CLEOPATRA'S BOUDOIR

In this guide I will discuss the various perfume strengths and types of perfumed products available on the market. This is in essence a breakdown on the differences between eau de toilette, eau de parfum, cologne, etc.

Fragrances are priced according to their essential oil and alcohol content. The higher concentration of essential oils, the more expensive the perfume will be. The percentages given below are only a guide and vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Essential oils: these oils come from natural sources and are responsible for the scent of perfumes. These essences are diffused through the tissues of a plant, as in the petals of a flower, these oils are extracted by means of distillation. The oils can also be synthesized from petroleum and other sources. essential oils have the property of becoming gaseous at ordinary room temperatures. They are called essential oils after the Latin word essentia, meaning "a liquid that easily becomes a gaseous essence". because they vaporize so easily, the essential oils have also been called "volatile oils", from the Latin word volare, "to fly". The oils are also called spirits by the old apothecaries, one example is spirits of turpentine, meaning the essential oil of pine.

Absolute: The essential oil of scented flowers and other aromatic plant paers in its purest and most concentrated form, It is extremely expensive. Attars, also called otto is eseential oil obtained from a flower, such as rose or jasmine by distillation.

Accord: A combination of scents that blend together to produce a new fragrance.

Bouquet: a mixture of floral notes in a perfume, also a perfume made from a mixture of perfume families.

Concrete or Concreta: a products obtained in the process of extracting eseential oils by volatile solvents. When as waxy substance called stearoptene is removed from this you are left with the absolute. But perfumers often prefer to use the concrete rather than the absolute.

Perfumer's alcohol: also known as perfumery grade alcohol is another word for ethanol, an important dilutent and carrier for perfumes.It comes primarily from the distillation of wine to produce grape spirit (brandy), the earliest perfumery alcohol. Wine distillate retains a certain bouquet of the grapes which interferes with the composition of perfumes, and is quite expensive to manufacture. In light of this, alcohol made from the fermented grains of  rice, wheat, and sorghum are much cheaper alternatives.As well as the starches in sugar beets, potatoes, and corn, as well as the sugar in molasses are also employed as perfumery grade alcohol. Perfumery alcohol is denatured and is not fit for consumption. Water and glycerine is often added to perfumer's alcohol as they prolong the persistance of the perfume on the skin.

Parfum: also called extrait, is the highest concentration of perfume. A perfume may contain 22-30 percent oils and high grade alcohol, and a slight amount of water. Parfum is the most expensive type of perfume. Any mixture lower in oils is known as an eau.

Eau de Parfum: is composed of 15-18 percent of essential oils with a slightly weaker alcohol and water.

Eau de Toilette: also called toilet water, is a much thinner dilution of the same materials, containing approximately only 4-8 percent of essential oils, in an even weaker alcohol and water mixture.

Eau de Cologne: for men or women, or aftershave, is further diluted, about 3-5 percent of essential oils, in an even still weaker alcohol and water mix.

Eau Fraiche: a toilet water similar to cologne or splash but made with a higher grade of alcohol.

Natural Spray: is a fragrance that uses a non-aerosol pump to emit a fine mist.

Dry Perfume: a recent development by which tiny, pearlized microcapsules, looking like power are placed on the skin and stroked, when they break and release a perfume.

Moisturizing Skin Spray: a fragrance that is alcohol free and contains moisturizers to keep skin feeling soft and silky.

Creams and lotions: most creams contain a fragrance content that is same as that of the eau de toilette, five percent essential oils. The rest of the formula is a blend of lanolin, beeswax, mineral oi,lard, petroleum jelly, or other fats and oils.

Stick perfumes, pomades, unguent, and solid perfume: an essential oil dissolved in wax, sometimes some other fats, ointments that are blended in to make it easier to apply to the skin or head.

Soaps and soap products: composed of fatty acids and a small amount of essential oils.

Bath Oils: a combination of fifteen percent essential oils blended with mineral oil, lanolin, or other fatty oils of plant origin.

Bath salts: essential oils added to sodium bicarbonate(baking soda) and sodium carbotage.

Bath powder: essential oils mixed with talc or cornstarch. The talc is ground very fine  and is purified , sometimes supplemented with china clay and starches. It is then sifted through silk screens.

