The Different Kinds of Perfumes

By: Jason Petrina



It’s easy to become confused when you walk up to any perfume display counter and try to decide between the many different brands, varieties and types of perfumes. Not only are there a wide variety of different scents, but you also must make a decision between different categories of perfume? What’s the difference? Is there a difference? With such a large selection of perfumes available on the market, how do you know which perfume is for you? When buying perfume, it mostly comes with personal preference and the personality you have. Playing around with different perfume scents can jazzing up the different aspects of your style and personality.

Actually, there is a difference and it can be a big difference when it comes down to not only how much you pay for a bottle of perfume but also in the strength of the odor as well as how long the smell lasts. I don’t recommend you buying a perfume due a celebrity endorsement, you may not necessarily like the scent, the image and association is not important, your personality and flare is more important. To understand why there might be such a vast difference it’s important to first understand a little bit about how perfumes are created.

Perfumes are created from a mixture of essential oils; which may be obtained from other plant, animal or synthetic sources, aroma compounds and other ingredients such as fixatives and solvents. While the latter two ingredients do not sound as though they would do much for creating a pleasant aroma, they are necessary in order for the perfume to work correctly. If you are considering buying a perfume for someone, you must remember not everyone wears perfume the same, your favorite perfume may smell good on you, but not on your best friend or whom ever you are buying it for.

Perfumes are classified according to the amount and type of solvent that is used in the composition. The main body of a perfume; referred to as the perfume oil will generally need to be diluted so that the odor will not be overpowering. After dilution, the remaining amount of perfume oil in a composition determines the category under which it will fall. For example, a perfume extract contains anywhere between 20-40% aromatic compounds. This is usually the ‘strongest’ perfume you can purchase. Eau de parfum contains 10-30% aromatic compounds, while Eau de toilette contains only 5-20% aromatic compounds. Eau de cologne contains the least amount of aromatic compounds; ranging between 2-3%.

As can be expected, eau de parfum contains the strongest scent which will last for the longest period of time; while eau de cologne contains the lightest scent which will last for a lesser period of time. Because of this, you may be able to purchase a bottle of eau de cologne in your favorite scent for cheaper than a bottle of eau de parfum in the same scent but will probably find that you need to apply more perfume more frequently throughout the day. If you don’t mind applying more perfume during the day, then go it; however, your eau de cologne will run out quicker.

Keep in mind that each person differs and the strength of scent as well as the length of time that the scent lingers will vary from one person to the next. Once perfume is applied to the body, the solvent will begin to evaporate right away. After this happens, only the fragrance itself is left, which will then begin evaporating over a period of time. Individual body chemicals and heat reactions can cause a difference in not only how the perfume smells from one person to the next but also in how long it lasts. If you find that one particular category of perfume does not seem to last very long on you; it may be necessary for you to ‘upgrade’ to the next classification with more aromatic compounds. Even though moving up to the next classification may cost more per bottle, you may realize that you need to use less perfume and will actually be able to save money.



Jason Petrina is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit - www.articleclick.com