Deodorant Vs Cologne Vs Eau de Toilette

First of all, a big round of applause to the people who really know the difference between deodorant, perfume and cologne. But why? you may ask! let me tell you why…..to save your date…to make you more attractive…..to avoid those terrible looks from the people around you when your scent is too strong…..to make you more knowledgeable….blah blah blah. A lot of us (including me when i was in college) do not know the difference between these three. to be honest i don’t even know so many types of perfumes existed. Which is why i will try to tell you the differences in this article to add the knowledge to your gentleman ship.

Okay! let’s do it.

The following are the types we should know. I sorted the types on the basis of fragrance concentration (means fragrance oil percentage in alcohol concentration). The higher the percentage of fragrance oil the longer the fragrance lasts.

• Parfum
• Eau de Parfum
• Deodorant
• Eau de Toilette
• Eau de Cologne

Parfum (Highest fragrance concentration, Expensive, Lasts longer)

First of all lets talk about most expensive ones. Parfum, also known as extrait de parfum or pure perfume, has the highest fragrance concentration which is generally between 20% to 30%. Of all scents, parfums last the longest; usually six to eight hours. These are generally the most expensive fragrance types as this contains less alcohol and more fragrance concentration. These will be sprayed on clothes for premium occasions.

Eau de Parfum (Normally used perfume)

This is the normal day to day perfume we use every day on our clothes. After parfum, eau de parfum. has the next highest concentration of fragrance. Eau de parfum generally has a fragrance concentration of. 15% to 20% and will last for four to five hours. It is also generally less expensive that parfum Eau de parfum is one of the most common fragrance types and is suitable for everyday wear.

Deodorant (Day to day, Sprayed on skin directly)

if i have to simplify the difference between deodorants and perfumes, I’d say deodorants prevents you from smelling bad whereas perfumes make you smell better. One major difference between perfume sprays and deodorant are that the deodorants are used on the body directly where as majority of the perfumes are sprayed on the clothes. A deodorant generally contains 10% to 15% solution of fragrance oil. Deodorants are less expensive comparing to all the items in the list and are available in many fragrances.

Eau de Toilette (Widely used, Day wear)

Eau de toilette (EDT) has a fragrance concentration of between 5% to 15%. It is cheaper than eau de parfum and is one of the most popular types of fragrance available. EDT fragrance will normally last for two to three hours. Eau de toilette is considered by some to be for day wear while eau de parfum is considered nightwear. The term eau de toilette came from the French term “faire sa toilette” which means getting ready.

Eau de Cologne (Lowest fragrance concentration)

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. Cologne is generally lasts up to two hours. In our modern society Cologne is targeted mostly for men, with perfumes targeted toward women. Colognes come in bigger containers and are generally cheaper than Eau de Parfum. Cologne is suitable for occasions such as social meetings and dates where we are not supposed to wear strong fragrances.

Along with knowing the types of perfumes and difference between many fragrance concentrations it is very important to know about fragrance etiquette which i will be sharing in my future posts.

Cheers!!!! Gentlemen..