Facebook: Atika Perfume live / Nurul Atiqah Alwee

Fragrances are complex mixtures of what people in the industry refer to as raw materials. These raw materials can be extracts from natural sources or synthetic raw materials. Oils are dissolved in a solvent (usually alcohol), to preserve a pleasant concoction of scents. The higher the concentration of oils, the greater the strength of the fragrance. The strength determines how long an application of the fragrance lasts on your skin. Fragrance is a unisex, generic term used for perfume. Fragrances come in many forms and are called different names but generally fall into these categories: i) Eau Fraiche - The most diluted version of fragrance, usually with 1% - 3% perfume oil in alcohol and water. Usually lasts for less than an hour. ii) Cologne (Eau de Cologne) - Oldest term for perfume, used in North America for masculine scents. Light, fresh and fruity, typically composed of 2% - 4% perfume oils in alcohol and water. Tend to be used in fragrances for younger people. Usually lasts for about 2 hours. iii) Toilette (Eau de Toilette) - A light spray composition with 5% - 15% pure perfume essence dissolved in alcohol. Usually lasts for about 3 hours. iv) Perfume (Eau de Parfum) - Historically genderless, used to describe both men's and women's fragrances. The best term used to describe a fragrance. Contains 15% -20% pure perfume essence and lasts for about 5 to 8 hours. v) Perfume - A corruption of the Latin phrase per fumum (through smoke). Perfume is the most concentrated and expensive of all fragrance options. Slightly oilier, perfume, or parfum, is composed of 20% - 30% pure perfume essence. A single application of perfume can last up to 24 hours. What are perfumes? Perfume universe is divided into 'families'. In reality, very few of us have a jumbled wardrobe of scents from lots of different families, often without even realising, we tend to fall for one family time and again. Instinctively, we prefer scents from some fragrance families