A Guide to Fragrance Strengths & Types
Shopping for your next fragrance can be a tricky business; after all, with so many to choose from, how do you decide? Let our guide to fragrance strengths and fragrance types help you figure out what perfume or aftershave you should go for next!
Fragrance Families
The first step to finding your favourite fragrance is to understand the different scent families that every perfume and aftershave is based on.
Fresh
Fresh fragrances usually comprise of citrus, water and green notes. This means they have refreshing, zesty and vibrant smells. Citrus-based fragrances are usually created with lemon, mandarin and bergamot, while water fragrances are made with aquatic notes like sea spray; think L’Eau d’Issey by Issey Miyake, or Acqua di Gio by Armani.
Fresh green fragrances are often reminiscent of herbal and leafy scents for a crisp, uplifting smell. They can sometimes be referred to as aromatic fougère fragrances, created with notes of lavender, rosemary or basil.
Floral
Floral fragrances are one of the most popular families, and one of the broadest. Any fragrance that has a sweet and flowery scent will belong under this family, using notes such as roses, jasmine, lilies and peonies.
Floral fragrances can range from being light and delicate, to more complex and intense.
Oriental
Oriental fragrances are warm, sweet and even a little spicy. A more luxurious fragrance family, oriental fragrances vary from floral oriental, soft oriental and woody oriental.
Perfumes and aftershaves in this family are rich and sensual, often made with interesting notes of cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla alongside the likes of jasmine, orchid and orange blossom.
Woody
Woody fragrances are another warm family, with a mysterious and captivating scent that is often favoured amongst aftershaves in particular. Using wood-based smells like cedarwood, sandalwood, vetiver and amber, it’s a great choice for wearing in the evening.
Woody fragrances are split into mossy woods with an earthy, sweet undertone, and dry woods which often have a smoky, leathery smell to them.
Understanding Fragrance Notes
You will often see top, middle and base notes being used to describe a fragrance.
The top notes of a fragrance, also known as the head or opening notes, are what you smell immediately after spraying your perfume or aftershave; they evaporate quickly but will form the first impression of the fragrance.
The middle, or heart, notes appear once the top notes have disappeared. These notes are considered to be the main body of the fragrance, lasting longer than the top notes and are usually well-rounded.
Base notes are what is left at the end; it is this smell that you remember the most. The base notes are the longest lasting, mixing with middle notes to create the full body of the perfume of aftershave.
You’ve no doubt already heard the terms ‘eau de parfum’ and ‘eau de toilette’, but what do they actually mean? These different fragrance types denote the strength, and how long they are likely to last once you’ve sprayed them.
Fragrances are created by mixing perfume oil with alcohol; the more perfume oil, the stronger the fragrance and the longer it will last.
Eau de Parfum (EDP) is the strongest type of perfume we sell. Eau de Parfum contains between 10-20% of perfume oil, and is a popular choice with both perfume brands and customers. Eau de Parfum will generally last around 8 hours.
Eau de Toilette (EDT) is next, containing around 5-15% of perfume oil. Eau de Toilette fragrances often have a quick burst of beautiful smells before fading; meaning they can make a great first impression. Generally, these fragrances will last somewhere between 4 and 7 hours.
Eau de Cologne is a much lighter choice than the previous two. Eau de Cologne has only around 2-4% of perfume oil, and is often used as a body splash to freshen up at regular intervals. As a rule, Eau de Cologne doesn’t last long; perhaps around 2-3 hours.
The lightest concentration we sell is Eau Fraiche. There is only 1-2% of perfume oil in this type of fragrance, and is incredibly light. This is perfect for those who don’t want a heavy scent! Eau Fraiche will only last a couple of hours at best, but they are great for creating a subtle, delicate fragrance.
Difference between Top note, Middle note and Base note
The perfume scent is categorised in three forms top note, middle note, base note.
Top note
It is the fragrance you smell as soon as you apply. Top note smell lasts only for first 10 to 15 minutes. It is the first impression fragrance. As soon as you apply you feel the top note fragrance.
Middle note
The middle note is also called as the heart note. Middle note smell starts after top note smell dissipates. Middle note and base note forms the signature of the perfume. Middle note smell lasts only up to 30 minutes.
Base note
Base note fragrance starts after middle note fragrance dissipates. The smell lasts for 12 hours to 24 hours. Base note forms the signature of the perfume. If you are applying the perfume to workplace make sure the base note is mild.
Perfumes depending on the season
Yes, perfumes priority changes based on the season just like our clothes, as we have winter wear and summer wear. In summer we would like to have clothes which are cool, free and relaxing and in the winter which makes us much warmer. In every season there are particular we can use few perfume fragrances, the list is summarised below.
