What Gives Perfume And Cologne Their Individual Fragrance?
The fragrance of a perfume or cologne is determined by the ingredients it contains and by the balance between those ingredients.
Do you know the difference between an eau de toilette and an eau de cologne or a brand name perfume and a unbranded fragrance? Well, the brand name perfume is usually made to last longer but it’s a bit more complicated than that. The levels of essential oils found within a perfume, be it from a famous brand or an unknown label are what determine what the fragrance will actually be called.
The main perfume categories are:
* Perfume - which is the purest form of fragrance product and is, consequently, the most expensive. The price is balanced, however, by the fact that the scent lasts the longest.
* Eau de parfum - is lighter than Perfume and has an 8-15% concentration. It is usually less expensive but still has long lasting characteristics - typically from 3 to 5 hours.
* Eau de toilette - is a lighter more delicate fragrance, with a 4-8% concentration of the essence which makes it most suitable for everyday use. It is commonly less expensive than Eau de Parfum, and lasts between 2 and 4 hours.
* Eau de cologne and Eau de toilette are generally interchangeable especially in relation to men’s fragrances. It typically only contains between 2 and 5% aromatic oils.
There are many other products that use perfume concentrates as well as those above. The more obvious examples include soaps, cosmetics, bubble bath, lotions, creams and aftershaves.
Apart from the different classes of perfumes the scents that they produce can be described by, what is known as, their fragrance notes. Fragrances consist of different notes and can be made up of hundreds of different ingredients which make every scent an individual creation. These notes are:
* Top notes - these are the first notes you smell and are strong and very volatile. They fade quickly which allows the more “rounded” and mellow middle notes to come through.
* Middle notes - these compounds form the “heart” or main body of a perfume and can be smelt as the top notes fade away. They have a mellow fragrance and include such scents as lavender, spearmint and rose.
* Base notes - the fragrance of a perfume that appears close to the fading away of the middle notes. Compounds of this class are often the fixatives used to hold and boost the strength of the lighter top and middle notes. The scents are typically “deep” and rich and usually take at least 30 minutes before they can be perceived. But, some base notes can still be detected more than 24 hours after the perfume has been applied to the skin.
These fragrance notes and differences in the balance between the essential oils and alcohol are what make each perfume smell differently.
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