Why should perfume be kept in a closed container

A. Because perfume contains alcohol. Alcohol is a drying agent; it evaporates at a relatively low temperature, around 20 degrees Celsius. Keeping perfume away from light and warmth slows down the time it takes to evaporate.

Q. Why is alcohol added to perfume

A. So that when you put perfume on your warm skin it evaporates slowly, giving off the scent as it does, until it eventually evaporates completely, usually within a few hours.

Q. What is a perfume

A. Something that is composed of either natural or odoriferous materials. Natural ingredients can be plant extracts, resins, concretes, absolutes, or essential oils.

Q. How much alcohol does perfume contain

A. That depends on whether it’s an Eau de Cologne, Eau de Toilette or Eau de Parfum, all of which are alcoholic solutions of fragrance oils. They differ according to their percentage of fragrance oil and the percentage of alcohol to water they contain.

Eau de Cologne is a 5% solution of fragrance oil in a 70% grade alcohol. An Eau de Toilette is a 6-15% solution of fragrance oil in an 80% grade of alcohol. An Eau de Parfum usually contains 15-25% fragrance oil in pure ethyl alcohol.

Q. What does ‘perfume’ mean

A. It comes from the Latin phrase ‘per fumum’ which means ‘through the smoke’. It refers to the facts that fragrances were first used in the form of burning fragrant resins.

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by Lisa Cardy