The words on a fragrance label — eau de toilette, eau de parfum, extrait — are not marketing. They describe how much actual perfume oil is dissolved in the alcohol, and that one number quietly decides how the fragrance projects, how long it lasts, and how it behaves in heat.
The ladder
- Eau de Cologne — 2–4% oil. A splash of freshness that lives for an hour. Built for the 18th century, not for Cairo in July.
- Eau de Toilette (EDT) — 5–15%. Bright, light, affordable — and the first casualty of a hot day. Most “my perfume disappears” complaints are EDT complaints.
- Eau de Parfum (EDP) — 15–20%. The modern standard for serious fragrance: enough oil to keep the heart and base alive through a working day.
- Extrait de Parfum — 20–40%. The densest form. Sits closer to the skin than an EDP but lasts longest of all — 12 hours is normal, and it survives heat that erases everything else.
What the number changes in practice
Longevity rises with concentration — that part is intuitive. What surprises people is projection: an extrait often projects less loudly than an EDP, because less alcohol means less initial blast. It burns slow instead of bright. If you want a fragrance that fills a room for an hour, EDP does that; if you want one that is still unmistakably there at midnight, that is extrait territory.
Heat is the great equaliser. High temperatures accelerate evaporation, effectively demoting every fragrance one rung — an EDT wears like a cologne, an EDP like an EDT. Which is why concentration matters more in Egypt than almost anywhere fragrances are marketed. (Full survival guide: How to Make Fragrance Last in Real Heat.)
How to choose
- Daily wear, office, daytime: a well-built EDP — present but civilised. VOY and Sweet Summer are made for exactly this.
- Evenings, occasions, signature scent: extrait. Fewer sprays, longer arc, closer intimacy. Oud Secret and Symphony are the two extraits in the TEBR line.
- Price logic: concentration is also why prices differ — you are literally buying more perfume per millilitre. A 50 ml extrait can outlast a 100 ml EDT several times over.
Every TEBR fragrance states its concentration on the product page under Strength — browse the collection and read that line the way you would read an engine spec. It is the honest number.
0 comments