Have you ever tried on a perfume and wished it lasted a little longer? Or maybe spritzed one and felt overwhelmed? The secret to a fragrance’s strength and longevity lies in its fragrance oil concentration.
Understanding fragrance oil concentration is important when choosing your perfume that resonates with your personal style.

What is Fragrance Oil?

Before we dive into concentration, let’s understand the building block of perfumes: fragrance oil. These are concentrated, aromatic liquids that capture the essence of various scents. They can be natural, derived from plants like lavender or rose (often called essential oils), or synthetic, replicating natural smells or creating entirely new ones.

In other words, fragrance oil is the essence of a perfume’s scent (or smell). When making a perfume, different elements will be combined to create this fragrance oil that is the perfume’s “DNA”.

What is Fragrance Concentration?

The fragrance oil concentration refers to the percentage of these aromatic oils present in the final perfume product. This directly affects the fragrance’s intensity, longevity, and scent profile. The higher the concentration, the higher the strength and vice versa.
Also, the more fragrance oil is in a perfume, the purest it is: it contains more perfume oil and less alcohol. But keep in mind this comes at a price. Fragrance oils are very expensive due to the difficulty of extracting oils and scents. The more natural ingredients and traditional methods are used in its production, the more expensive they are.

How To Pick The Right One?

Perfumes are categorized by their concentration of fragrance oil. To pick the right perfume for you, concentration is one of the factors to take into consideration. Some people prefer stronger scents, others prefer lighter ones.

Here’s the ranking from lightest to strongest:

1. Eau Fraîche: It has the lightest concentration with only 1-3% fragrance oil. It’s longevity is usually around 1-2 hours.

2. Eau de Cologne (EDC): 2-5% fragrance oil. EDCs typically have a short lifespan (around 2 hours).

3. Eau de Toilette (EDT): The most popular choice, with a lighter concentration of 5-15% fragrance oil. EDTs offer a pleasant, noticeable scent that lasts for 3-5 hours.

4. Eau de Parfum (EDP): With 15-20% fragrance oil concentration, it’s much more noticeable and with longevity (4-6 hours).

5. Parfum (Extrait de Parfum): The highest concentration available with a whopping 20-40% perfume oil. Expect a powerful, long-lasting scent (think 6-8 hours). In consequence, it’s also the most expensive.

Keep in mind that skin chemistry also plays an important role in the longevity of a perfume on one’s skin.