Fragrances and Perfumes Buyers Guide
Fragrance and Perfume Concentration
Perfume – Perfume is the highest concentrated of all the fragrances. Typically perfume consists of twenty to fifty percent base perfume compound. This makes it the most expensive and the longest lasting of all the fragrances.
Eau de Parfum – Eau de Parfum is the second strongest perfume based product, with approximately 11% - 15% perfume compound included. This high concentration leads to a higher price point than weaker solutions, but the perfume will tend to last longer.
Eau de Toilette – Typically a weaker compound than the Eau de Parfum. The concentrate tends to be at 4% - 10% perfume. Often you will find eau de toilette and eau de parfum in the same range, and these tend to complement each other with a lighter and heavier version of the perfume.
Eau de Cologne – Eau de Cologne is lighter than the other perfumes mentioned above. The mens version can be a little stronger, though rarely much more than 5% perfume compound.
Fragrance Price Points
Fragrances and perfumes tend to centre on 3 different segments of the market:
Designer and Prestige Brands: With a typical minimum price point of £25 and up, these fragrances tend to be a little more complex in nature. They are typically backed by the big fashion houses and usually make splendid gifts for Christmas, birthdays and special occasions.
Celebrity endorsed Fragrances: Famous people such as Paris Hilton, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears release their own brand of fragrances. These are usually more than just a famous persons face on a bottle. In the same way as other fragrances, extensive consumer testing and research and development go into making these fragrances and perfumes of comparable quality to the designer and prestige brands.
Mass Market brands: The mass market brands traditionally got a bad rap, as they were not backed up by the heavy marketing and research and development budgets of the major fashion houses. These days, they are doing much better, with companies such as Nike, Adidas, Revlon, Diesel and many more brands jumping into the market. The quality has jumped to such a level that some of the lines between lower end designer and prestige brands and quality mass fragrances are becoming blurred. These fragrances can start with a price point between £5 and £8, going up to £20 or more for the better quality or larger quantity bottles.
Shopping for Fragrances
If you are looking for fragrances then the first thing that we recommend you do is search for discounts, vouchers, coupons and special offers on our website. All of our leading merchants retailing perfumes can be found here. Bear in mind this is a competitive market selling an identical product amongst retailers, so great deals can usually be found. Taking a few minutes to research the best discounts can really add up to some fantastic savings. Visit our Perfume retailers category section below, or check out our range of fantastic perfume stores on this page.