Eau de Toilette vs Parfum: The Ultimate Guide

What is eau de toilette vs parfum? What about eau de cologne? What do these terms mean when talking about perfume?

If you are new to the world of perfume and don’t know what all these terms mean, don’t worry. In reality, they are all rather simple terms to describe different perfumes. Keep reading and learn more about these terms and what they mean below.

Eau de Toilette vs Parfum

The first thing you should know about these terms is that they have to do with the concentration of perfume oil in perfume. Eau de toilette is French for “toilet water” which doesn’t exactly sound great, at least not in English. In French, the word “toilette” doesn’t necessarily refer to a toilet but rather the room in which a person might powder their nose or otherwise get dressed to go out into the world. Eau de parfum means “perfume water.”

Eau de parfum is the most concentrated type of perfume. It tends to have 12% – 18% of perfume oil while the rest is mostly water and alcohol. Some formulations may be as much as 20%. The high amount of alcohol is necessary to space out the different notes in the perfume oil so the overall smell is more interesting and diverse. If perfume was mostly perfume oil, it would be impossible to pick out the different scents and the overall smell would be like a kick in the nose.

Eau de toilette always has a smaller concentration of perfume oil compared to eau de parfum. Eau de toilette perfumes generally have between 8% – 12% perfume oil. Just because the eau de toilette is a bit weaker doesn’t mean that it is a bad product. In fact, many people prefer this type of perfume because it is lighter and not as bold.

Most perfume brands will have signature fragrances that are available in both eau de toilette and eau de parfum. While they may smell more or less the same, the eau de parfum will generally smell stronger.

But what about eau de cologne?

What Is Eau de Cologne?

Eau de cologne is similar to the previous types of perfumes discussed, but it is by far one of the weakest. It only has between 2% and 4% of perfume oil. You might be wondering what the point of this product is if it is so weak.

Most colognes are known as splash colognes. That means you would pour some into your hand and splash some onto your body, face, and neck. The initially application would be quite prominent but the problem with eau de cologne is that it doesn’t last anywhere near as long as eau de toilette or eau de parfum. However, due to the small concentration of perfume oils, colognes are generally cheaper than perfumes.

So, keep this is mind the next time you’re in the market for perfume or cologne. If you are interested in buying a fragrance, check out your options here.