Your Valentine’s Day Perfume Guide — Everything You Need to Know About Gifting a Fragrance

When roses seem so yesterday and chocolates are forbidden calories, your Valentine might be considering the perfume counter for a sweet remembrance. But gifting fragrance is a tricky business, unless of course you are replenishing a spent bottle. Aside from the fact that fragrance is very much a matter of personal taste, there is the consideration of how heavily you wish to be wrapped in a special scent.

Do you prefer a heady perfume that announces your arrival and permeates your clothing or are you more interested in a light and breezy concoction that fades away? There is a pecking order to the power of a fragrance which is based on the percentage of perfume oil employed. Herewith, we solve the puzzle of perfume nomenclature.

Consider it your guide:

Eau Fraiche

The lightest of the light is eau fraiche, a diluted version of the fragrance with as little as one to three percent of scented oil. This genre is mixed mostly with water while stronger fragrances are mixed with alcohol and water. This is also generally the cheapest option as the scent seldom lasts more than an hour. Which might be just right for some, but we figure that when you purchase a fragrance, you want it to last.

Eau de Cologne

The next step toward intensity is eau de cologne, which contains two to four percent of perfume oil, is cut with alcohol, and lasts only a couple of hours. You can tell when the scent is fading as the alcohol steps forward in the fragrance profile. Eau de toilette ratchets the fragrance level up with five to 15 percent of perfume oil. You can count on this one to remain pleasantly subtle for a good part of the day or evening.

Eau de Parfums

Wishing to make a statement with your fragrance, eau de parfums are the ticket. With 15 to 20 percent perfume oil, these typically last on the skin throughout the day or evening. With the added potency, the fragrance is closer to the actual perfume. It is strong but not strong enough to overpower your dinner date’s meal.

Parfum

The almighty parfum (or perfume) is a potent product containing 20 to 30 percent oils. Thus, this is the costliest among the options. Highly concentrated parfums are more than a statement. They’re a shout to the heavens. It can be overpowering for some, just the ticket for others. It all depends on individual tolerance and consideration of those who might be sitting next to you on a long plane flight or in a theater.

Chanel N°5 presents a good example of how oil concentration influences price. The eau de toilette spray begins at $125 for 3.4 fluid ounces while the eau de parfum in the same quantity is $146. One-half fluid ounce of Chanel No.5 parfum is $245.

The French heritage brand has even gone so far as to create an even more potent version of its classic fragrance. The limited edition Parfum Grand Extrait is priced at $3,500 for 7.6 fluid ounces. Even at that price, it is on back order, according to the Chanel website.