Friday, October 23, 2009

Group guest post at Perfume Smellin' Things - top 10 of Fall

Go see. There's a prize draw, too.
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2 comments:

Robert Link said...

Well, I reckon this isn't completely on topic, but hope you will forgive.

I mentioned elsehwere my feelings about Chanel Allure Homme Sport. Seems I was talking about the Eau de Toilette. Today I put on the Cologne, a large bottle of which the little woman bought for me. I thought maybe it was me, 'cause it just didn't smell the same, and, honestly, seemed a little loud, aggressive, brash if not quite brassy. Then I had to admit to myself I didn't even know the difference between EdT and EdC.

I looked at wikipedia, and confirmed my first thought: The cologne typically was "weaker" than the EdT. But the other part that was confirmed is that some houses will not only dilute between different designations, but will actually tweak the formula.

I googled, found this review, which I found a little harsh. But the comments do seem to support my nose: the cologne smells not just weaker, but different.

Would love to know your mind on this. (Would also love an update from your spouse one fine day!)

October 25, 2009 at 1:26 PM
Ducks said...

Robert, you are absolutely correct. Not only do formulae vary between different concentrations (i.e. EdT vs. EdC, etc.), but they change constantly and subtly as regulations and pricing demand. This is a constant source of frustration and fascination for perfumistas.

There is some necessity to tweaking the formula for different concentration levels. This is because some aromatics behave more aggressively than others; some vanish at lesser concentration, while others retain their personality, and this affects the impression the scent makes. Think of reducing a large electronic artwork to a thumbnail: the fine details disappear and can really change the character of the work, so sometimes it's worth making a separate thumb. Add compression, and things get even more complicated. :)

As for the distinction between concentrations, well, different houses use different terms. But generally, from strongest to weakest, it goes something like Parfum Concentree / Extrait / Parfum > Eau de Parfum > Eau de Toilette > Eau de Cologne (or just Cologne) > Splash. There are guidelines but nothing formally required. This article helps: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume.

An EdT is about 10% aromatics, whereas Cologne is typically 5%.

Do you know, I have a whole set of samples to mail you... please email me your snail address and I'll do it. Or let's get together one of these fine days and I'll bring them.

October 27, 2009 at 2:57 PM

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