EDT, EDP or Parfum: what the label tells you
The words on the bottle describe how much fragrance oil is dissolved in alcohol. More oil usually means a longer life on the skin, a softer trail and a higher price. Usually, not always.
The usual ranges
No law fixes the numbers, so every house does it a little differently. As a rough guide:
- Eau de Cologne (EDC): about 2 to 5 % oil. Fresh, gone after an hour or two.
- Eau de Toilette (EDT): about 5 to 15 %. Bright at the start, often three to five hours.
- Eau de Parfum (EDP): about 15 to 20 %. Rounder, often six hours or more.
- Parfum, Extrait, Elixir: about 20 to 30 %, sometimes more. Dense, close to the skin, often a whole day.
Same name, different scent
An EDT and an EDP of the same name are rarely one formula in two strengths. Houses often rework it: the EDT leans on the fresh top notes, the EDP on the warm base. Smell both before you decide that one is simply the stronger version of the other.
Stronger does not mean louder
Higher concentrations tend to sit closer to the skin and last longer, while an EDT can fill a room for its first hour. The notes matter as much as the label: citrus fades fastest, woods, amber, vanilla and musk stay longest. Skin, temperature and the number of sprays do the rest.
Which one when
- A short meeting or the gym: an EDT or a cologne is enough.
- A long working day: an EDP, applied once in the morning.
- An evening or a wedding that runs late: parfum or extrait, or an EDP with a heavy base.
- Heat: lighter concentrations and fewer sprays. More on perfume in hot weather.
Scenino knows the concentration of every bottle in your collection. When you build your own occasion with Scenino Pro and set how long it lasts, the app prefers bottles that will hold out that long and leaves the extrait at home for a one-hour coffee. How the daily pick works.