Know your EDP from your EDT

Let’s celebrate love. Love for our family, our friends and ourselves. What better way to do this than with fragrance? When it comes to choosing a fragrance, for yourself or as a gift, it is important to understand what exactly you are purchasing. We have outlined some of the important things to look out for when you next go scent shopping.

Fragrances are a combination of different notes: top notes, heart/middle notes and base notes. The top notes are designed to grab your attention and pique your curiosity. However, they are the first layer of scent to evaporate from your skin. Heart, or middle, notes feature the main story of the fragrance. The base notes are the ones that remain the longest. The length of time you can expect them to last will depend on the type of fragrance you choose: Parfum, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette or Cologne. The quality of the scent is related to the concentration of pure base oil. The higher the percentage, the longer it lasts on your skin.

Parfum

This may also be called Perfume, Pure Perfume or Extrait de Parfum. It is the most expensive type of fragrance due to its highest concentration of base oil. It contains between 15-25 percent of scented perfume ingredients, together with alcohol and/or water. Parfum has the longest staying power, lasting up to eight hours and often into the following day. This is your special occasion fragrance. It usually comes in a glass bottle and is dabbed on the skin rather than sprayed.

Eau de Parfum (EDP)

Next in line is EDP which has between eight and 15 percent base oil. It has stickability and will linger for up to five hours, occasionally longer. This is the fragrance that will be as strong as you need it to be. For day-to-day wear, you can apply it lightly. When you are dressing up for the night, a liberal application will stand you in good stead. It is easier on your pocket than Parfum but of high enough quality to impress, whether it is on your skin or wrapped up as a gift.

Eau de Toilette (EDT)

EDT contains between four and eight percent fragrant essential oils. This is the one to wear to work or for your own day-to-day enjoyment. It does not last on the skin for more than two or three hours, however, it is easy on the nose and pocket. This light fragrance is often applied after showering and will need several reapplications throughout the day, if you need the scent to remain fresh.

Eau de Cologne (EDC)

This is the scent with the lowest concentration of base oil, coming in between two and four percent. A spritz of this will linger briefly and is suitable for everyday use.

So, when it comes to fragrance, there is a wide spectrum of quality to suit every occasion. STORIES Parfums fragrances are Eau de Parfums. They are full of superior ingredients from all over the world, chosen by Founder and Creative Director of the brand, Tonya Kidd-Beggs. If you are looking for something unique that tells a complex, uplifting story, then look no further.