The amount of perfume oil contained in a fragrance determines the category of strength that it falls under. At Fragrance Mad, you will always find the strength of a fragrance written in its title. Fragrances are divided into the following categories:
Perfume: 15-30% concentration. This is the strongest and most expensive perfume available, but you only require a few dabs of it for it to last between six and eight hours.
Eau de Parfum (EDP): 8-15% concentration. A strong scent that typically lasts between 5-7 hours, an EDP is ideal for evening or formal wear.
Eau de Toilette (EDT): 4-8% concentration. EDTs are the most common of fragrances for both men and women. They are lighter than EDPs, and thus are ideal for daily use.
Cologne/ Aftershave: 3-5% concentration. Colognes are light fragrances, typically used by men after shaving to deliver a short-term burst of freshness. Usually, they have a higher alcohol content to clear the pores. While EDTs and EDPs mostly come in spray form, an aftershave is frequently splash-on, although there are, of course, annoying exceptions to this rule that make things difficult.
At Fragrance Mad, we divide fragrances into four overall categories, although occasionally they overlap into two or more. You can use our patented Scent Room feature to search by scent category. The categories are:
Floral - fragrances that contain dreamy floral notes such as lavender, patchouli, rose, etc. Good examples include Marc Jacobs Lola and Paco Rabanne Eau.
Citrus - scents containing crisp, zesty, fruity notes such as lemon, grapefruit, apple, etc. Good examples include CK One and Cacharel Liberte.
Active - more sporty fragrances for the active lifestyle. Good examples include Burberry Sport and Beckham Intense.
Sensual - fragrances often with a base of musk that release sensuality. Good examples include Armani Diamonds and Tom Ford Black Orchid.
Here's where that wine-tasting comparison comes into its own: every fragrance contains a subtle combination of various notes that blend together to create the scent that reaches your nose, in a similar vein to how my little sister used to mix dead roses with water and call it a perfume. Thankfully, the fragrance world is more sophisticated, and various fruits, flowers, and herbs have their smell skilfully extracted and made prominent in the perfume at different stages to build a list of notes. At Fragrance Mad, if you scroll to the description of a particular scent you can see a list of that fragrance's notes, divided into the following sections:
Top Notes: these are the notes that hit your nose immediately after a fragrance has been applied, and will usually linger for around ten minutes.
Heart Notes: the main body of the perfume, heart notes are typically prominent for a few hours after application.
Base Notes: after the perfume's main impact has worn away, you're left with base notes that can linger for up to twenty-four hours, and help with initially fixing the perfume to your skin.
Hopefully, this guide will give you an idea of what you're looking for in a fragrance. For any further assistance, please check out our gift guides with top tips on buying for both males and females. If all else fails, please contact us and we'll be more than happy to help.
