What's in a Fragrance?

Each year new perfumes are released in abundance onto the retail market but for some reason I always choose Dazzling Gold by Estee lauder or Halloween by Jesus Del Pozo. The fragrances are flowery and Dazzling has top notes of passion flower, ambrosial fig and green accents I find to be ultra feminine and sexy. Both scents, strengths and even the bottles, fit my personality. Although this sounds like more than enough reason for them to be my favorites; in truth, when it comes to choosing a fragrance there is far more to it than that. Just as each individual has a unique personality fragrances also have unique traits of their own. There's no surprise someone would choose several similar fragrances to what they already love; seeing how fragrances are divided into families and several may be in the same family. If you are beginning to feel a little confused here is a break-down of fragrances and why you may prefer one over the other.

Fragrance

Although consumers are in search for a signature perfume there is a difference between the fragrance and the perfume. The fragrance is the scent of the perfume and perfume is the actual product. Typically perfume fragrances are the strongest followed by eau de parfum, eau de toilette and cologne is the weakest. Men's fragrances are usually in the order of eau de toilette as the strongest and followed by eau de parfum, eau de cologne, cologne and after shave is the weakest.

Family

The family is the main classification of fragrances and each fragrance has one family. The family begins with four distinct categories which are Floral, Oriental, Woody, and Fresh and then divided further into fourteen sub-categories. The four families are transformed into the sub-categories when the scent is blended with items such as sparkling aldehyde, vanilla drydown or sweet spices. For example, the Oriental sub-categories are Woody Oriental, Soft Oriental, Oriental and Floral Oriental with Yves Saint Laurent's Opium Perfume representing an intense spicy fragrance within this family.

Tones

With the Spring season some perfumes are described as "fresh florals" to better represent the the tone of the scent. The tones are the intensity of the fragrance and it has only one tone. The tone is also divided into the four categories of crisp, fresh, classical and rich.

Notes

This helps to describe the dominant tones in the fragrance and is divided into key, heart, head and soul note categories. For instance, a green note will cause the scent to be fresh but depending on the amount of the green note it can make the difference between a product being crisp or fresh. Halloween perfume by Jesus Del Pozo main notes are floral iris, lime blossom, gardenia, mimosa, rose, and lavender creating a soft floral scent appropriate for all ages.

Fragrancenet.com
Marie Claire
Lancome Paris
Scentiments