Eau de parfum, is a good compromise between perfume extract, which is highly concentrated and therefore generally very expensive, and eau de toilette, which is not very concentrated, affordable but too volatile. Used for everyday perfumery, few people actually know what it's made of. In focus.
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What Is Eau de Parfum Made Of?
Summary
Published September 30, 2022,
updated on October 3, 2024,
by
Maylis, Chemical Engineer
—
5 min read
What’s Eau de Parfum?
Eau de parfum is a unique composition. It's a subtle blend of aromatic notes designed to achieve balance. Its aromatic content varies from 15 to 20%, depending on the manufacturer and the essences used. Although it has a milder scent than perfume extract, it lasts up to 8 hours on the skin. Eau de parfum owes its durability to its powerful base note. It gives off a deep, pronounced note that evaporates slowly and settles on skin, clothes, and hair.
What Is Eau de Parfum Made Of?
Quality eau de parfum is obtained by dissolving natural extracts, generally of plant origin, in alcohol. It is therefore made up of 50 or even 60% 70 or 90° alcohol and essential oils or other synthetic aromatic ingredients. Some formulas also contain glycerine, to reduce the aggressiveness of alcohol and enhance the essences of fragrant molecules.
According to the olfactory pyramid, three kinds of aromatic notes are blended to give a pleasant scent to an eau de parfum:
● The top note. As its name suggests, this is the fragrance that is released first. It diffuses a light note that tends to evaporate quickly. As the first scent, it triggers the desire to buy the eau de parfum. Top notes correspond to citrus notes, fruity notes and sometimes floral notes.
● The heart note takes a few hours to reveal itself, and has a slightly lower scent than the top note. As the heart of an eau de parfum, it gives off an opulent scent with woody, gourmand, musky or floral notes. The heart note designates the particularity of the eau de parfum, and it should be noted that a quality eau de parfum is composed in part of the heart note.
● The base note. As mentioned above, this leaves a long-lasting fragrance in the air, as it evaporates slowly. These include woody, spicy and musky scents.
How to Use Perfume Correctly.
Vaporizing perfume requires a few simple gestures to ensure that the scent lasts as long as possible.
When applying perfume, target certain warm areas of the body, known as pulse points. These include the neck, the back of the neck, the ankle, the hollow of the chest, the wrists, and the hollows of the elbows. These areas give off heat and help retain fragrance molecules. In addition, spray your perfume 15 cm from your skin to spread the scent and avoid overpowering odors.
There is a belief that rubbing your wrists
after spraying eau de parfum helps to spread the scent.
This gesture should be avoided, however,
as it distorts the composition. Instead of optimizing
the scent of eau de parfum,
this habit dissipates the volatile molecules
used in its composition.
In the case of low-aroma perfumes, like eau de toilette sprays on different areas of the body are necessary to spread the scent. You can also use perfume several times a day (two or three times). Please note, however, that just because you can no longer smell your perfume does not mean that the scent is no longer present. It may just be that you've become impregnated with the scent. Before adding a new dose of perfume, external advice may be required. For concentrated fragrances such as eaux de parfum, 2 to 3 sprays once a day are sufficient.
To make the scent of a perfume last, moisturize your skin beforehand to lock in all the aromatic molecules. The fragrance can be sprayed on after a shower or moisturizing cream.
For those who prefer to avoid direct skin contact, perfume can be sprayed into the air to create a cloud of fragrance and pass through. Alternatively, it can be sprayed onto clothing, as textile fibers are known to retain odors.
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