FRAGRANCES
|
|
FAQ
What’s the difference between a cologne, and eau de cologne?
Translated, Eau de Cologne means "water of Cologne", a town in Germany (Koln). Exact dates vary a bit, but in general, Cologne as we know it, was patented in 1818 by Jean Marie Farina. It was an alcohol-water base scented with neroli, bergamot, rosemary and lemon. It evaporated quickly, leaving behind a simple clean citrus scent. Roget et Gallet took over the Farina perfume house and still produces the original Eau de Cologne today.
Is toilette water and Eau De Toilette the same thing? (Toilet water doesn’t sound like something designed to smell good!)
Yes. The word toilet comes from the French word, toile, meaning cloth. A cloth was usually spread over a table in a chamber or dressing room. The word began to be used to name the dressing table, and then to include the whole room. Around the turn of the century, when ladies "attended to their toilet" in their dressing room, it meant they were freshening up or changing for dinner. It was at this point they would sprinkle on a little cologne, or, as it came to be known, toilet water. (The term "toilet water" fell out of fashion, and the French term Eau de Toilette was adopted in America when the term "toilet" came to mean a commode in the WC (Water closet)). We will go no further here discussing terms for toilets! Anyway, as people back then often changed clothing 4 times throughout the day so they would be appropriately dressed for an event, they would sprinkle toilet water on themselves each time. Since toilet water was so light, it would evaporate within the few hours before they would be changing again. Back then, as now, some had a signature scent they always wore, and just as many changed their fragrance for the time of day, event, or season.
Fragrances never seem to last on me. ..What can I do?
Realize that your nose becomes acclimated to a scent quickly, resulting in a kind of fatigue. As a result, your nose becomes kind of "immune" to the scent, until it gets a break. This characteristic of our sense of smell is one of the reasons why people say to never try more than 3-4 scents at the fragrance counter at a time.
So, before you think scent fades quickly on you, be sure it isn’t just because YOU can’t smell it on yourself anymore.
Suppose scent does indeed fade quickly on you. There are a few things you can do. First of all, I would guess that you are using a deodorant soap in the shower (most of us in America do). Oil holds scent (good OR bad!), so deodorant soaps are designed to strip off the oil from our skin. So, when you pop out of the shower, get dressed, and spritz on a fragrance, it will indeed evaporate relatively quickly since the fragrance has little oil to cling to. Also realize that fragrance, like that in the form of Eau de Toilette, is made up of the perfume oils, alcohol, and water. As you probably remember from chemistry, alcohol evaporates quickly, and water’s evaporation rate is right behind that. So what’s left? A small percentage of anything with oil in it. If you have dry skin, or are fair-haired (naturally!), I’m guessing that fragrances do fade faster on you, if you don’t give the fragrance oils something to cling to. How can you do that? A few ideas:
Use the layering technique (see the fragrance glossary)... in brief, this is where you use more than one form of the fragrance, such as a lotion and Eau de Toilette;
Use a form of the fragrance that has a higher concentration of the perfume oils, such as Eau de Parfum, or the Perfume;
If you have a moisturizer you like, and don’t want to switch or buy another, try to make sure it is unscented. That way, you’ll give the fragrance something to hang onto, yet it won’t compete with the scent of the moisturizer;
Carry a small purse spray, and refresh about every 4-6 hours, if using an Eau de Toilette (but don’t leave the flacon in the car—you’ll literally bake the fragrance!)
Fragrance rises, so be sure to put fragrance on pulse points below your wrist, like your ankles, and behind your knees, in addition to your wrist, inside elbows, behind your ears, and the back of your neck;
