What are Essences, Fragrances, and Spritzes
By PLABITA SHARMA
Crafting a scent is truly an art form. This can also be rather confusing especially when there are different buzzwords like essence, fragrance and spritzes flying around. Let us try to break down the words and understand these different types of terms often used in perfumery.
A fragrance is an emission of pleasant or sweet smell that can be sensed while inhaling air from natural aromatic raw materials like plants, flowers, herbs or even synthetically derived chemical mixtures.
These in turn and also according to FDA, it can be both man-made as well as naturally obtained through distillation and extraction process that gives a product a distinct scent and are comparatively cheaper and less volatile than essences.
Fragrances are most commonly found in our day to day cosmetic products like soap, shower gels, lotions and skincare. Also, the fun fact is that fragrance never smells the same on two different people depending on their skin pH, climate & storage.
Essences
An “essence” is an extract or concentrate obtained from a plant or other matter that retains the natural smell and flavor of their source and are obtained through mechanical pressing or distillation. Essences contain characteristic properties of the matter in concentrated form & are mainly used in a perfume along with water and alcohol which further defines the longevity of the perfume.
Perfumes vary in price depending on the concentration or strength of the essence present in it. For example, mentioned below are the concentration level of perfumes-
The concentration of EDT: (Eau de Toilette) is 7- 12%, and the aroma lasts about 6 hours & the concentration of EDP: (Eau de Parfum) concentration of 10 -15%, aroma lasting about 8 hours. One can choose the variants depending upon the personal choice, occasion, or intensity. The highest concentration is that of perfume oil: (Parfum is a blend of essences into the oil) 15 – 25%, and the aroma lasts more than 8-10 hours.
To improve the longevity of perfume apply on skin that is moisturized & used on pulse points like behind your ear, at the bottom of your throat, on your wrist, inside your elbow, and behind your knee, as these are warm spots on your body that emits extra body heat which helps to naturally emit a scent.
Body spritzers
Body spritzers are commonly known as body mist that is great for everyday wear. Mist is less concentrated thereby making it affordable that is less expensive compared to the other variants of perfumes. It has a subtle, delicate and refreshing fragrance that also helps to instantly cool and hydrate the skin. It needs to be applied two-three times a day as the longevity of mist is only about 2-4 hours.
Body mists are the perfect way to enjoy your favorite scents without getting the pinch of expensive perfumes that are generally a bit overpowering & intense which makes them millennials favorite go-to perfumes.
The Body shop, has all the above variants available catering to all segments – considering the intensity, budget, mood creating a signature scent by mixing and blending or layering multiple products to smell attractive & refreshing all day long.
(Sharma is with The Body Shop India)
