EDT, EDP and Parfum on a Bottle: What the Letters Mean and Don't Guarantee

Three Reference Guides, GOST 31678-2012 and Kurkdjian's Own Words in One Comparison

This piece compares the percentage ranges of three reference sources with the minimum thresholds of Russian GOST 31678-2012 for the same terms, a verbatim, previously published comment from perfumer Francis Kurkdjian about what he himself calls a reworking when the concentration of the same name changes, and the reverse case, where an identical label still produces a different smell.

What the Letters EDT, EDP and Parfum Actually Mean

Eau de Toilette (EDT), Eau de Parfum (EDP) and Parfum (also called Extrait or Extrait de Parfum) are industry names for different concentrations of fragrance oil in an alcohol or water-alcohol base: the higher the concentration, the stronger the scent usually reads and the longer it tends to last. But how officially these words are fixed depends on the country and on the source you check. The page of the US regulator, the FDA, on fragrances in cosmetics does not mention the terms 'eau de toilette' or 'eau de parfum,' or concentration percentages, at all. Readers in Russia and neighboring countries have a more concrete reference point: the intergovernmental GOST 31678-2012 maps the familiar Russian names to these same foreign terms and sets a minimum share of fragrance material for each. But even there it is a floor, not an exact percentage or a description of the formula — details in the next section.

That does not mean manufacturers are misleading anyone: according to English Wikipedia, a more concentrated version 'often' contains more fragrance oil, 'but this is not always the case' (editorial translation). Beyond the minimum thresholds set by GOST and the general FDA categories, the exact percentage is decided by each house and each reference source on its own, so the boundary between Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum shifts from source to source, and a change of letter on the label for the same name does not always mean only 'more was added.'

The FDA Page Sidesteps Percentages, the Russian GOST States Only a Minimum

The FDA's official page “Fragrances in Cosmetics” lists only a few examples of fragrance products regulated as cosmetics: Perfume, Cologne, Aftershave. These are examples, not a closed list, and the words 'eau de toilette' and 'eau de parfum,' like concentration percentages, do not appear on the page at all. The same page notes that regulation depends on a product's stated purpose: a product marketed as a treatment (for instance, for relieving a headache) is classified by the FDA as a drug, not only as a cosmetic. An additional check on 16 September 2026 through the eCFR search engine (the codified body of current US federal regulations) also finds no occurrences of 'eau de toilette' or 'eau de parfum' in any document — but that is a compilation of regulations, not the text of the underlying statute (the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act), which the editorial team did not check directly. The only supportable conclusion: neither the FDA page nor the eCFR compilation defines or gives a percentage for EDT, EDP or Parfum; a broader claim about the statute itself would require reading it directly.

IFRA's (International Fragrance Association) pages — the industry association for fragrance-ingredient safety — about what a fragrance is and how it is made do not use the terms 'eau de toilette,' 'eau de parfum' or 'concentration.' English Wikipedia nonetheless attributes to IFRA a benchmark of 'typically ~20%' for the Parfum/Extrait category, though no such figure appears on the organization's official pages. Conclusion: in the materials reviewed, IFRA has no formal classification by concentration — its area of responsibility is ingredient safety, not the strength of the finished product.

Readers in Russia have a more concrete, if still limited, reference point. The intergovernmental GOST 31678-2012, “Liquid perfumery products. General specifications,” adopted on 15 November 2012 (protocol No. 42) and in force in Russia since 1 July 2013 (Rosstandart order No. 1750-st), maps Russian names to the foreign terms and sets a minimum share of fragrance material: concentrated perfume — at least 30%; Extra perfume — at least 15%; perfume and perfumery water — 10% each; eau de toilette — at least 4%; cologne — at least 1.5%. The standard's appendix maps 'perfumery water' to Eau de Parfum, 'eau de toilette' to Eau de Toilette, and 'perfume' to Parfum and Extrait. So it is not true that these labels have no definition anywhere in the world. But GOST also does not give buyers what they are looking for: it is a floor of 'at least,' not a range; the thresholds for perfume and perfumery water are identical (10% each); and persistence under the standard is measured in a lab on gauze, not on human skin.

