A Passion Parfum fragrance page reads from top to bottom, in the order a sales advisor would present the bottle: the name and concentration, the notes pyramid, five gauges describing how the scent behaves on skin, then technical details and an introduction to the house. Each block answers one specific question. Here is how to read them, with two real product pages walked through in full.
The top of the page: name, tagline, concentration and price
The fragrance name stands alone as the page title. The house is not repeated above it: it appears in the breadcrumb and in the “The house” block further down. Just below the name, a short line sums up the scent. It usually names the two or three materials that define it.
Under the bottle photo, three labels give the essentials: the concentration, the gender label and, when known, the launch year. The price comes next. It is shown including VAT for visitors from the European Union and excluding VAT for other countries, including the United States, since European VAT is not charged there.
Then come the size buttons and the purchase button. Its label changes with the status of the bottle:
- “Add to cart” when the bottle is in stock;
- “Pre-order” when it is on its way, with the expected shipping date shown just below;
- “Sold out” when the selected size is no longer available. A “Notify me when it's back” button then lets you leave your email address.
The size buttons are the reference for what you can actually order. A struck-through size is sold out, even if the others are still available.
The olfactory pyramid and its time markers
The “Olfactory Pyramid” block splits the notes into three tiers: top, heart and base. Each note comes with its own illustration. Each tier also carries a time marker: 0 to 30 minutes for the top, 30 minutes to 3 hours for the heart, and from 3 hours onward for the base. When the page gives a longevity figure, it completes that last marker, for example 3 hours to 8h+.
These durations are the same on every page. They describe how a fragrance works in general and do not come from timing the one you are looking at. Light materials such as citrus evaporate first. Woods, resins and musks stay for hours. Our article Top, heart and base notes: how to read an olfactory pyramid explains the mechanism in detail.
Two things help when reading this section. The same note can appear in two tiers, which means it carries through the wear. And the split is only a guide: some fragrances are built to smell much the same from start to finish. When choosing, look mostly at the heart and base. Those are what you will wear all day.
The on-skin gauges: sillage, longevity, projection, intensity, freshness
The “Performance” block shows up to five gauges rated out of 5. A gauge with no data is simply not displayed.
- Sillage: the trail the fragrance leaves in the air as you move.
- Longevity: how long it stays noticeable on the skin.
- Projection: how far from you it can be smelled, mostly in the first hours.
- Intensity: the strength of the scent itself, when smelled up close.
- Freshness: how bright and light it feels, as opposed to warm and dense.
The gauges are meant to be read together. Longevity at 5 with sillage at 3 points to a fragrance that lasts while staying close to you. Low freshness often goes with a base of leather, resins or vanilla. On some pages, usage cues are added under the gauges, such as evening wear or fall and winter.
These gauges come from on-skin observation in everyday conditions. No lab measurement sits behind them. Heat, skin hydration and the number of sprays all shift them. Their main use is comparing two pages with each other. Our article Longevity and sillage: what makes a fragrance last explains where those differences come from.
Technical details, the house and the expandable panels
Technical details
This block gathers the factual data. Each line only appears when the information is filled in.
- Concentration: the name the house uses (extrait de parfum, eau de parfum, parfum), often followed by the percentage of fragrance concentrate it states.
- For: the gender label. The vast majority of the catalog is listed as unisex, and our article Unisex fragrance: what it means in niche perfumery explains why.
- Olfactory family: one or more families, for example woody citrus.
- Launch: the release year, when known.
- Vegan & Cruelty-Free: shown only when the house declares it.
- Sizes: the bottle sizes the house offers.
The percentage deserves a word. These names are not defined by law, and each house sets its own thresholds. On our pages, Zhufu calls a 25% formula an extrait de parfum, while House of Atropa calls a formula at the same level an eau de parfum. The number tells you more than the name. Typical ranges are covered in our article Extrait, eau de parfum, eau de toilette: understanding concentrations.
The “The house” block
It introduces the house in a few lines, with, depending on the case, the minimum concentration of its fragrances, the number of creations, the founding year and the indicative longevity of the fragrance you are viewing. To go further, each house has its own collection and, for most of them, a full profile on our blog.
