Eau de toilette

Eau de toilette (French: [o d(ə) twalɛt]) or toilet water is a lightly scented cologne used as a skin freshener. 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 was originally composed of alcohol and various volatile oils. Traditionally these products were named after a principal ingredient; some being 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 "flower water".

In modern perfumery, the term eau de toilette is generally used to describe the concentration of fragrance, with eau de toilette being weaker than Eau de Parfum and stronger than eau de cologne.

Eau de toilette is a weaker concentration of fragrance than pure 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 to 15 percent 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). Toilet water has the least amount of perfume oil mixture among the three main liquid "perfumery" categories. It has only about 2 to 8 percent of some type of perfume oil and 60-80% alcohol dispersent with water making up the difference. Toilet waters are a less concentrated form of these above types of alcohol-based perfumes. Traditionally cologne is usually made of citrus oils and fragrances, while toilet waters are not limited to this specification.

In the fourteenth century Hungarian Eau de toilette, predecessor of eau de cologne, was produced.Queen Elisabeth of Hungary (1305–1380) had created a fragrant oil mix with alcohol that evaporated slowly on her skin.Hungary Water was the first toilet water developed. This toilet water was called "eau de la reine de hongrie", and was based on rosemary.

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