Potpourri: a mixture of fragrantmaterials, usually dried and including rose petals, placed in a har or bowl to perfume a room.

Sillage: the aroma left by a person wearing perfume who walks past. It is French and is pronounced "siyaj", it means "wake".

Synthetic fragrance: a laboratory made imitation of a natural perfume or a fragrance made in a laboratory that does not exist in nature. Many syntheticsare derived from natural materials. Gerianol, for example, provides the basic part of the fragrance in a rose, but can be more cheaply and abundantly obtained from a geranium.Several thousand synthetics are now available for perfumers to use.

Fragrance blotter: also called a smelling strip or mouillette. The strip of absorbant papers that perfumers use when testing their fragrances. Or when you are trying out new perfumes at the counter.

Fragrances can be classified by certain olfactive families, or themes, or accords. In this guide I will briefly discuss the various themes.

 Gourmand: Gourmand notes are another newly added member to the fragrance family. These notes are characterized as edible, dessert like, sweet, candy like, tea ,fruits, almonds, cupcake, whiskey, or coffee scents. Many scents used in gourmand perfumes are vanilla, chocolate, milk, cotton candy, caramel, coffee, cognac, toffee and others.

Perfumes which are classified as Gourmand are:

• Wish
• Angel
• Nina
• Fantasy
• Casual Friday
• Comptoir sud Pacifique’s fragrances
• Vetiver Tonka
• Provocative Interlude
• Café Noir
• Sire des Indes
• Pure Purple
• Elixir des Marveilles
• Pink Sugar
• Lolita Lempicka
• Vanilla Fields
• DSH perfumes
• many of Demeter's Pick Me Up sprays are gourmand

Oriental: Orientals are warm, spicy, intense, heady and are the longest lasting type of women’s perfumes.

Amber orientals have the notes of vanilla and “amber” Ambergris (the synthetic is known as “amber” in the perfumery world) is a substance excreted by the sperm whale after eating cuttlefish and found in lumps of varying size floating in tropical seas or washed ashore. Ambergris must be weathered for at least three years before use. Although ambergris was used for centuries as a perfume, no one knew the exact source. True ambergris has not been used in perfumery in over thirty years.

Spicy Orientals are rich with clove, nutmeg, incense and cinnamon.

Floral Orientals, also known as Florientals combine two favorite fragrance families, a subgroup of florientals in the sheer florientals which are lighter in scent than other oriental type perfumes.

 The subdivisions of classifications in this family are: floral oriental, floral woody amber, floral spicy amber, soft amber, citrus amber, and floral semi-amber.

Perfumes which are classified as Oriental are:

• Shocking
• Bijan
• Passion
• Joop!
• Habanita
• Samsara
• L’Heure Bleue
• Soir de Paris
• Poison
• Vol de Nuit
• Byzance
• Red Door
• Tabu
• Chantilly
• Shalimar
• Youth Dew
• Opium
• Oscar
• Nicole Miller
• Allure
• Lou Lou
• Must de Cartier
• Obsession
• Cinnabar

Fougere: Fougere, this family is characterized by bracing, herbaceous and woody scents that appear mainly in men’s colognes. Fougere means “fern” in French. Most fougeres are a blend of lavender, coumarin, oak moss, green and warm amber notes. Fougere fragrances take their name from Houbigant’s Fougere Royale which was created in 1885. There are subdivisions of classifications in this family and they are: soft amber fougere, floral amber fougere, floral amber fougere, spicy fougere, and aromatic fougere.

Perfumes and colognes that are classified as Fougere are:

• Paco Rabanne
• Cool Water
• Michael Jordan
• Jicky
• Canoe

Leather/Animal: notes are characterized by their warm, heavy and persistent quality. These fragrances are comprised of blending honey, tobacco, synthetics, cassie flower & bark, cade oil, myrtle,  and wood tars such as birch tar to create the scent reminiscent of leather. Musk, ambergris, civet and castoreum are animal notes. Most animal odors used today are made of synthetics. Leather and animal notes have been used as aphrodisiacs for centuries.

