Fragrance
What extrait means, how a scent changes on skin, and how to choose one you cannot smell yet.
Last updated 26 September 2026
Buying perfume online is buying something you cannot smell. This page is what we would tell you across a counter, so the decision is less of a gamble. When you are ready, the collection is on the shop front.
Extrait, and why it matters
The difference between an eau de toilette and an extrait de parfum is how much perfume oil is in the bottle and how much is alcohol. More oil means the scent is denser, changes more slowly, and stays on skin far longer.
- Eau de cologne
- Roughly 2–5% oil. An hour or two
- Eau de toilette
- Roughly 5–15%. Two to four hours
- Eau de parfum
- Roughly 15–20%. Four to six hours
- Extrait de parfum
- Roughly 20–30%. Six hours and often well beyond
Almost everything in this collection is an extrait. That is also why a little goes further than you expect: one or two sprays of an extrait is not the same gesture as four of a toilette.
Top, heart, base
A fragrance is not one smell but three, arriving in order as the lighter molecules evaporate first. Every product page lists all three, so you can read what it will become rather than only how it opens.
- Top notes
- The first ten to twenty minutes. Citrus, pepper, herbs
- Heart notes
- The next few hours, and the character of the thing. Florals, woods, spice
- Base notes
- What is still there at the end of the day. Amber, musk, resins, oud
The most common mistake is judging in the first minute. The opening is the part that lasts least.
Why we sell 5 ml bottles
Fragrance behaves differently on different skin. Warmth, dryness and what you ate all shift it, which is why a scent someone else wears beautifully can be wrong on you and no description can predict it.
So every fragrance here comes in a 5 ml size as well as 50 and 100. It is enough to wear for a week, in your own climate, on your own skin, before committing to a full bottle. We would rather you spent a little finding out than a lot regretting it.
How to wear it
- Spray onto skin, not clothes. Skin warmth is what moves the notes through their sequence; fabric holds the opening and little else.
- Pulse points work because they are warm: wrists, the base of the throat, behind the ears.
- Do not rub your wrists together. It crushes the top notes and shortens the opening you paid for.
- Apply to moisturised skin. Dry skin holds fragrance poorly, which is the usual reason a scent seems to vanish on one person and not another.
- Two sprays of an extrait is generally plenty.
Keeping it
Heat and light are what age a fragrance, and a bathroom windowsill is the worst place in the house for both. Keep the bottle in its box, somewhere cool and dark, and an extrait will hold for years. Store it badly and the top notes go sour within months.
If it is not right
An unopened bottle can go back within seven days — the terms are on the Cancellation & Refund Policy. An opened one cannot, for hygiene, which is the whole reason the 5 ml size exists. If you are unsure, write to care@velmorris.com and describe what you already wear; it is a better starting point than a list of notes.