Parfum, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne.......... what?

Being the cosmetic addict that I am, I often find myself wandering aimlessly in drugstores and malls smelling everything within a ten-mile radius, and I never cease to be amazed at the number of choices there are for the very same scent or line. If I like how it smells, what do I get? Parfum? Eau de Parfum? Eau de Toilette? Eau de Cologne?


So, to understand the differences between all the different categories I did some research on the composition of these products. Essential oils are what give perfumes their distinctive smells and what differentiates these various options is their concentration in those oils, that are arranged in certain quantities to form the so-called notes, that come across as the product lingers on your skin.


The top or head notes are the ones you smell immediately after spraying your skin with a fragrance and shape your first impression of a perfume, but they evaporate very quickly to be replaced by the middle or heart notes  that appear between two minutes and one hour after the application of the product. And finally one discovers the base notes, that consist, along with the middle notes, in the main theme of a perfume that will last on one's skin.

Parfum - or perfume is the one with the strongest concentration of essential oils. It tends to be between 20% and 25%, but can go up to 40% in some perfumes. Another important aspect is the fact that it contains a large palette of top, middle and base notes that are released when you wear the product for a certain amount of time, making it very interesting and long lasting.


Eau de Parfum - is close to perfume, but it has a lower percentage of essential oils, that can still go up to 20%. The middle or heart notes of the fragrance are predominant.


Eau de Toilette - is a much lighter version of a scent, containing around 10% essential oils and focusing on top notes.


Eau de Cologne - is the least concentrated in essential oils and doesn't last very long on the skin, but because of its high concentration of alcohol and light smell can be reapplied multiples times during the day and be very refreshing in hot weather. And another interesting aspect of this eau de cologne is that men tend to prefer this term, probably judged less girly than perfume or fragrance.


I hope this little overview was helpful to some of you guys, and definitely let me know if I have missed or overlooked any details on the subject!


Today I am wearing Miss Dior Chérie Eau de Toilette, what are you wearing?


Love,


Nina