What are the Dilution Classes?

Dilution classes:

Shopping for new perfume can be overwhelming with all of the scents available. Not only are there countless scents available, there are also different fragrance concentrations. Underneath the name of the perfume on a bottle will normally be the fragrance concentration. A fragrance concentration refers to the strength that a fragrance has. Perfumes with a higher fragrance concentration contain more perfume oils and less alcohol. Fragrance concentrations are broken into categories including attars, parfum, eau de parum (EDP), eau de toilette (EDT), eau de cologne (EDC), and eau Fraiche.

1. Attar or Concentrate Perfume Oil: Attars are generally classified based on their perceived effect on the body. 'Warm' ittars such as Sugandhco’s Musk Amber, Amber, Hina & Shamama are used in winter, as they are believed to increase body temperature. Likewise, 'cool' attars such as Sugandhco’s Ruh Khus and Gajra (Jasmine) are used in summers for their perceived cooling effect on the body.

2. Parfum: Parfum or extrait, in English known as perfume extract or pure perfume, has the highest fragrance concentration. Parfum will contain anywhere 20% to 30% for most parfums. Of all scents, parfums last the longest; usually eight to twenty-four hours.

3. Eau de Parfum: After parfum, eau de parfum (EDP) has the next highest concentration of fragrance. Eau de parfum generally has a fragrance concentration of between 15% and 20%. On average, eau de parfum will last for four to eight hours.

4. Eau de Toilette: Eau de toilette (EDT), has a fragrance concentration of between 5% and 15%. It is cheaper than eau de parfum and is one of the most popular types of fragrance available in global markets. EDT fragrance will normally last for two to three hours.

5. Eau de Cologne: Eau de cologne (EDC), has a much lower concentration of fragrance than the above types of perfume. EDC generally has a 2% to 4% percent concentration of fragrance and a high concentration of alcohol. It is cheaper than other types of fragrance however the scent generally only lasts for up to two hours.

6. Eau Fraiche: Eau fraiche is similar to eau de cologne in that the scent will generally last for up to two hours. Products sold as "splashes", "mists", "veils" and other imprecise terms. Generally these products contain 3% or less aromatic compounds and are diluted with water rather than oil or alcohol

SugandhFact: There is much confusion over the term "cologne", which has three meanings.

The first and oldest definition refers to a family of fresh, citrus-based fragrances distilled using extracts from citrus, floral, and woody ingredients. Supposedly these were first developed in the early 18th century in Cologne, Germany, hence the name.

In the 20th century, the term took on a second meaning. Fragrance companies began to offer lighter, less concentrated interpretations of their existing perfumes, making their products available to a wider range of customers. The cologne version is often the lightest concentration from a line of fragrance products.[17]

Finally, the term "cologne" has entered the English language as a generic, overarching term to denote a fragrance worn by a man, regardless of its concentration. The actual product worn by a man may technically be an eau de toilette, but he may still say that he "wears cologne". A similar problem surrounds the term "perfume", which can be used in a generic sense to refer to fragrances marketed to women, whether or not the fragrance is actually an extrait.

SugandhFact: Imprecise terminology of concentrations:

Although an EdP will often be more concentrated than an EdT, this is not always the case. Different perfumeries or perfume houses assign different amounts of oils to each of their perfumes. Therefore, although the oil concentration of a perfume in EdP dilution will necessarily be higher than the same perfume in EdT from within a company's same range, the actual amounts vary among perfume houses.

SugandhFact: The effect of fragrance depends on its wearer:

A variety of factors can influence how fragrance interacts with the wearer's own physiology and affect the perception of the fragrance. Diet is one factor, as eating spicy and fatty foods can increase the intensity of a fragrance. The use of medications can also impact the character of a fragrance. The relative dryness of the wearer's skin is important since dry skin will not hold fragrance as long as skin with more oil.