Season & Suitable Fragrance family:
Summer : fresh fragrances. Look for ocean breeze, aqua, water, mint
Winter : Woody scents
Rainy : Oriental scents, cinnamon and litter spice, sandalwood
Be cautious if you are allergic to few smells
Are you allergic to few smells? If you smell a rose you get a headache? If you are allergic to few smells or fragrances do check in the product description about the fragrance family and smells. For example sandalwood smell can trigger a headache avoid oriental fragrance family. If you are allergic perfumes can trigger a headache, chest tightness, sneezing, running nose, skin rashes. Asthma patients should be very careful with perfumes as certain types of perfumes with strong smells can easily trigger an asthma attack.
Where to apply the perfume?
Perfume smells should blend with your body odour. The perfume scent mixes with your body odour and originates its unique blend of smells. The only thing which we should be certain is to apply the perfume in warm places of the body so that it should be easily blended. We are mentioning few places which are very effective and last longer. The below body points are often referred as ‘pulse points’.
- Behind the neck
- Behind the ear
- Behind the knees
- At elbow crook
- Inside of wrist
How to apply the perfume?
There are no specific guidelines on how to apply the perfume. Knowing few things make it safe to apply and the perfume also lasts longer in good condition.
- It is always to spray the perfumes at least from seven to eight inches of the body.
- It is always good to avoid the perfume nozzle contact to the body.
- Keep the perfume away from sunlight or hot places to avoid possible chemical reactions.
- Do not mix the perfume with other scented cosmetics. For example, do not apply heavily scented moisturiser if you are applying the perfume. If you do so you cannot really get the smell you want. Apart from that, there is always a risk of reacting unknown chemical components.
- Applying a fragrance-free moisturiser is before you start applying the fragrance is very good thing.
- Please see ‘Eau de parfum’ should be applied with very little quantity and you can apply ‘Eau de toilette’ or ‘Eau de cologne’ in large quantity as well.
- If you are going out in a day, apply daytime fragrance. If you are going at night then night time fragrance is a good thing.
- It is better to take shower bath and dry yourself well to make your body ready to absorb the perfume in right way.
- As we mentioned above apply the perfume in the pulse point which is warm and effective to absorb the perfume.
LASTLY A FEW SUGGESTIONS FOR WHILE MAKING A CHOICE :
Suggested floral perfumes
- Fogg Scent Make My Day Eau de Parfum
- Fogg Scent I Am Queen Eau de Parfum
- Axe Signature Suave Body Perfume
- Rasasi Royale Blue EDP
- Rasasi Chastity EDPSapil Solid Perfume Eau de Toilette
- Hugo Boss XX EDT
- Nike Up or Down EDT
- Calvin Klein One Shock Women EDT
- Burberry Touch EDP
- Jovan White Musk EDC
Suggested fresh perfumes
- Nike Magic Passion EDT Eau de Toilette
- Davidoff Coolwater Men Eau de Toilette
- Fogg Scent Make My Day Eau de Parfum
- Rasasi Chastity EDP
- Ferrari Scuderia Black EDT
- Calvin Klein One EDT
- Nautica Blue EDT
- Bvlgari Aqva EDT
- Calvin Klein Eternity Aqua Men Eau de Toilette
- Burberry London for Women Toilette Eau de Parfum
- Jaguar Classic Black EDT
- Burberry Weekend Eau de Parfum for Women Eau de Parfum
Best Oriental perfumes
- Axe Signature Rogue Body Perfume
- Nike Up or Down EDT
- Jaguar Classic Black EDT
- Diesel Plus Plus EDT
- Al Haramain Musk EDP
- Nike 5th Element EDT
- Burberry Brit Rhythm EDT
- Hugo Boss Just Different Eau de Toilette
- Christian Dior Fahrenheit 32 EDT
- Elizabeth Arden Splendor EDP
- Paco Rabanne One Million EDT
Best woody perfumes
- Rasasi Royale Blue EDP
- Bvlgari Aqva EDT
- Calvin Klein Eternity Aqua Men Eau de Toilette
- Diesel Plus Plus EDT
- Burberry The Beat EDT
- Jaguar Classic Black EDT
- Issey Miyake L’eau D’issey EDT
- Ferrari Scuderia Red EDT
- Azzaro Chrome Legend EDT
- Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio EDT
- Burberry Touch EDT
- Yves Saint Laurent La Nuit De L’Homme EDT
Best perfumes for men
- Titan Skinn Extreme EDP
- Fogg Scent Intensio Eau de Parfum
- Davidoff Coolwater Men Eau de Toilette
- Rasasi Royale Blue EDP
- Axe Signature Intense Body Perfume
- Nike Up or Down EDT
-
Carolina Herrera 212
Best perfumes for women
- Jovan White Musk EDC
- Titan Skinn Nude EDP
- Royal Mirage Gold EDC
- Hugo Boss XX EDT
- Rasasi Chastity EDP
- Adidas Fruity Rhythm EDT
