Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Attar or Deo?

The words on the label

The rest of a spray perfume is mostly alcohol and a little water, which carry the scent off the skin and into the air. These ranges are conventions: different houses use different strengths, so the label tells you the style, not an exact amount.

Attar: India’s own perfume

Attar is fragrance carried in oil instead of alcohol. In Kannauj, India’s perfume town, it is still made the old way, called deg-bhapka: flowers, herbs or earth are distilled in copper pots, and the fragrant vapour passes through a bamboo pipe into a receiver of sandalwood oil, which holds the scent. “Kannauj Perfume” has been a registered Geographical Indication since 2014.

Because oil doesn’t evaporate like alcohol, attar is dabbed on, not sprayed, and stays close to the skin, for the wearer and those near them. An alcohol perfume rises off the skin and fills more of the space around you. Neither is better; they are different experiences. If you love attar’s rose, sandalwood or oud, look for those notes in the heart and base of a perfume — N° 02, for example, pairs saffron and Bulgarian rose with amber and oud.

Deodorant is not perfume

A deodorant is made to deal with body odour; a perfume adds a scent and does nothing about odour. They work best together: deodorant first, on clean skin, and perfume on the pulse points once it has dried. Body mists sit in between: pleasant, light and short-lived, closer to a refresher than a perfume.

Which to reach for

• Office and daytime: an EDT, or an EDP sprayed lightly.
• Evenings, weddings, festive nights: an EDP or parfum.
• Close, personal, prayer or quiet moments: an attar.
• Gym and a quick refresh: deodorant, or a body mist.

Every Fumist fragrance is an Eau de Parfum. For daytime, one or two sprays are enough.