Guides

What Happens If Perfume Gets In Your Mouth?

Imagine: you’ve just sprayed on a heaping dose of your favorite designer perfume, but some of it ends up inside your mouth rather than on your wrists.  It’s something that I would wager has happened at least once or twice to most perfumistas (it has to me, at least). But if you get perfume in…

The Difference Between Perfume Oils and Eau de Parfum

The world of perfumery is chock full with unfamiliar terminology and concepts, so much so that it might be impenetrable for the average person.  You might have heard of or seen perfume oils before, either in your local shop or even in supermarkets. But when you go to the perfume counter at a department store,…

Why Are Jo Malone Perfumes So Expensive?

Jo Malone is a British fragrance brand that has, since its inception in 1990, become perhaps the most popular and successful niche fragrance house on the market, along with Creed and Diptyque.  Their signature scents, like Wood, Sage & Sea Salt, Blackberry & Bay, or English Pear & Freesia, have been imitated countless times, and…

What Are Fixatives in Perfumery?

If you’re into the perfume hobby a little bit beyond the surface level, you might have heard the word “fixative” mentioned here and there.  It’s one word in a sea of often (sometimes deliberately) mystifying terminology related to perfume, along with terms like projection, sillage, and perfume concentration. But what exactly is a fixative? What…

What’s the Difference Between Perfume and Parfum?

Perfume? Parfum? What’s the difference, if any, between these two oh-so-similar words?  Spoiler alert: the difference is very slim.  “Perfume” and “parfum” mean effectively the same thing; in fact, “parfum” is the French word for “perfume”. However, “parfum” also refers to the concentration of a fragrance, i.e. “eau de toilette” and “eau de parfum”.  Want…

What Lasts Longer: Eau de Toilette or Parfum?

If you’re at all familiar with fragrances, you’ve probably heard the words “eau de toilette” and “eau de parfum” or “parfum”.   Almost every designer brand is putting out a “parfum” edition of their fragrances nowadays, from Dior to YSL to Paco Rabanne and everything in between.  But what exactly do the words “eau de toilette”,…

What Lasts Longer: Perfume or Cologne?

The world of perfume is chock full of terminology, a lot of which goes pretty much undefined. Most people can’t tell an eau de parfum from an eau de toilette, much less a perfume from a cologne.  So what is a perfume? What is a cologne? And which one lasts longer?  Perfumes are much longer…

EDT vs EDP: What’s the Difference?

EDT? EDP? Just what in the blue blazes are these strange acronyms?  The world of perfume is nearly bursting at the seams with jargon, a lot of it (nay, most of it) in French. For your good ol’ cornfed average Joe, it can be a lot to handle. But never fear – that’s why I’m…

What Is a Tester Perfume?

If you’ve ever bought a perfume online, you’ve more than likely seen the term “tester” floating around here and there.  But what is a tester perfume? What difference is there, if any, between a tester and your average, everyday retail perfume?  A “tester” perfume refers to a bottle of perfume that customers can use to…

Why Is Dior Perfume So Expensive?

The designer house of Christian Dior has been making a name for itself both in fashion and in fragrance dating back to its founding in 1946. From feminine classics like Diorissimo, rugged masculines like Fahrenheit, to trendsetting trailblazers like Dior Homme, the house of Dior has established itself as one of the great heavyweights of…