THE STRENGTH OF NATURAL INGREDIENTS IN PERFUME/COLOGNES
(Exactly How Much Of The Natural Ingredients Are We Getting)
Raw perfume oil has to be diluted with natural or synthetic compounds to smell nice on the skin and not to cause damage. Below is a guide on the percentage of natural perfume oil in perfume/colognes.
Perfume Extracts
These are usually concentrated essential oils or extracts that are to strong to be applied directly to the skin but are good for mixing. They usually contain between 15 to 40% aromatic compounds but 20% is typically found in these oils.
Eau De Parfum
Sometimes referred to as a millesime and is regarded as the highest content of natural ingredients found in the French perfume industry. They have a content of between 10 to 20% concentration of natural oils but about 15% is typical.
Eau De Toilette
This is one of the most common strength perfume/colognes found in department stores. They have between 5 to 15% concentration of natural perfume oils but 10% is most typical.
Eau De Cologne
In the 19th century they used Chypre perfume which is a citrus type of scent that was copied and is still used today. They have between 3 to 8% concentration of natural perfume oils which 5% is most typical.
Aftershave/Splash
Usually found in supermarkets and shops everywhere they contain between 1 to 3% concentration of natural ingredients.
FRAGRANCE NOTES
Perfume is described in a musical metaphor as having three sets of ‘notes’, making the harmonious scent accord. The notes unfold over time, with the immediate impression of the top note leading to the deeper middle notes, and the base notes gradually appearing as the final stage. These notes are created carefully with knowledge of the evaporation process of the perfume.
- Top notes: The scents that are perceived immediately on application of a perfume. Top notes consist of small, light molecules that evaporate quickly. They form a person’s initial impression of a perfume and thus are very important in the selling of a perfume. Also called the head notes.
- Middle notes: The scent of a perfume that emerges just prior to when the top notes dissipate. The middle note compounds form the “heart” or main body of a perfume and act to mask the often unpleasant initial impression of base notes, which become more pleasant with time. They are also called the “heart notes”.
- Base notes: The scent of a perfume that appears close to the departure of the middle notes. The base and middle notes together are the main theme of a perfume. Base notes bring depth and solidity to a perfume. Compounds of this class of scents are typically rich and “deep” and are usually not perceived until 30 minutes after application.
The scents in the top and middle notes are influenced by the base notes, as well the scents of the base notes will be altered by the type of fragrance materials used as middle notes. Manufacturers of perfumes usually publish perfume notes and typically they present it as fragrance pyramid, with the components listed in imaginative and abstract terms.
CLASSIFICATION OF SCENTS
Oriental
Warm, rich, exotic, intense , spicy dramatic notes, often based on amber, vanilla, incense with florid floral top notes.
Green
Fresh, floral, sometimes herbal/mossy scents dominated by leafy, grassy, crisp notes.
Hesperide/Citrus
Lemon, bergamot, neroli, petitgraine, tangerine, grapefruit, cedar, syringe and lime.
Leather/Tobacco
Rich, dark, smoky, deep, spicy notes usually intensified or contrasted with green, floral or animalic oils.
Florals
Bouquets of flowers tuberose, roses, lily, jasmine, lilac, muguet, ylang-ylang, violets, orange blossom etc. Fresh sweet and feminine (like a few girls I know 
).
Fruity
Mostly florals and greens enlivened with notes of soft sweet fruits peach, apricot, plum, pineapple, prune, and raspberry.
Woody/Fougere
Full-bodied, green, dark, aromatic notes of cedar, sandal, juniper, birchwood, rosewood, ebony, patchouli, oak-moss, lavender, clary sage.
Aquatic
Entirely synthetic and quiky modern sub-group which uses a variety of chemicals (eg calene) to introduce a suggestion of the sea, lakes, rivers and streams to the top and middle notes of a perfume. As innovative and ingenious as the introduction of aldehydes in the early 1920’s.
Warm