Shopping for a new fragrance can be overwhelming. One question we’re often asked is what’s the difference between an eau de parfum, toilette or cologne? So, we thought we would give you a quick overview on fragrance concentrations because that’s what differentiates types of fragrances.
For starters, you may be interested to know that the term fragrance is a unisex term used for perfume. And here’s another interesting tidbit, the word perfume is also a unisex expression. Although, men commonly use the term cologne.
A fragrance is simply a combination of extracts, oils, alcohol, preservatives and water. The key to highlight is perfumes with a higher fragrance concentration contain more perfume oils and less alcohol.
Fragrance concentrations are divided into five categories: parfum, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne, and eau fraiche. Let’s briefly look at each one:
Parfum
This is the most concentrated and expensive of all fragrance options. It’s composed of 20-30% pure perfume oils and lasts up to 8 hours.
Perfume / Eau de Parfum
Contains 15-20% pure perfume oils and lasts for about 4 to 5 hours.
Toilette / Eau de Toilette
A light composition with 5-15% pure perfume oils dissolved in alcohol. Usually lasts 2 to 3 hours.
Cologne / Eau de Cologne
A light composition with 2-6% perfume oils with a higher concentration of alcohol and water. Usually lasts for about 2 hours.
Eau Fraiche / After-Shave
This is the most diluted version of fragrance, usually with 1-3% perfume oil in mostly water and not a high amount of alcohol. Usually lasts for about an hour.
We hope this brief overview offered some insight into fragrance concentrations. If by chance your fragrance scent is not lasting as long as you would it to, our suggestion would be to choose an Eau de Parfum, if it’s available in your favourite fragrance.
And if perhaps you’re searching for a new fragrance, at Gentil Scents, we proudly carry unique and exceptional fragrance lines made in Italy including Acca Kappa, Acqua dell’Elba and Carthusia, just to name a few.
Alla prossima – until next time. Arrivederci.
