Basic Differences Between Perfume And Eau de Toilette

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Perfumes and colognes occupy a huge portion of a department store’s space. They are prominently found throughout the middle aisles and have sales attendants eagerly awaiting you as you walk by. Their job is to squirt you, allow you to sniff and help you with the purchase. Your job, as the consumer, is to know what it is that you are buying. Did you know that there is a difference between the types of fragrances? A perfume is not the same as an eau de parfum or an eau de toilette. Before you buy a product, it is good to know the difference so you can anticipate the cost.

You are wandering through a department store and come across the fragrance department. Standing on the counter are the perfume and cologne choices that you typically use and have come to love; but there are three different bottles. The first is the familiar eau de toilette that is sold for quite a bit less than the other bottles. Incidentally, some people call this perfume but it is not; rather more like a body splash. The second bottle is smaller than the first and is the eau de parfum. This one is more expensive that the first. The third is a small bottle of perfume. Now to explain the differences.

The toilette water is a less concentrated fragrance that typically contains 1-6% concentration of perfume. It is meant to be a light and short lasting fragrance, typically like a body splash or spray mist that is found in after-shower products and also found in body lotion products. The second bottle, the eau de parfum, is the most common type of fragrance. It is more expensive than the toilette water and contains typically 7-15% perfume concentrate. The third and much smaller bottle is the actual perfume itself. It is also known as extract or extrait perfume and is 15-40% concentrate. It is the most expensive version of the three and lasts the longest, and is typically used with an atomizer and/or used very lightly on pulse points to minimize the overwhelming impact they can have on the senses.

So there you go. You can now differentiate between the three types of “perfumes” that are on the market today. There is the eau de toilette, the eau de parfum and the actual, usually expensive, perfume. You should now be able to go to that fragrance counter and get exactly what you want without worrying about the differences between the three and why the smaller bottles cost so much more.