and its cost.
5. What are the constraints?
The budget for the fragrance concentrate, usually expressed as a price per kilo, regulatory requirements such as IFRA compliance, and any ingredients the brand wants to use or exclude.
6. How will the fragrance be evaluated?
Agree on the timeline, the number of submission rounds, who decides, and how trials will be tested: on blotter, on skin, over several hours, and with which panel.
The test of a good brief
Read it again and ask: could two different perfumers read this and start in the same direction? If the answer is yes, the brief is ready.
At DIBA LAB, writing the brief is the second step of every fragrance project, after a discovery conversation with the brand.