Differentiating Between Perfumes, Colognes and Other Fragrances

Perfumes are a combination of aroma compounds and essential oils along with water and alcohol that enhances the body odor. Over the last few years, the perfumes industry is experiencing some significant product innovations. The use of renewable and natural ingredients is getting good traction. The worldwide market for perfumes and fragrances is witnessing a rising trend of customized perfumes and the use of natural ingredients in the manufacturing of perfumes.

There can be a lot to decipher such as type, price, brand and a few clues are also given to what the bottle is actually holding when buying a fragrance. It is quite simple to recognize the categories of fragrances, but it may be difficult to know what those terms mean. The common categories listed below will help in differentiating between perfume, cologne and other fragrances.

Pure Perfumes, Extrait de Parfum or Parfum

Though these names may be a little deceiving but still, pure perfumes has the highest concentration with maximum fragrance. The percentage of perfume oil present in pure perfume is between 15 and 30 percent. The sillage in pure perfume is always very noticeable as they tend to seem thick and dense in the air, and can almost taste it by smelling and lasts for whole day.

Eau de Parfum (EDP)

With the concentration of perfume oils present between 15 and 20 percent, Eau de parfums is the second highest concentrated perfume. The most amazing thing of this perfume is that it last on the skin all day after spraying. The fragrance of Eau de Parfum is so strong that it can give a headache to a person around you. Eau de Parfum is the most common category in fragrance as they are the most sold perfumes from the counter of departmental stores.

Eau de Toilette (EDT)

Between 5 to 15 percent concentration of perfume oils, Eau de toilettes are made to be lighter on the skin, which does not last until the end of the evening. Many effective fragrances begin as eau de parfums and are later set free in lighter version of eau de toilette. It is not necessary that both the perfumes always share the same notes as their perfume counterparts. There are some of the heavier notes like patchouli and woods and patchouli that can be removed to make the fragrance lighter.  In order to boost the effervescence others, citrus or florals can be added.

Eau de Cologne

In North America, cologne is generally a category for masculine scents, however Eau de Cologne is in fact the term for a very light concentrated perfume oils The concentration of perfume oils in Eau de Cologne is usually 2 to 4 percent, which lasts only for a few hours. This perfume is great for short bursts and freshen up and not for long lasting wear.

Eau Fraiche

Eau Fraiche has a very little concentration of alcohol, which is about 1 to 3 percent a bit similar to Eau de Cologne. The only difference between these two is that eau de colognes are mixed with alcohol and Eau Fraiches are mixed mostly with water and is served as a quick refresher with no a long lasting fragrance