Perfume Patch

Perfumes have been a part of our daily aesthetic routine for well over a thousand years. We select different scents based on the occasion, current mood, and often purely based on our personal choice of scent.

So what causes one perfume to differ from another? One is different perfume types. And how do we determine what type a perfume is? It's all in the concentration of the perfume, which is determined by the amount of scented compound mixed into the solvent used.

The solvents often used in fine fragrances are a mixture of ethanol and water or ethanol alone. In some cases, the perfume oils, or fragrant compounds, can also be diluted with other oils such as jojoba oil or liquid waxes that have indistinct scents.

So let's go through the different perfume types based on the concentration by percent/volume that they have:

Parfum Extrait (perfume extract) – the purest and therefore the most expensive this type of perfume has a 15-40% concentration of perfume oils.

Eau de Parfum (eu de perfume) – the most widely-known type with 10-20% of perfume concentrate.

Eau de Toilette – light-scented with a common concentration around 10% though it can range from 5 to 15% concentrate.

Eau de Cologne – not surprising this type has a lighter scent than Eau de Toilette often containing citrus extracts with a concentrate of 3-8% often right around 5%.

Perfume Mist – an aromatic compound rarely mixed with alcohol solvents, having a minimal concentrate of 3-8%

Aftershave – having a very light scent, non-irritating having a concentrate of only 1-3%

The perfume’s scent, its intensity and its long-lasting scent depend on the concentrations of the scent. The higher the percentage of the perfume concentration, the stronger is its intensity and longevity.

Among the different perfume types listed above, the one with the highest intensity and longest lasting effect is the Parfum Extrait type, its no wonder this is the most expensive. Next in line would be Eau de Parfum.

However, it should also be taken into consideration that though, Eau de parfum types of perfume most commonly have stronger concentrations compared to Eau de toilettes, there are some aromatic compounds or essential oils that certain perfumers incorporate to create a scent with a stronger intensity.

Taking a Eau de Toilette and adding some more concentrated pungent oils gives them a more intensified scent than another Eau de Parfum perfume created by another perfumery.

On the other hand, Eau de Cologne types of scent are water-based and incorporate citrus oils such as lemon, lavender, tangerine, and the like in the perfume. This then, gives a refreshing yet attractive aroma.

Thus, going back to what I said earlier regarding the choice of scent that depend on mood and personality, now that you know about the types of perfumes, what type of scent or perfume concentration do you belong to?

Perfumes can be classified in many ways – from their concentration to their types of aromatic compounds incorporated. One classification that has been used since 1900 to classify the description of a perfume is based on their Olfactive families.

However, this is considered to only be a preliminary criterion since grouping fragrances can never be finalized as new fragrances or mixture of fragrances may emerge or new classification methods may also arise.

As for the classification of fragrances based on their olfactive families, mentioned here would be two: Traditional and Modern.

Traditional Classification Since 1900

Single Floral – scent derived from a particular flower, a Rose, for example.

Floral Bouquet – scent derived from a mixture of various flowers.

Ambered or “Oriental” – combined scent derived from an array of aroma from ambergris, labdanum, vanilla, tonka bean, flowers, woods. Further accentuation was done with camphorous oils and incense resins.

Wood – scent derived from aromatic woody compounds such as sandalwood, agarwood, and cedarwood. Camphorous smell also accented this scent.

Leather – manly scents derived from a mixture of tobacco, honey, and wood tars, giving that leather masculine aroma.

Chypre – named after a perfume by Francois Coty, this is a fusion of scents consisting mainly of oakmoss, patchouli, bergamot, labdanum.

Fougère – spearheaded by Houbigant's Fougère Royale, this scent was created from lavender, coumarin, and oakmoss, giving a manly herbaceous and woody aroma.

Modern Classification Since 1945

As was mentioned novel ways may arise as is the case for this new classification. These were a direct result due to the dawn of technological advancement.

Bright Floral – a wondrous mixture of the traditional Single Floral and Floral Bouquet scents.

Green – a more refreshing version of the Chypre type with the additions of crushed green leaf, distinct cut grass, and cucumber-like whiff.
Aquatic, Oceanic, or Ozonic – an aromatic success that contains calone, a synthetic aromatic compound emerged in 1996, with accentuating floral, oriental, and woody scents. This is the newest classification in the history of perfume.

Citrus – a refreshing scent used mainly for eau de colognes. Citrus scents are a fusion of aromatic compounds such as lemon, lavender, and oranges.

Fruity – a lovely combination of scents derived from other fruits such as peach, mango, passion fruit, and the like.

Gourmand – scents giving a delectable aromatic olfactive impact. These scents contain vanilla, tonka bean, coumarin, and other food flavors.

With the knowledge on the classification of perfumes based on their olfactive families, choosing the right perfume scent would not be a difficult thing to do.

Created in 1983 by a consultant in the industry of perfumes, Michael Edwards, the fragrance wheel is a novel method of fragrance classification that is popularly employed in the business of perfumes. Michael Edwards created this classification technique in order to develop an easier method to name certain fragrances and their relationships with each other.

With fragrance wheel, the classification was further simplified into five standard families, which are:

Floral, Oriental, Woody, Fougère, Fresh

The first four families are considered to be of the “classic” scents while the last one includes refreshing citrus and oceanic scents. It was due to the technological advancements in perfumery that this last family of scent emerged. Then same as the concept of a color wheel, these standard families are further divided into sub-families set or organized around a wheel.

It is quite amazing to know that perfumes are metaphorically likened to music. If creating a beautiful music requires notes, so does a perfume, if it needs to generate a long-lasting impression.

These notes, figuratively speaking, are called fragrance notes. And these notes are distinguished over time, produced meticulously utilizing the technical process of evaporation of the perfume.

There are three sets of notes working harmoniously to create that perfect impressive scent. These notes are:

Top Notes

Also called head notes, these consist of minute molecular particles that quickly evaporate and produce the first impression scent in perfumes. Thus, this set of notes is a big deal for checking out perfumes for the first time. It becomes an important criterion for the selling potential of the scent.

Middle Notes

True to its other term as heart notes, the compounds that include the middle notes make up the “heart” or center or soul of a perfume. This scent surfaces just before the scent of top notes evaporate and helps to cover-up for the first unappealing impact that the top notes left behind, though usually, the initial scent will eventually become appealing.

Base Notes

Usually distinguished 30 minutes from initial application, this is the scent that brings out the strength and intensity of a perfume. This emerges almost ahead of the middle notes disappearance. However, even with the disappearance of the middle notes, both types of notes together create the “core meaning” of a perfume.

All together, these fragrance notes influence each other, help each other, complement each other to conceive that ideal scent a perfume wants to achieve.