Eau de toilette (, meaning "grooming water") is a lightly scented perfume. It is also referred to as aromatic waters and has a high alcohol content. It is usually applied directly to the skin after bathing or shaving. It is traditionally composed of alcohol and various volatile oils. Traditionally these products were named after a principal ingredient, like geranium water, lavender water, lilac water, violet water, spirit of myrcia and "eau de Bretfeld". Because of this, eau de toilette was sometimes referred to as "toilet water". In modern perfumery, eau de toilette has less concentrated fragrance than perfume (eau de parfum) and more than cologne (eau de Cologne).

Types

Eau de toilette is a weaker concentration of fragrance than perfume. The concentration of aromatic ingredients is typically as follows (ascending concentration): Perfume oils are often diluted with a solvent, though this is not always the case, and its necessity is disputed. By far the most common solvent for perfume oil dilution is ethanol or a mixture of ethanol and water. Perfume has a mixture of about 10–20% perfume oils mixed with alcohol (acting as a diffusing agent delivering the fragrant odor) and a trace of water. Colognes have about 3–5% perfume oil mixed with 80–90% alcohol with about 5–15% water in the mix. Originally, eau de cologne was a mixture of citrus oils from such fruits as lemons, oranges, tangerines, limes, and grapefruits. These were combined with such substances as lavender and neroli (orange-flower oil). Eau de toilette has the least amount of perfume oil mixture among the three main liquid "perfumery" categories. It has only about 2–8% of some type of perfume oil and 60–80% alcohol dispersent with water making up the difference. Eau de toilettes are a less concentrated form of these above types of alcohol-based perfumes. Traditionally cologne is usually made of citrus oils and fragrances, while eau de toilettes are not limited to this specification.

History

Hungarian eau de toilette, an alcohol based perfume that is the predecessor of eau de cologne, was first produced in the fourteenth century, supposedly by a Hungarian man for Queen Elisabeth of Hungary. This was called "eau de la reine de hongrie" or Hungary Water, and contained the herb rosemary, which allowed the scent to evaporate slowly on the skin. However, some early scientists, including Johann Beckmann, doubt that it was created for the Queen of Hungary. The King of France Louis XIV (1638–1715) used a concoction of scents called "heavenly water" to perfume his shirts; It consisted of aloewood, musk, orange flower, rose water and other spices. Some eau de toilette were once considered restorative skin toners with medical benefits. The journal Medical Record reported in 1905 that a toilet water spray restores energies lost in business, social, and domestic situations. During the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries a type of eau de toilette called "plague waters" was supposed to drive away the bubonic plague.

Varieties

Footnotes

Sources

Citations

Parfüm