What kind of fragrance do you need?
My favorite perfume, I will gift a perfume, I bought a perfume… We say. We write. We think.
“Perfume” is the laconic name we use for all fragrant liquids in bottles. Bottles that contain creations as different as the sky is from the earth… as different as cologne and perfume extract. And not only in concentration, strength, and longevity, but also in the character of the scent.
Although we choose a fragrance according to the impression it leaves on us, it’s useful to know what EDT, EDP, or “cologne” really are — and in which situations they are used.
COLOGNE – THE WATER OF COLOGNE AND ITS LONG LIFE
Had the Italian perfumer Giovanni Maria Farina not moved to Germany in the early 18th century, who knows what the history of fragrance would look like today. One thing is certain: the concept of cologne would not exist.
In 1709, Farina created a citrus-floral scent which he named, in honor of his new city, water from Cologne — Kölnisch Wasser. Translated from angular German into melodious French, the language of perfumery for all time, this became eau de Cologne. Farina’s creation perfectly suited the taste and needs of the era, and it sold wildly, conquering the nobility and courts of Europe. Perhaps part of its success came from bergamot, likely used for the first time in perfumery.
It is believed that another Italian, barber Giao Paola Feminis, had earlier — in 1680 — dissolved lavender, rosemary, bergamot, and lemon in alcohol and named the innovative creation Acqua Mirabilis, which also used bergamot. But it was Farina’s water from Cologne that won fame and gave the product its name.
Colognes were — and still are — predominantly citrus scents, often paired with rosemary or lavender, sometimes with jasmine or geranium, in concentrations of 2–5%. Historically tied to male grooming and devoid of ingredients considered sensual, they radiate freshness and energy. Today, colognes differ from eau de toilettes mainly in their light, fresh character and typical notes, even though both contain relatively low concentrations of scented components.
Modern niche perfumery still cherishes the charm of colognes, modernizing them along the way. Maison Francis Kurkdjian, for example, offers four different colognes; Roja Parfums has five, based on the brand’s famous fragrances.
Naturally, Cologne is also home to the brand Farina 1709, which directly draws on the legacy of the first cologne.
EAU DE TOILETTE – HUNGARIAN WATER WITH A FRENCH TWIST
As with many good things of the time, eau de toilette first appeared at royal courts. It is believed that the first known and recorded toilette water was the Hungarian water from the 14th century, used by Queen Elizabeth for grooming. Later, of course, it received the French name eau de toilette. Toilette originally referred to the acts of grooming — hygiene, dressing, and perfuming — performed in the boudoir, centuries before the word became associated with… well, everything it means today.
Hungarian water smelled of rosemary, and the queen — along with the noblewomen who copied her — used it to refresh the face and body, wash hair, and even rinse the mouth. It quickly became part of French culture, enriched with various aromas, and has survived to this day as an important category in modern perfumery.
Light and fresh, historically and today, eau de toilette contains 5–15% aromatic substances dissolved in alcohol and water. These fragrances are most often chosen for everyday life due to their subtle and effortless charm.
Metropoliten perfumerie brands offer their own eau de toilettes and often matching eau de parfums. This is especially characteristic of Diptyque, whose EDP and EDT versions differ not only in the color of their oval labels — white for EDT, black for EDP — but in the tone of the scent itself. It’s not merely a difference in concentration, but in the overall aromatic balance.
EAU DE PARFUM – THE FRENCH DOSE OF SENSUALITY
Eau de parfum — today perhaps the most widely sold fragrance concentration — stands out not only for its higher concentration (15–20%) and stronger aura, but also for its sensuality.
This means the powerful notes that create a crescendo in a scent are typically reserved for EDP, not EDT. Oud, patchouli, saffron, vanilla, smoke, balsams, resins… all belong to the world of EDPs or extracts. That is why the brand Amouage, for example, does not offer eau de toilettes — only eau de parfums, perfume oils, and extracts.
Perfume terminology began clearly distinguishing EDT from EDP only in the 1970s. Before that, bottles were mostly sold as colognes or toilette waters.
In fragrance etiquette, EDP is considered suitable for evenings, outings, nights out… though perhaps not for a night at the theater. Whenever scent distance between you and others is small, it is better to choose eau de toilette.
PARFUM / PERFUME EXTRACT – PURE PERFUME, WHERE EVERY AROMA SPEAKS
Finally, we reach the concentration champion: more than 25% aromatic components, which brings us back to the literal meaning of perfume.
Until recently, these were commonly called pure perfume — today mostly known as perfume extracts. Extracts are now extremely popular, and many fragrance houses offer extract versions of their EDPs. These are not simply more concentrated: the compositions must be rebalanced — sometimes even reimagined — with new notes added. The difference in expression is often so great that we can speak of two distinct fragrances.
At Matiere Premiere, the Extrait collection is inspired by the brand’s most popular EDPs, amplified with higher concentration, a more prominent central note, and one new note. Rose receives immortelle, sandalwood gets cardamom, frankincense gets amber.
Maison Crivelli, on the other hand, does not make extracts based on existing perfumes. Their EDPs come in clear 100 ml bottles, and extracts in colored 50 ml bottles — two clearly separate worlds.
The only category with an even higher concentration is oils, where aromatic ingredients are not diluted in alcohol, such as Amouage Attar collection, which contains 100% pure perfume oils.
LET THERE BE PERFUME!
Things become more complicated when a brand releases a fragrance with a high concentration but does not call it either EDP or extract — instead naming it absolute perfume, like Byredo does with its Absolue de Parfum: more intense, with a new dimension compared to the original EDP.
Roja simplifies everything: as a man of immense experience, he uses the term “parfum” for anything more concentrated than EDP — including what others call extracts. Pure perfume is the embodiment of true luxury, created from the finest and most precious ingredients in high concentration, says Roja Dove.
On our website, we classify all Profumum Roma and Orto Parisi fragrances under “parfum,” as their concentrations exceed that of EDPs.
Now that we know all this, we can freely and casually use the word perfume whenever we think of the fragrant bottles from Metropoliten perfumerie.
Concentration matters — but the beauty of a perfume, and the way it affects you and those around you, lies not in the sum of its fragrant ingredients nor in their strength, but in the way they are composed into a harmonious whole… plus all your life experiences, which will decide — in a cascade of emotional responses — whether a fragrance evokes good or unpleasant memories.