Ambergris (the synthetic is known as amber in the perfumery world) is a substance excreted by the sperm whale after eating cuttlefish and found in lumps of varying size floating in tropical seas or washed ashore. Ambergris must be weathered for at least three years before use. Although ambergris was used for centuries as a perfume, no one knew the exact source. True ambergris has not been used in perfumery in over thirty years. Amber notes are typically found in Oriental type fragrances. Ambergris has a sweet, woody odor.

Musk grains are collected from a walnut sized pod in the glands of the male musk deer of the Himalayas. The strongest fragrance of all, it is said that a single drop left on a handkerchief can last 40 years.

Civet is a butter like secretion taken from a pouch in the glands under the tail of the civet cat, found in Ethiopia Burma and Thailand. This odor is used to impart a musky fragrance in perfumes.

Castoreum is a creamy reddish brown secretion taken from sacs in the glands on the beaver, it was first used by Arab perfumers since the 9th century AD.It is used to impart a leathery odor in perfumery.

 There are subdivisions of classifications in this family and they are: floral leather ,tobacco leather, soft amber fougere, floral amber fougere, leather chypre, woody spicy leather, musky, woody amber, floral spicy amber, citrus amber, and soft amber.

Perfumes which are classified as Leather/Animal notes are:

• Tabac Blond
• Cuir de Russie
• Scandale
• Miss Dior
• Caleche
• Cabochard
• Bandit
• Equipage
• Bel Ami
• Khiel's Original Musk
• Film Noir
• Montale Oud Cuir D'Arabie
• Aramis
• Chypre Noir
• Piroguier
• Cuiron
• L'Artisan Intreccio No. 1
• Boucheron
• Zadig
• Creed Royal English Leather
• Spellbound
• Cuir de Lancome
• Gendarme
• Jovan Musk
• Dzing!
• Jolie Madame
• Givenchy Gentleman
• Derby
• CK Be
• Empriente
• Serge Lutens Daim Blond
• Cuir Beluga
• Persian Leather
• Jules
• Knize Ten
• Marquis de Sade
• Serge Lutens Cuir Mauresque
• Feuilles de Tabac
• Jicky
• Romeo Gigli
• Dunhill
• Sung
• Santa Maria Novella Peau d'Espagne

Chypre: (pronounced shee-pra) which takes its name from the French name for Cyprus, is the legendary birthplace of Venus, the goddess of love.

Chypre perfumes are based on an accord, or several scents that blend together to create a single soft, warm, and sweet scent. There are two scents that are included in all accords, these would be patchouli and oak moss. Most have gum labdanum which has a sweet honey like note. These perfumes take their name from Coty’s Chypre which debuted in 1917. A classic chypre perfume might be blended of bergamot, oak moss, sandalwood, patchouli , labdanum and given a floral note with jasmine and rose.There are subdivisions of classifications in this family and they are: floral chypre citrus, floral chypre, fruity chypre, green chypre, aromatic chypre, and leather chypre.

Perfumes which are classified as Chypre are:

• Miss Dior
• Femme
• Cabochard
• Ysatis
• Ma Griffe
• Paloma Picasso
• Knowing
• Mitsouko
• Cristalle
• Givenchy III
• Crepe de Chine

Aldehydic: or modern perfumes are those with significant notes of the aldehydes which are synthetic compounds, with clean, diffusive, sparkling notes and a family of chemicals.

Aldehydes are usually associated with florals and feminine perfumes. The first aldehydic perfume was created in 1925 by Ernest Beaux for Chanel No. 5, quite possibly the world‘s most famous aldehydic perfume. There are subdivisions of classifications in this family and they are: floral aldehydic and floral aldehydic chypre.

Perfumes which are classified as Aldehydic are:

• Chanel No. 5
• L’Interdit
• Arpege
• Rive Gauche
• White Linen
• Cerruti Femme 1881
• Je Reviens
• Chamade
• Vega
• Infini

Citrus: also known as hesperidic, have the familiar, fresh, crisp scents of lemons, oranges, tangerines and grapefruit peels, as well as the more exotic of scents of bergamot, petit grain and neroli (orange blossom). Eau de Cologne is the classic citrus scent. Citrus notes are generally found in men’s colognes and women’s sporty type perfumes or colognes. There are subdivisions of classifications in this family and they are:floral chypre citrus, citrus spicy, citrus woody, citrus amber, and citrus aromatic.

