The 9 biggest misconceptions everyone has about cologne and perfume

Samantha Lee/Business Insider

Fragrance is incredibly misunderstood.

Even the name confuses people. Many think cologne is for men and perfume is for women, but those terms merely refer to the concentration of scent oils in the fragrance, which is itself the basic, gender-neutral term.

There are many other misconceptions, so we decided, with the help of fragrance expert Marlen Harrison, Art of Manliness, and Fragrance.net, to bust as many as we could with helpful graphics.

Go forth and smell better.

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While fragrance never “goes bad,” it will start to smell differently than the perfumer intended.

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It’s actually impossible to tell by sniffing a piece of paper how a fragrance will smell when mixed on your skin. Additionally, a fragrance can and will smell slightly differently on different people’s skin.

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Apply to naturally warmer body areas like your neck and chest, as this will allow the scent to dissipate evenly throughout the day. Cardinal rule: Don’t overdo it.

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Eau de cologne is one of the weakest, with around 3% concentration of fragrance oil. Eau de toilette has around 10%, while eau de parfum has between 15% and 20%. Straight perfume has around 25% concentration.

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Let it sit on the skin and absorb on its own.

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A stronger fragrance will naturally smell more powerful, however, and require less at application.

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Depending on what kind of scent you’re going for, greater strength might be better for you. In fact, the same scent at two different concentrations may even smell completely different.

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