Extrait, Unisex, and 'Inspired By': What Those Three Words Actually Mean

Extrait is the strongest concentration on the shelf. Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum and Extrait de Parfum describe how much perfume oil is in the bottle, in ascending order — which means an extrait needs one or two sprays where an EDT needs six, and it lasts considerably longer on skin.

Unisex is a genuine category, not a compromise. Amber and woody structures do not read as strongly gendered, so a unisex fragrance is a reasonable gift for someone whose taste you are unsure of — and it can be shared, which some couples like a great deal.

Fragrances built in the style of a famous expensive one are a legitimate way into the category. They let someone find out whether they actually like a scent profile before spending several hundred on the original, and for a gift that removes most of the financial risk from a guess.

• Someone curious about fragrance but not yet committed to an expensive bottle
• A recipient who likes sweet, warm, amber-woody scents
• A couple happy to share a bottle
• Anyone who has admired a scent in this family without wanting to pay designer prices

• High concentration means it lasts, so the bottle goes further
• Low enough risk to give as a guess
• Unisex, so it works if your read on her taste is wrong

The things worth checking before you order — this is where gifts like this most often go wrong.

• Apply extrait sparingly. Someone used to spraying an Eau de Toilette six times will badly over-apply this, and it is worth saying so when you hand it over.
• Inspired-by fragrances are not the original. They approximate the opening well and usually diverge as they dry down, so treat this as a scent in its own right rather than a substitute nobody will notice.
• Sweet amber scents are heavy. They suit evenings and cold weather far better than a warm office.
• Buy from a seller with real history. Fragrance is the most counterfeited category on any marketplace, and this end of it especially so.