Perfumes & colognes that are classified as Citrus are:

• Monsieur de Givenchy
• Armani
• Eau Sauvage
• Eau Fraiche by Christian Dior
• Eau de Patou by Jean Patou
• O de Lancôme by Lancome
• 4711
• Eau de Rochas
• Eau de Courreges

Floral: the most popular in perfumery, includes both single floral scents and floral bouquets,. Floral scents can be either rich or light and airy in character. Single florals, also called soliflore, would be tuberose, hyacinth, lilac, honeysuckle, and gardenia, lily of the valley, orange blossom, jasmine, violet, carnation, rose and jasmine. Floral bouquets weave scents together to form a unified scent. There are subdivisions of classifications in this family and they are: single flower, lavender single flower, floral bouquet, floral chypre citrus, floral green, floral aldehydic, floral woody, floral fruity woody, floral amber fougere, floral chypre, floral spicy amber, floral woody amber, and floral leather.

Perfumes that are classified as Floral are:

• Joy
• L’Air du Temps
• Fracas
• Fidji
• Giorgio
• Blonde
• Quelques Fleurs
• Je Reviens
• Anis-Anais
• Eternity
• Tresor
• Vent Vert
• Chanel No. 19
• Safari
• Chanel No. 5
• L’Aimant
• LouLou
• Chant d’Aromes
• Chloe
• Capricci
• Farouche
• Oscar de La Renta

Fruity Floral: one of the newest members of the perfume family, mainly used in women’s fragrances. These fragrances are comprised of blending traditional floral notes with the youthful addition of fruity notes such as peach. There are subdivisions of classifications in this family and they are: floral fruity woody, and fruity chypre.

Perfumes which are classified as Floral Fruity are:

• Lauren
• Amazone
• Kenzo
• Tiffany
• Armani
• Nahema
• Clin d’Oeil
• Parure
• Guirlandes
• Clair du Jour
• Azzaro
• Fantasque
• Jour
• Maxim’s
• Missoni

Green: the odor of a crushed leaf characterized by a fresh, clean, natural, outdoorsy scent and can include pine, mint, lavender, camphor and herbal notes. These notes are often found in men’s colognes and women’s sporty perfumes. The subdivision of classification in this family is floral green.

Perfumes which are classified as Green are:

• Vent Vert
• Chanel no 19
• Alfred Sung
• Safari
• Ivoire
• Grey Flannel
• Fahrenheit
• Diorella
• Diorissimo
• Vivara
• Private Collection

Marine: themes are one of the newest members of the fragrance family. These notes are also called aquatic, oceanic, aqueous  and these fragrances evoke the odor of fresh sea air. It is virtually impossible to capture the true essence of oceanic air, so to create this special note, the ingredient Calone is added. 

Perfumes and colognes that are classified as Marine are:

• L'Eau d'Issey Pour Homme
• Escape
• Sunflowers
• Inis
• Aspen
• Aquawoman
• Bleu Marine
• Acqua di Gio
• Kenzo Pour Homme
• Nilang
• 360 degrees
• Polo
• Ghosy Myst
• Aqua Motu
• Flore
• Nautica
• Ocean Dream
• Cool Water Woman
• Dune
• Sunwater
• Ralph Lauren Blue
• Charlie White

Woody: fragrances derive their scents from aromatic woods such as sandalwood, patchouli, aloes, cedar, agarwood,pine and scents like oak moss which are reminiscent of the odor of the forest floor. The subdivisions of classifications in this family are: woody hesperidic coniferous, woody aromatic,floral woody, woody spicy, woody spicy leather, and woody amber.

Perfumes which are classified as Woody are:

• L’Eau d’Issey
• Feminite du Bois
• Organza
• Amarige
• Panthere
• Nocturnes
• Vetiver
• Monsieur Carven
• Antaeus

In this guide I will introduce you to the world of perfume display bottles, also called Factices (pronounced fack-teece), and dummy bottles in the perfume trade.

A factice is an advertising store display bottle that is lent to a perfume vendor (department stores) by the perfume house and are not meant for retail sale. The bottles are exact replicas of the normal perfume bottles. Because these bottles are on loan, they are usually returned back to the perfume house and not sold publicly. 

