Perfume Types and Categories Explained
Not all perfumes are the same. Perfume actually comes in various concentrations – ranging from long-lasting and strong, to less-potent and diluted. These concentrations also affect the price of the perfume, so it can be easy to get confused about what each type of perfume means, what is best for your needs and budget, and what you should choose.
Now, when we speak about perfume categories, we are not talking about the fragrance types, i.e. woody, citrus, floral, fruity, spicy, and fresh.
No, here we are referring to how a perfume is categorised based on its composition or makeup. Each of the below perfume types is differentiated based on the concentration of essential oils used in the fragrance base. The perfume’s base can be water, alcohol, or oil-based.
Image source: Cosmopolitan
The different perfume categories and types
Perfumes can be divided into these main categories:
- Perfume or parfum
- Eau de perfume or Eau de parfum
- Eau de toilette
- Eau de cologne
- Eau Fraiche
Plus, we have our own unofficial category, namely – Perfume oil.
Perfume or Parfum
Parfum, also known as extrait de parfum or pure perfume, has the highest concentration of fragrance. Parfum can contain between 15% and 40% fragrance, but the concentration for most perfumes is between 20% and 30%.
Of all fragrances, perfumes last the longest, usually six to eight hours. Because of the high concentration of fragrance, perfumes are also generally the most expensive of all fragrance types. Thankfully, Perfumes for Africa stocks the most sought-after parfum and perfume fragrances, at wholesale prices you can afford.
People with sensitive skin are better served by perfumes, as they contain far less alcohol than other fragrance types and therefore do not dry out the skin as easily.
Eau de Perfume or Eau de Parfum
After Parfum, Eau de Parfum (EDP) has the next highest concentration of fragrance.
Eau de Parfum generally has a fragrance concentration between 15% and 20%, and on average, Eau de Parfum lasts four to five hours.
Eau de Parfum is also generally less expensive than pure perfume and although it has a higher alcohol concentration than perfume, it is more suitable for sensitive skin than other types of fragrance. Eau de Parfum is one of the most commonly used fragrance types and is suitable for everyday use.
Eau de Toilette
Eau de Toilette (EDT) – the less expensive of the two above – has a fragrance concentration between 5% and 15%, and only lasts two to three hours. However, the affordable price range makes this perfume type one of the most popular types of perfume on the market.
Eau de Toilette is considered by some to be a daytime fragrance, while Eau de Parfum is considered a nighttime fragrance. The term eau de toilette comes from the French term “faire sa toilette,” which means to get ready.
Eau de Cologne
This perfume category is one of the least-potent fragrance categories, with fragrance concentration of only two to four percent. Fairly inexpensive, eau de colognes last up to two hours.
Often considered a more masculine formula, however, there are eau de colognes for women on the market as well.
Due to the low concentration of essential oils, eau de cologne often comes in larger bottles as you need to apply more of it, more frequently, than the perfume types above.
Shop men’s aftershave cologne.
Eau Fraiche
This is the least potent perfume type where the fragrance concentration is 1 – 3%, and the perfume is primarily mixed with water.
This type of perfume only lasts for two hours or less, and is used more as a refresher spritz during the day.
Perfume Oils
We’d like to add in this category of perfume types. Perfume oils are pure oil based, with zero alcohol or water blended in. The perfume oils have a varying concentration of essential oils, however most perfume oils have fragrance concentrations of up to 20%.
These perfume oil roll ons are ideal in strengthening the potency of your parfum or perfume, and are great to freshen up your fragrance as you go about your day.
These can also be mixed with body lotions for luxurious moisturising in your favourite scent. As you iron your clothes, you can use spritzer bottles filled with water that has a small amount of your favourite perfume oils mixed with. When sprayed on the clothing as you iron, you can enjoy a multilayered fragrance effect that lasts all day long.