The heart of making perfume or cologne is the fragrances that go into the particular bottle. The complicated and beautiful way people create the mixtures is the reason why perfumes and colognes are so popular and expensive. The alcohol and fragrances used during the creation of cologne is only slightly different than that of a perfume. In fact, only the quantity of the scent differs. Cologne is about half as strong as perfume since only fifteen percent of the mixture is scent versus thirty percent. Cologne for men is made this way so as not to overwhelm the senses since women do not like it when that happens.
There are many layers and technical details when making scents. The body of the cologne is the main fragrance or theme. This is what the nose will detect first after application. As the scent dissipates, it will release several other fragrances. An individual perfume will have three notes during its span. Notes represent three distinct periods in the evaporation of the perfume. The first is called top note that releases the most volatile or easily vaporized ingredients. The next two notes actually occur during the next few hours, subtly changing the way the perfume is received. The bottom or last note is responsible for how long the scent lasts, which can be many hours depending on the ingredients in the bottom note. Blending scents is also an art all by itself. Combining different smells into one single distinct smell is called an accord, much like a chord in music struck in unity becomes a distinct sound. When this is done correctly, it is next to impossible to detect with olfactory resources what the blended scent was originally comprised of.
On top of all this, different scents need to be extracted differently. There are particular scents that can be extracted via heat. Different flower petals need to be soaked in water, boiled and then discarded to produce fragrance. Others like lavender require different ways because heat will damage the scent, rendering it useless.
Now that you know a bit about the creation of these magical scents that make men and women from all over the world fall in love with each other, you probably won’t complain about the prices anymore. The next time your girlfriend or wife gives you mens cologne, you’ll understand the subtleties of what went into your gift.