If you have ever gone shopping for a new scent, you may have felt a bit confused or overwhelmed by all of the different types of perfumes or colognes out there. After all, what is the difference between a perfume extract, eau de cologne, and musk? The fact is, there is actually quite a bit of difference between these types of scents. Therefore, you should be sure to understand these differences before making your purchase.
Every type of perfume you have to choose from contains perfume oil. Whether natural or synthetically made, perfume oils in their pure form are quite strong. In addition, because they are so strong and in such a concentrated form, they can actually cause allergic reactions when in their pure form. For these reasons, the oils must be diluted.
With most perfumes, the liquid used to dilute the oil is ethanol or a mixture of water and ethanol. Other lipids, such as wax, jojoba, or fractionated coconut oil, may also be used. It is the amount of dilution that differentiates the various types of perfumes.
Perfume extract typically contains anywhere from 20-40% aromatic alcohol, making it the strongest form of perfume. As such, it generally has the most intense scent and lasts longer than other perfume concentrations. Eau de parfum, on the other hand, contains 10-30% aromatic compounds while Eau de toilette has 5-20%. The weakest of the perfumes is Eau de cologne, which contains 2-5% aromatic compounds.
Eau de cologne was actually once the name given to a very specific fragrance made in Cologne, Germany. This fragrance had a citrus scent and was quite week. Today, however, the term is often used to describe any weak concentration of a perfume.
Musk is different from the perfumes in that it is derived from the musk pod, which is produced by the young male musk deer. Since removing the musk pod requires killing the deer and because hunters will killing even those deer that did not have a musk pod, the deer is now protected. Therefore, most perfume companies use synthetic musk instead.
Despite the fact that there are certain guidelines surrounding the different types of perfumes, there are many exceptions to the rules. For example, since each of these categories has a range in the percentage of aromatic compounds it contains, one company's Eau de toilette may be stronger than another company's. In addition, some companies produce various concentrations of the same cologne that may actually contain some differences in the oil mixture. In this case, the level of dilution is not the only difference from one bottle to the next.
In many cases, the company will add additional words to the name of the perfume to help you determine if the mixture has changed. Key words such as "extreme" or "concentree" will tell you if other changes have been made. Sometimes, these changes are made in order to make the Eau de toilette version smell fresher or brighter than the Eau de parfum. Yet others may have a similar accord but a slightly different scent, such as Pour Monsieur and Pour Monsieur Concentree by Chanel.
Since there are exceptions to the rules, it is always best to smell a sample of the perfume before making a purchase of a different concentration. In that way, you will be sure to get exactly what you want.