Solid Cologne or Solid Fragrance: What’s the difference?

As the popularity of solid fragrance continues to grow, lots of people want to know the differences between the terms solid cologne, solid perfume, solid fragrance, wax cologne, hard cologne, and the like.

In most cases, all of these terms are used interchangeably. However, there is a reason that at Fulton & Roark we prefer to talk about our offerings as Solid Fragrance for two reasons.

While the word “cologne” has become a catch-all word for men’s fragrances in the United States, it comes from “eau de Cologne (EDC),” which is a fragrance that has a concentration level of two to four percent of fragrance oils in the total mix. Relative to other fragrance types, such as eau de Toilettes at 5-15% (EDTs) or eau de Parfums at 15-20% (EDPs), that’s a very low concentration level.

Because our Solid Fragrances contain a much higher concentration of fragrance oils than an eau de Cologne, we think calling our product solid cologne is a bit of a misnomer. However, because “solid cologne” is likely the most popular term in use right now, we certainly don’t have any objection to its use.

The second reason we prefer the term “Solid Fragrance” is that we think several of the other words come with connotations that we don’t love.

When people hear the word “cologne,” often the first thing that they envision is a man wearing far too much of the stuff. They may also recall the smell of an overly assertive musky blend that smelled like the chemical incarnation of machismo. We created our Solid Fragrances to respect the “three-foot rule” which says that people shouldn’t be able to smell you from more than three feet away. We created scents that didn’t play to the tired old themes of what a “manly” smell should be. Instead we created fragrances that we thought men and women would both enjoy, whether they were wearing them or simply experiencing them on someone else.

Another goal of ours however is to focus on being innovative while remaining unpretentious. With that in mind, we hope you refer to the scents we create with whichever words suits you. And whatever you call us, we hope you enjoy.

Check out our full selection of Solid Fragrances here.