In the early days of factices, these might be filled with perfume, but as time went on, manufacturers began to use colored water or a type of colored antifreeze, a mixture of rubbing alcohol or formaldehyde, or glycogen is used in most examples.  The colored water examples sometimes have some sort of sediment or particles floating around in the liquid, this is most likely caused by bacteria or mold growing in the water. Some factices, such as those for My Sin by Lanvin, are hollow, opaque plastic bottles, with no liquid inside.

The colored liquid for the factices often come premade in advance in aluminum containers when they are delivered to the department stores. Alternatively they might come as an extract in a small plastic bottle and the shop owner would have to mix it with distilled water.

 I would like to mention that factices came in many sizes, from smaller versions of their retail examples to identical sizes, all the way up to much larger than life examples. These larger bottles are known as giant factices. 

The older factices were made of glass or crystal, the newer ones of plastic or acrylic. The bases may be acid stamped or etched with "dummy", "factice" or a "D" engraved into the glass. 

I have three possibilities on how the factices were marked. They were probably scratched "dummy" by the glass factories before they were sent to the perfume factories, or were scratched on at the perfume factories so that it wouldn't be mistakenly filled with the actual perfume. Another possibility is that it could have been scratched on by a store employee to differentiate it from the perfume filled examples.

I also wanted to mention that some vintage Guerlain & Balenciaga bottles are often marked dummy on the back of the label that is on the front of the bottle. The only way to see the word dummy is by looking through the back of the bottle and seeing the back of the label on the front of the bottle. Since the labels were affixed at the perfume factories (which were in France but the bottles were for American export) it would make sense that the word "dummy" was used instead of factice (French for artificial, fake). Please note that recent examples might have a sticker or label on the back of the bottle that states "dummy" or "for display purposes only" or "not for resale".

Some factices are one solid piece, meaning the stopper is molded into the base and not removeable. I have seen some acrylic factices like this for Givenchy and Lanvin perfumes.

Don't confuse a tester with a factice. Testers are advertising bottles filled with actual perfume and were meant to be used. Some stores will sell testers, and there are companies who will wholesale testers to the public. Testers generally come without a cap or box.

Please make sure you mention factice in your title and description. Collectors of factices will be able to find it easily. And people who are looking for the actual perfume bottle (not a factice) will appreciate your honesty.

The larger factices are generally much more desired than their smaller counterparts. The best factices are those marked Lalique or Baccarat, these signed pieces command the highest prices. You can find many different factices on ebay quite easily. Why not add one to your collection today?

Is your bottle sealed with contents? Does it look like perfume? How can you tell if you have a factice? Some simple ways of determining this are listed below:

• Shake the bottle. Do you see floating particles? if so, it is a factice.The particles are bacteria forming inside the colored water.

• Shake the bottle. Do you see a separation of the contents? Do you see little balls of oily substance in a sea of what looks like alcohol? Then you have perfume in your bottle. The perfume oils often thicken due to age and evaporation. The fragrance congeals a bit leaving small oil balls in the alcohol.

• Does the bottle have a waxed paper seal? if so, it isnt a factice.Vintage perfume bottles are usually sealed with onion paper which has been waxed over to prevent spillage during shipment. Also the stopper will be tied with a cord which wraps around the neck of the bottle. Some factices, such as the Chanel often times have this too, but I have never seen a factice with the waxed paper seal.

• Can you smell perfume around the mouth of the bottle? if so it is not a factice. Your factice should have no perfume smell at all.

• Are the contents dark and discolored? if so, it is not a factice.Vintage perfume usually discolors and turns a darker shade over the years when exposed to air. The liquid in factices will not discolor with age.

• Look at the stopper and  the neck of the bottle. Do you see any discoloration? If so, this will not be a factice. Vintage perfumes, due to the oils, often discolor the inside neck of the bottle and stopper and leaves residue even if its still sealed. Factices should be clear and clean with no residue present.

Some buyers prefer their factices emptied before shipping, this keeps the shipping costs down as filled factices can be quite heavy and expensive to ship. If you want your bottle emptied before shipping, please make mention of this to your seller.