You’re looking for the best curve cologne when you suddenly you’ve thought about cologne’s difference to perfume. Truth be told, that’s an aged-old question which answer many people don’t know about.
As it turns out, it’s important in choosing the best fragrance for you. You want one that perfectly suits your preferences and needs. Perfume and cologne have different characteristics, and knowing these would guide you to the right choice.
Learn the Differences of Perfume and Cologne to make the right Purchase
Many people thought that the difference between perfume and cologne lies on the gender using it. In common understanding, perfume are fragrances for women, while cologne are for men. That somehow works for many, but that’s not the real basis when technically explaining.
The differences actually lies on the strength of fragrances sold on the market. And this differentiation is important for perfume enthusiasts, and in choosing the perfect fragrances for you. You might miss some great cologne for women or cool perfume for men because of the earlier description.
Understanding the Strength of Fragrances
For starters, wearable fragrances are composed of scenting oil, alcohol and water. Scenting oils are expensive chemicals skillfully crafted to produce certain fragrances. Some are difficult to produce, while others are rare enough to push the price further. In other words, producers cannot simply sell scenting oils alone because many can’t afford it; hence, they need to dilute it with water and alcohol.
Now, some fragrances are sold with little water and alcohol dilution, while some come with more. Because scenting oil alone produce super strong fragrance, adding more water and alcohol decreases strength. That’s where the four levels of concentration comes in, which is the key in understanding the differences of perfume and cologne.
Four Concentration Levels of Fragrances
Concentration of fragrances comes in four different levels. They each depend on the amount of alcohol and water dilution added to scenting oils.
- Perfume
The term perfume actually refers scenting oils with zero alcohol and water dilution. Because they’re pure scenting oil, they are super strong and last longer. It lasts for a whole day even when small amount are applied on one or two of your pulse areas.
But as mentioned earlier, pure scenting oils are expensive. So, small bottles of perfume usually have more than $200-price tag. Some even reach as high as staggering $1000.
- Eau-de-Parfum
Second level of concentration is the Eau-de-Parfum (EUP). Its scenting oil diluted with a little bit of alcohol and water. EUPs generally have lesser strength than perfumes, but is still considerable enough because of its high scenting oil content.
This concentration lasts for up to 6 hours in one go. Hence, consider bringing your EUP bottle along if you plan staying longer in an event. Be careful, however, since it still costs quite expensive for many buyers. Other people might envy you and take the bottle away.
- Eau-de-Toilette
Eau-de-Toilette (EUT) has even more alcohol and water contents than EUP. It’s quite affordable for many buyers as well. But following the pattern, it has even lesser strength than EUP. So, you probably need to apply it few times to last for a whole day.
Many men, however, prefer to buy EUT. That’s because of its relatively less strong scent. Note that most men doesn’t love super strong perfumes that much.
- Eau-de-Cologne
Finally, here’s where the cologne comes in. Eau-de-Cologne or simply cologne are fragrances which carry only a little bit of scenting oil in a mixture of alcohol and water. These fragrances often come very affordable for people to buy. However, it only last up to around 2 hours because of minimal strength.
Thing is, colognes are perfect for pockets and bags since they’re easily portable. No need to worry about it being stolen by others because of its relatively cheaper price too. So, once the cologne fragrance vanishes, simply apply again when needed.
In short, perfume is the highest class of all fragrances while cologne is the least. But that’s not to say that cologne is useless because their light scents are perfect for many occasions too. Of course, preferences play a big role in choosing between perfume and cologne, since it’s you who would tell which strength is the best.
Bailey Hudson is a creative content writer from Texas USA. He graduated in 2012 at the Hult University with a degree in Mass Communication. He created Bailey Doest Bark in 2015 and is currently the managing editor of the online portal.