The bottom line across the sources reviewed: no single worldwide standard was found — not on the FDA page examined, not in an eCFR search, and not on IFRA's relevant pages as the international industry body. Russia does have such a reference point, GOST 31678-2012, but even it gives only a lower threshold, not an exact percentage. Rosstandart's official register was unreachable while this piece was prepared: the standard's status ('in force,' with no cancellation date listed, as of 16 September 2026) is confirmed by the independent aggregator allgosts.ru and an archived copy of the text, not directly by the agency's own primary source.

Why Reference Sources Give Different Concentration Percentages

Since the official standard sets only a minimum, not a range, it would be reasonable to expect reference sources to at least agree with each other on the usual percentages. Comparing the guides side by side does not bear that out: three sources give three different ranges for the same terms.

What Kurkdjian Actually Said About Aqua Universalis Forte

The official standard sets only a minimum threshold, not an exact percentage — and a word on the label alone does not explain what lies behind a specific change at an individual house. Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian — co-founder of Maison Francis Kurkdjian, founded in 2009 with Marc Chaya — told The Perfume Society in a written 2020 interview about creating Aqua Universalis Forte (eau de parfum) from his own Aqua Universalis, originally released as an eau de toilette: in his words, “I reworked the original eau de toilette into an eau de parfum” (editorial translation). He goes on to compare the effect to the same score performed by a chamber orchestra versus a symphony orchestra: “the same spirit and mood, the same story, but louder” (editorial translation).

This quote does not let us conclude that the note composition necessarily changed: Kurkdjian himself describes the result as the same story, only louder, not as a different scent. The word 'reworked' shows that the house calls this deliberate work on the Forte version — but the editorial team did not open an official formula card listing the notes: the Maison Francis Kurkdjian website was unreachable while this piece was prepared. It cannot be claimed that the notes changed.

It follows neither that every EDT-and-EDP pair under the same name has been reworked, nor that Kurkdjian's note composition necessarily changed — the source directly supports neither conclusion. But the example shows that a word on the label does not tell you whether you are looking at a simple strengthening or a reworking — that is worth checking against the product's formula rather than assuming.

Why an Identical Label Does Not Guarantee the Same Scent

There is also a reverse example from the same interview worth holding onto separately. The fragrances Gentle Fluidity Gold and Silver — two Maison Francis Kurkdjian products, both released as eau de parfum — are built, according to Kurkdjian, from the same list of ingredients, yet produce completely different olfactory worlds. In other words, an identical label — in this case, eau de parfum for both — also guarantees nothing in the other direction: it does not promise the scent will be similar if the composition is arranged differently.

What Forte, Intense, Elixir and Other Label Words Mean

Some bottles add one more word to the three basic ones — Forte, Intense, Elixir, Absolu and similar. Neither the FDA on its page about fragrance materials in cosmetics, nor IFRA on the pages reviewed, nor GOST 31678-2012 mentions such words at all. So the word on the label alone cannot tell you what stands behind such a suffix at a given brand: a higher concentration of the same scent, a reworked composition — the way Kurkdjian himself describes it in the Aqua Universalis Forte example above — or simply a name for which the brand does not openly disclose the difference in formula. This can be checked against the formula description on the specific product page, if the brand publishes one.

What to Check Before Buying Instead of Just the Letters

Treat the three letters on the bottle as a first orientation, not the sole basis for a purchase decision. It is more useful to look not just at the abbreviation but at the full list of notes or the formula the brand publishes on the product page — that is a clue to whether the scent will be close to what you already know under that name, not a guarantee: The Perfume Society itself notes that even different concentrations of the same name sometimes differ in note composition, not just strength. Keep in mind that a percentage is a figure from a specific source, a reference guide, or, at best, an official minimum, not a universal guarantee: the reference guides cited here place Eau de Parfum anywhere from 8 to 20 percent, while Russian GOST sets only a 10% floor for the same category. A change of label on an already-familiar name is worth checking separately just in case: sometimes it is a simple strengthening of the same concentrate, and sometimes, as with Aqua Universalis, the house itself calls it a reworking. Finally, for stronger versions, compare price per milliliter rather than going only by the bottle price — that makes it easier to see whether you are overpaying for concentration.