Shopping for a new fragrance can be overwhelming. One question I’m often asked is what’s the difference between an eau de parfum, toilette or cologne? So, I thought I would give you a quick overview on fragrance concentrations because that’s what differentiates types of fragrances.

For starters, you may be interested to know that the term fragrance is a unisex term used for perfume. And here’s another interesting tidbit, the word perfume is also a unisex expression. Although, men commonly use the term cologne.

A fragrance is simply a combination of extracts, oils, alcohol, preservatives and water. The key to highlight is perfumes with a higher fragrance concentration contain more perfume oils and less alcohol.

Fragrance concentrations are divided into five categories: parfum, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne, and eau fraiche. Let’s briefly look at each one:

Parfum

This is the most concentrated and expensive of all fragrance options. It’s composed of 20-30% pure perfume compounds and lasts up to 8 hours.

Perfume / Eau de Parfum

Contains 15-20% pure perfume compounds and lasts for about 4 to 5 hours.

Toilette / Eau de Toilette

A light composition with 5-15% pure perfume essence dissolved in alcohol. Usually lasts 2 to 3 hours.

Cologne / Eau de Cologne

A light composition with 2-6% perfume oils with a higher concentration of alcohol and water. Usually lasts for about 2 hours.

Eau Fraiche / After-Shave

This is the most diluted version of fragrance, usually with 1-3% perfume oil in mostly water and not a high amount of alcohol. Usually lasts for about an hour.

I hope this quick overview offered some insight into fragrance concentrations. If by chance your fragrance scent is not lasting as long as you would it to, my suggestion would be to choose an Eau de Parfum, if it’s available, in your favourite fragrance.

And if perhaps you’re searching for a new fragrance, at Gentil Uomo, we proudly carry unique and exceptional fragrance lines made in Italy, including Acqua Dell’Elba, which is located on the island of Elba, in Tuscany, and Acca Kappa, which is located in Treviso (near Venice). We have sample vials available for both fragrance lines. We welcome you to browse our fragrance collection on our e-store.

Alla prossima – until next time. Arrivederci.