Previously, I thought eau de toilette was a bathroom spray and eau de parfum was just a fancy way of saying perfume. Spoiler alert: I was very wrong.
But it got me thinking, I can’t be the only one who has struggled with these perfume terms.
So let’s break them down together…
How should I pronounce them?
If we’re going to be experts, we can’t keep butchering eau de toilette it into ‘eh de toilet’. It should actually be pronounced as ‘oh duh twah’let’.
Eau de parfum is a little more straightforward. But just for safety, it shoud be pronounced as ‘oh duh pah’foom’.
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What do they mean?
All of these names refer to the fragrance concentration. A high fragrance concentration means that there is more perfume oils and less alcohol. While eau de toilette and eau de parfum are the most commonly confused, fragrances can also categorised as parfum, eau de cologne and eau fraiche.
It’s a good idea to pay attention to these names because they can be an indication of the intensity, price and how long the perfume will last.
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What’s the difference?
Basically, eau de parfum is a stronger perfume than eau de toilette.
Eau de parfum usually has a fragrance concentration of between 15 and 20 per cent and will generally last for four to five hours. On the other hand, eau de toilette has a fragrance concentration of between five and 15 per cent. On average, it will last for about two to three hours.
If you’re looking for an eau de parfum, our members love the Lancôme Trésor Eau de Parfum, Chi Chi Marshmallow Eau De Parfum and Estée Lauder Beautiful.
If you would rather an eau de toilette, our members also love the Ermenegildo Zegna Z Zegna, Yves Saint Laurent L’Homme Eau de Toilette and Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Eau de Toilette.
Do you have a preference between eau de toilette and eau de parfum? What is your go-to fragrance?
