Fragrance concentration is the single most misunderstood number on a bottle — and the one that actually determines how long a scent lasts on your skin. Here's what the tiers mean and why we build every Velario fragrance at the top of the range.
The concentration tiers, in order
Fragrance oil concentration is measured as a percentage of the total liquid. The standard industry tiers, from lightest to strongest:
- Eau de Cologne (EDC): 2–4% fragrance oil
- Eau de Toilette (EDT): 5–15%
- Eau de Parfum (EDP): 15–20%
- Parfum / Extrait de Parfum: 20–40%
Most designer fragrances you'll recognize by name — the $150–$300 bottles — are sold as Eau de Parfum, sitting in that 15–20% band. Velario fragrances are formulated at 35% fragrance oil, near the top of the Extrait tier.
Why the percentage changes how it wears, not just what it's called
Fragrance oil is what actually smells like something; everything else in the bottle is carrier (usually a form of alcohol) that helps it evaporate and spread on application, then disperses. More oil relative to carrier means:
- The scent develops through its full note structure — top, heart, and base — more slowly and distinctly, instead of flashing through the top notes in the first ten minutes.
- It sits closer to the skin for longer, because there's more raw material left to release over the course of the day.
- You need fewer sprays to reach the same presence, since each spray is carrying roughly twice the fragrance material of a 15–20% EDP.
This is why a 35% Extrait can reasonably claim 10+ hours of wear where a 15% EDP of the same scent profile might read as fading by hour four or five.
Does a higher number always mean "better"?
Not automatically — concentration is only half the story. A poorly formulated 35% blend can still smell thin or unbalanced, and personal skin chemistry changes how any concentration performs. What concentration does guarantee is the ceiling: a 15% EDP physically cannot carry as much fragrance material as a 35% Extrait of the same formula, no matter how it's marketed.
What this means for value
A $49.99 50ml Velario Extrait at 35% concentration and a $150+ 50ml designer EDP at 15–20% aren't actually comparable on a per-ml basis — the Extrait is carrying roughly double the fragrance oil per spray. For the exact cost-per-wear math on your own spray habits, use our cost-per-wear calculator. To see how we describe concentration, longevity, and note structure across the full catalog, the fragrance guide and note browser break it down fragrance by fragrance.