JeanneDArcAlter
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Cologne: A particular traditional style of fragrance that came from Cologne, German in the 18th century.
Perfume: Fragrance. Anything with a mix of essential oils meant to be worn and smelled.
Eau de Parfum, Eau de Cologne, Eau de Toilette: Different categories of concentration.
Notes
There are three types of notes, or layers. Notes are a musical metaphor that come together to make the perfume accord. The top note is the initial scent, immediately noticeable following application, which fades into the middle note and finally the base note as the perfume evaporates.
Alcohol vs. non-alcohol
Most perfumes today are made with an alcohol/oil mix. Alcohol is used to enhance the scents used in a perfume, but this comes at a cost. Alcohol based perfume tends to evaporate faster than a purely oil based perfume, meaning the latter will last longer than the former. In the alcohol based perfume, the rapid evaporation leads to the perfume taking on a faded scent a few hours after application. The same process occurs in a non-alcohol base, but at a slower and more subtle rate. That said, alcohol-based scents tent to project further and more noticeably. The vast majority of non-artisan scents are alcohol-based.
Pure perfume oils are expensive due their concentration and thus usually come in small bottles. Which brings us to our next section:
Concentration
Traditional, alcohol based perfumes generally adhere to the following conventions with regard to concentration
Eau Fraiche, Mist, Splash – Contains 1 – 3% fragrance oil.
Eau de Cologne (EDC) – Contains 2 – 5% fragrance oil.
Eau de Toilete (EDT) – Contains 4 – 10% fragrance oil.
Eau de Parfum (EDP) – Contains 8 – 15% fragrance oil.
Parfum, Extrait – Contains 15 – 25% fragrance oil.
The remainder of the above concentrations is made up of alcohol.
Perfume Oil, on the other hand usually contains 15 – 30% fragrance oil with the remainder usually consisting of another non-scented oil.
Pure essential oils (such as oud oil) are also available. These are not cut with anything at all.
Now here's the important bit. Increasing the ratio of perfume oils to alcohols does not simply make the perfume stronger. As concentration increases, base notes and mid notes will become more noticeable while top-notes will become more subdued. Habit Rouge, for example, was originally formulated as an EDC, but EDT and EDP concentrations are now also available. Despite the essential oils being identical, the EDP version smells *very* different from the EDC version; the citrus opening of the scent is almost completely gone, while the Leather and vanilla tones are *much* stronger. This effectively makes the fragrance more linear. Where before the fragrance went through changes and stages, (starting with a blast from the top and fading into mids and then finally bases) now we have a scent that starts with strong mids and bases, and pretty much stays like that the whole day. Which style of fragrance you prefer is up to you, but a lesson you should take away from this is that bigger is not necessarily better. Choose the formulation which *you* like best. And definitely try both.
Perfume: Fragrance. Anything with a mix of essential oils meant to be worn and smelled.
Eau de Parfum, Eau de Cologne, Eau de Toilette: Different categories of concentration.
Notes
There are three types of notes, or layers. Notes are a musical metaphor that come together to make the perfume accord. The top note is the initial scent, immediately noticeable following application, which fades into the middle note and finally the base note as the perfume evaporates.
- Top notes: The scents that are perceived immediately on application of a perfume. Top notes consist of small, light molecules that evaporate quickly. They form a person's initial impression of a perfume and thus are very important in the selling of a perfume. Also called the head notes.
- Middle notes: The scent of a perfume that emerges just prior to when the top notes dissipate. The middle note compounds form the "heart" or main body of a perfume and act to mask the often unpleasant initial impression of base notes, which become more pleasant with time. They are also called the heart notes.
- Base notes: The scent of a perfume that appears close to the departure of the middle notes. The base and middle notes together are the main theme of a perfume. Base notes bring depth and solidity to a perfume. Compounds of this class of scents are typically rich and "deep" and are usually not perceived until 30 minutes after application.
Alcohol vs. non-alcohol
Most perfumes today are made with an alcohol/oil mix. Alcohol is used to enhance the scents used in a perfume, but this comes at a cost. Alcohol based perfume tends to evaporate faster than a purely oil based perfume, meaning the latter will last longer than the former. In the alcohol based perfume, the rapid evaporation leads to the perfume taking on a faded scent a few hours after application. The same process occurs in a non-alcohol base, but at a slower and more subtle rate. That said, alcohol-based scents tent to project further and more noticeably. The vast majority of non-artisan scents are alcohol-based.
Pure perfume oils are expensive due their concentration and thus usually come in small bottles. Which brings us to our next section:
Concentration
Traditional, alcohol based perfumes generally adhere to the following conventions with regard to concentration
Eau Fraiche, Mist, Splash – Contains 1 – 3% fragrance oil.
Eau de Cologne (EDC) – Contains 2 – 5% fragrance oil.
Eau de Toilete (EDT) – Contains 4 – 10% fragrance oil.
Eau de Parfum (EDP) – Contains 8 – 15% fragrance oil.
Parfum, Extrait – Contains 15 – 25% fragrance oil.
The remainder of the above concentrations is made up of alcohol.
Perfume Oil, on the other hand usually contains 15 – 30% fragrance oil with the remainder usually consisting of another non-scented oil.
Pure essential oils (such as oud oil) are also available. These are not cut with anything at all.
Now here's the important bit. Increasing the ratio of perfume oils to alcohols does not simply make the perfume stronger. As concentration increases, base notes and mid notes will become more noticeable while top-notes will become more subdued. Habit Rouge, for example, was originally formulated as an EDC, but EDT and EDP concentrations are now also available. Despite the essential oils being identical, the EDP version smells *very* different from the EDC version; the citrus opening of the scent is almost completely gone, while the Leather and vanilla tones are *much* stronger. This effectively makes the fragrance more linear. Where before the fragrance went through changes and stages, (starting with a blast from the top and fading into mids and then finally bases) now we have a scent that starts with strong mids and bases, and pretty much stays like that the whole day. Which style of fragrance you prefer is up to you, but a lesson you should take away from this is that bigger is not necessarily better. Choose the formulation which *you* like best. And definitely try both.
