Scents concentration, basic fragrances and categories
Buying a new perfume is not easy on today’s huge market overwhelmed with many available amazing scents. Except all different kinds of scents, there are also their types of concentrations. All perfume bottles have pointed out their name and concentration of scent which refers to their strength. All those with a higher concentration of odorous oils are stronger and have less alcohol. They are divided in categories – Parfum, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne and Eau Fraiche. Basic substances are alcohol in most part (about 80%), distilled water and dissolved natural essences (essential oils of plant or animal origin). Technical expression for natural and synthetic oils is “scent“.
Parfum
Word Parfum comes from Latin words per=through and fumum=smoke /per fummum = through smoke. The expression derived from early usage of essential smokes like incense, and today represents popular mixture of essential oils and alcohol. Lots of history facts pointing out how people gave much attention to scents through worshiping various deities or through rituals of purification and personal hygiene. First form of perfume was scented stick discovered in Mesopotamia 4.000 BC, the civilization known for many other discoveries that have enriched worlds history. Through development of international trade, cultures of the world got mixed up over time. Availability of various plants, spices, flowers and fruit, enabled making different kinds of scents which we can enjoy in.
Perfume, also known as pure perfume or perfume extract, has the highest concentration of essential oils. It could contain about 15 – 40 % of scents but most often has between 20 and 30 %. From all categories, perfumes last the longest, mostly from 6 to 8 hours. Generally, they are the most expensive of all categories because of their very high concentration of essential oils. Pure perfumes are better for people with sensitive skin because of the low concentration of alcohol, which means that possibility of damaging skin is less.
Eau de Parfum
Scent with most essential oils, after pure perfume, is Eau de Parfum with 15 to 20 % of essential oils. Average duration of this type is 4 to 5 hours and costs less than pure perfume. It is still more suitable for skin than Eau de Toilette and Eau de Cologne. EDP is the most wanted type of scents of the world, perfect for daily usage.
Eau de Cologne
Eau de Cologne contains considerably less fragrant oils and much more alcohol. Usually, it is about 2 to 4 % of essential oils and high percentage of alcohol. The price of this type is considerably lower comparing to earlier mentioned types and it does not last longer than 2 hours. It is most often distributed in larger bottles and applied in larger quantities. Original recipe for Eau de Cologne contains notes of different flowers and citrus connecting them to some base notes.
