Estée Lauder once said, “Perfume is like a new dress, it makes you quite simply marvelous.” 

Here at Beauty Affairs, that’s something we agree with - there’s nothing like perfume to pull your entire look together from head to toe. It takes you from just looking amazing to smelling amazing, too. 

A fragrance is the perfect final touch, the cherry on top - whether you’re heading out on a date or want to feel put together for work, there’s nothing that your favourite fragrance can’t do. Perfume is something to be remembered by - which scent will you make your signature?

Different types of Perfumes and Fragrances

Did you know that smells are more powerful when it comes to evoking memories than photos? Everyone has that one fragrance that brings them back to a special place and points in time - sometimes, scent can unlock a completely forgotten memory!

Perfumes are classified into a few different categories, and it can be hard to know which one you should actually be going for; what’s the difference between an Eau de Toilette and an Eau de Parfum? Did you know there was a difference? Here’s our guide to the difference between womens’ fragrance classifications so you know exactly what kind of fragrance you’re getting.

Body Sprays

Body sprays and mists still count as a fragrance and are officially classified as Eau Fraiche - they have the smallest concentration of actual aroma, and therefore don’t last as long on the skin. They’re ideal for adding a subtle touch of scent. 

Cologne

Eau de Cologne aka just ‘cologne’ is the next step up from Eau Fraiche - it has around 5% actual aromatic compounds. Did you know that all fragrances were initially considered gender-neutral until we started to call fragrance for men ‘cologne’ and fragrance for women ‘perfume’? It wasn’t until recently that we started to consider cologne exclusively for men!

Eau de Toilette (EDT)

Eau de Toilette is probably a term that you’re already familiar with - this type of fragrance has more aromatic compounds than cologne, but not as many as Eau de Parfum.

Eau de Parfum (EDP)

Eau de Parfum is the highest-strength fragrance available and is usually what most people think of when talking about perfume in general. 

Esprit de Parfume and Extrait/Parfum

There are two more classifications of fragrance beyond Eau de Parfume - Esprit de Parfume and Extrait/Parfum. However, these scents are very strong - while most of us think that we’d love an extra-strength version of our favourite scents, these high-concentration fragrances are best left in the hands of professional perfumiers! 

Best Branded Perfume Application Tips

Now that you know all the different types of womens’ fragrances out there, it’s important to learn the art of correct perfume application. One of the first rules of wearing fragrance is that less is more; over time, we tend to find that our favourite scent doesn’t smell as strong as it used to. 

That’s not because it’s growing weaker - it just means that our noses are so used to this smell, that it doesn’t register to us anymore. The solution isn’t to keep spraying more, though! For an Eau de Parfum, one to two sprays is enough. For an Eau de Toilette, no more than three or four.

If you find that your perfume doesn’t smell as noticeable anymore, that’s probably a sign to switch it up! Changing perfumes according to the season (or your mood) prevents olfactory fatigue - aka, the reason why your perfume stops smelling as strongly to you over time. 

Where you apply perfume matters, too. All perfumes are designed for application directly to your skin - the warmth of our natural body heat allows the perfume to transform as we wear it over time, showcasing its unique blend of top notes to base notes. 

Spraying perfume on clothes diminishes the true effect of your fragrance, and can even cause staining and splotches on the fabric. Your favourite fragrance is best applied to pulse points - the parts of our body where our pulse is the closest to the surface of the skin. They give your fragrance the best chance to showcase itself and last all day long! 

How to Shop for Perfume Online

It can seem tricky to shop for perfume online - how are you supposed to get a feel for how it should smell? It all starts with understanding that perfume has what are called notes - every perfume has a top note, a middle note, and a base note. 

Top notes are the smells that you notice immediately when you spritz your favourite perfume - think of them as the perfume’s first impression.

Middle notes are scents that make the main body of the perfume - they’re scents that need more time to develop on your skin and become apparent once the top notes have faded away.

Last of all are base notes - they round out your perfume experience and take the most time to become apparent.

You probably already have a good idea of how your favourite branded perfume smells, and are more familiar with its scent notes than you think! When it comes to shopping for perfume online, paying attention to scent notes helps to quickly sort out which fragrance just might be your new favourite. 

Where to Buy Branded Perfume

At Beauty Affairs, of course! Shop fragrances from Gucci, Chanel, Bvlgari and more at Beauty Affairs. Shop now, pay later with ZipPay, AfterPay, and Klarna available. Free standard shipping is available Australia-wide for order over $179. You can choose three free samples with every order. You will also get a gift set with order over $200. Same day shipping dispatch is available if the order is placed before 1pm. To know more about our shipping policy, click here.