It all comes down to concentration
Perfume is fragrance oil dissolved in alcohol. The higher the percentage of oil, the more intense the scent and the longer it stays on your skin. That percentage also decides the name on the bottle and a large part of the price.
From light to heavy, it looks roughly like this:
- Eau de cologne: the lightest of them all, noticeable for a couple of hours
- Eau de toilette: fresh and light, around three to four hours
- Eau de parfum: the most popular type, around five to eight hours
- Extrait de parfum: the highest concentration, stays with you the longest
Keep in mind: these are guidelines, not laws. An eau de parfum full of woody and sweet notes often outlasts an extrait built mainly on citrus, because light notes simply evaporate faster.
What does that mean for the price?
More fragrance oil in the bottle means more expensive raw materials, and you can see that on the price tag. Within the same brand, an extrait is almost always pricier than the eau de parfum version of the same scent.
Do the maths, though. A pricier bottle that you use one spray at a time instead of three will last you far longer. Per wear, the gap is smaller than the shelf price suggests.
Top notes, heart notes and base notes
Every fragrance is built in three layers that unfold one after the other.
- Top notes hit you right after spraying and are gone within half an hour. Usually citrus or something spicy.
- Heart notes form the character of the scent and come through after about twenty minutes. Often florals or spices.
- Base notes stay the longest: vanilla, musk, wood, amber.
This is exactly why you should never judge a perfume on the first spray in the shop. What you smell then is the very part that disappears first.
Which one should you pick?
- For daytime, school or work: an eau de toilette or a light eau de parfum. Fresh and not overpowering.
- For most days: an eau de parfum. There is a reason it is the best selling type.
- For an evening out or a special occasion: an extrait. One spray is plenty.
- In summer: go lighter than usual, because heat makes a scent stronger.
Browse the full range at perfume.
One more misunderstanding
Unisex does not mean a scent is bland. It means it does not fit the classic box for men or women. Those are often the more interesting fragrances, with wood and citrus instead of florals or leather.
Want to know more about fragrance families? Read our article on gourmand perfumes too.
Tip: beoordeel een parfum nooit op de eerste spray. Wat je dan ruikt zijn de topnoten, en die zijn binnen een half uur verdwenen. Wacht minstens twintig minuten.
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