Jansen Needs Justification:
Hi to both Left and Right Brains, I am currently using a eau de parfum called Allure Homme Sport by Chanel, and it is the MOST long-lasting fragrance ever. (And Yes, I am a bloke ). One of my chemist friends told me that this is to do with the exclusive alcohol that Chanel uses in their perfumes, as it probably has a low boiling point and so the fragrances are more volatile. I wonder how true this statement is? Thanks in advanced!
The Left Brain is Left Justified:
Thanks for the question Jansen, it’s always a special treat when we hear from our male readers! But while we chemists usually stick together, we have to disagree with your friend’s assessment of why Allure lasts so long. To explain why, we have to give you a quick lesson on fragrance chemistry:
Fragrance are complex mixtures of natural and synthetic chemicals designed to create a specific scent. The fragrance ingredients are mixed with alcohol (specifically ethanol) to dilute them to a usable level. Ethanol is used because its safe, it’s a good solvent and it evaporates quickly. In fact, the alcohol is the FIRST thing that evaporates. That’s why when you first spray on perfume you want to wait a few seconds before smelling it. Otherwise you get a nose full of sharp alcohol odor. As the alcohol flashes off, the other ingredients in the fragrance are more noticeable; these ingredients are loosely grouped into 3 categories depending on how fast they evaporate.
Composition of Fragrance
Top notes evaporate quickly so you smell them first. These tend to be lighter in nature – think citrus type scents. They are also the first notes to wear out over the course of the day.
Middle notes evaporate a bit slower and create the body of the fragrance, these are usually a combination of floral and/or fruity notes.
Bottom notes are the heavier longer lasting fragrance components. Perfumers describe these notes with terms like woody, balsamic, smoky, or musky. These notes are the “anchors” that help the fragrance last longer. Bingo!
The Brains‘ Bottom Line:
Allure lasts longer because of the bottom notes in the fragrance not because of the alcohol. And speaking of alcohol, tell your chemist friend he or she should buy you a cocktail to make up for the bad advice!
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I have another question: why do 2 similar fragrances, but one of a higher quality and another of a lower quality, the more expensive one will last longer? Is it because of the amount of bottom notes used, or because of the quality of ingredients used to make these bottom notes?
Speaking of fragrance….I find the European version of a fragrance to be different than the American. Angel purchased in London is divine–I HATE the one in the USA. I’ve been told it is the alcohol used, European versions use potato alcohol. Not sure which is used in the USA. I also found the London version of the original L’Interdit to be fabulous, the USA version horrible.
Any comments from the brains or am I nuts?
I wonder also how much the nose just gets used to things. Sometimes if you smell something at a low level all the time, after a while you just block it out. I wonder how much of perfume “fading” is due to your nose just sort of tiring of it and filtering it out of your awareness … ? All the other senses do that a bit.
Thanks for the perfume 101. The process of the alcohol evaporating and the true scent of the fragrance coming forward is called the “dry down” in fragrance lingo. Whenever I go perfume shopping I’ll try two or three scents (after which your nose kind of wears out), continue my shopping and about an hour later return to chose my fragrance based on its dry down. BIG difference in the scent as it “wears”.
Thanks for the insightful post, i like the images
I love Jennifer Lopez. Badly she is not my Girlfriend
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TOO THOSE WHO NEED TO KNOW YES THER IS (alcohol) THAT MAKES YOUR PERFUME LAST LONGER. GRADE B. 200 IS THE HIGHEST AND MOST EXPENSSIVE SO IF YOUR MAKING YOUR OWN CHECK TO SEE WHAT GRADE YOU USE. BUT THE NOTES ARE KEY