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Perfume and Parfum Differences

When I first saw the name of Senegence's scent, I thought for sure they had spelt perfume wrong, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was actually spelt correctly! We don't sell perfume, we sell parfume. So...what's the difference?

Parfum is the most expensive and the strongest kind of scent. The upfront cost can be a little expensive but this is because it's a pure form of perfume, that is undiluted, so the scent is much stronger, lasts longer and is of a higher quality.

To be classified as a parfum, the scent must contain at least 8 to 15 percent of fragrance or essential oils. The perfume's strength comes from a percentage of scent elements of between 15 and 30. The average concentration is 15 percent for eau de parfum and 20 percent for perfume.

Parfum is the strongest concentrated form of fragrance. It provides a pure scent experience and lasts many hours, or all day, after being applied. As such, this form of fragrance is the most valuable and sought after in the marketplace. One of the best things about parfume is that like with LipSense, the scent lasts hours.

Fragrance notes are used to describe the various scents within a fragrance. Fragrance develops at different stages based on the 3 notes.

  • Top Note: creates scents that form a person’s initial impression of a perfume; it provides the wow factor and can be somewhat bold but evaporate quickly.
  • Middle Note: emerges as the top note fades and imparts the true personality and character of the fragrance; they tend to become evident anywhere from 2 minutes to 1 hour after the application.
  • Base Note: tenaciously holds the entire fragrance until the previous note disappears; usually not identified until up to 30 minutes after the application of the perfume.

Perfume is made from about 78% to 95% of specially denatured ethyl alcohol and a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aromatic compounds used to give a pleasant smell. The amount and type of oils and compounds dictate what strength category in which it is identified.

  • Parfume: 20%-40% aromatic compounds and 20- 40% essential oils
  • Eau de Parfum: 10-30% aromatic compounds and 10 to 20% essential oils
  • Eau de Toilette: 5-20% aromatic compounds and 5 to 15 % essential oils
  • Eau de Cologne: 2-3% aromatic compounds  and 3 to 8% essential oils

For those who crave super subtlety, Eau de Fraiche (or body splash) contains around 1 to 3% essential oils so is the lightest dilution of fragrance.

On the surface, fragrance seems simple: a scented liquid that you spritz onto your skin with the simple, straight-forward goal of smelling good. Yet, scent conjures potent reactions and memories. Even though it is invisible, it is powerful and may arouse a spectrum of moods. The right fragrance can make you feel alluring, confident and comfortable.

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