The panels
At the bottom of the page, panels open on click: “About this creation” for the full description, “Composed by” with the perfumer's name and often a profile, then “Customer reviews”, with the number of reviews in brackets. Some pages add frequently asked questions specific to the fragrance.
Two real pages, read from start to finish
White, a complete page
White is by Bidzina Kanchaveli. At the top, the tagline mentions soft vanilla, orange peel and saffron leather. The labels read eau de parfum at 20%, unisex, and 2025.
The pyramid is short: bergamot, orange peel and vanilla on top, saffron in the heart, leather in the base. Vanilla, which evaporates slowly, is listed here as a top note. You notice it from the opening, and it does not fade after thirty minutes. The base marker reads 3 hours to 8h+.
The gauges give sillage 3, longevity 4, projection 3, intensity 3 and freshness 2, with evening and all-season cues underneath. The reading matches the notes: a warm fragrance that lasts but keeps a reasonable distance. The technical details add the family (fruity, spicy, sweet, green, leathery), the vegan mention and a 30 ml size. The “Composed by” panel leads to Bidzina Kanchaveli's profile. His other fragrances are in the Bidzina Kanchaveli collection.
Aged Pu-Er Tea, a leaner page
Aged Pu-Er Tea comes from Zhufu. Its page shows what happens when some data is missing. There is no launch year and no longevity figure: the base marker simply reads 3 hours, and the technical details are limited to concentration (extrait de parfum at 25%), gender and family, woody citrus.
The pyramid pairs pu-erh tea and bergamot on top, cedarwood and vetiver in the heart, sandalwood and vetiver in the base. Vetiver appears in two tiers: it is the thread running from heart to base. The gauges show sillage 3, longevity 4, projection 3, intensity 4 and freshness 3. That profile fits a woody tea scent that is quite present up close without filling a room. It is part of our woody selection and of the Zhufu collection.
Three pages to compare the gauges
Gurza, from House of Atropa, shows longevity 5 and intensity 5, sillage and projection 4, freshness 2, with a stated longevity of 8h+ and evening and fall/winter cues. Its notes explain those numbers: durian, champagne, cherry and lime open onto leather, honey, immortelle and vanilla, then onto oud, patchouli, vetiver and cedar.
Above The Clouds, from Zhufu, has the same longevity of 5 with freshness at 3. Its top of bergamot and green cardamom and its heart of borneol, lily of the valley, iris and white tea rest on a base of ambergris, ambrette, Chinese cedar, patchouli, sandalwood and vetiver. That base is what extends a bright opening.
Principalities, from Cæleste, is an extrait de parfum at 25% rated sillage 3, longevity 4, projection 3, intensity 4 and freshness 3. Its pyramid lists sixteen notes: hyssop, black tea and violet on top, mineral notes, petrichor, oud assafi, galbanum, leather and immortelle in the heart, ash, elemi, saffron, incense and sandalwood in the base.
Sizes and the 2 ml sample
Most fragrances come in several sizes, including a 2 ml format. At the bottom of the page, an “Order a sample” button adds it straight to your cart. It is the most reliable way to check on your own skin what the pyramid and the gauges say. Our article How to make the most of a 2 ml sample explains how to wear it over a full day.
Frequently asked questions
Are the longevity gauges guaranteed?
No. They describe behavior observed on skin in everyday conditions. Your skin, the temperature and the amount applied all change the result. They are mainly useful for comparing two fragrances.
Why does a base note sometimes appear in the top notes?
The pyramid also shows when a note becomes noticeable, on top of how fast it evaporates. Vanilla listed as a top note can be smelled from the opening and stays afterward. The split is a reading aid and does not follow a strict physical rule.
What is the difference between a 25% extrait and a 25% eau de parfum?
On paper, none: both contain the same stated share of concentrate. The name depends on each house's habits. Compare the percentages when they are given, then the base notes.
Why do some pages show less information?
We only display what we can fill in reliably. When a house does not share the launch year or the longevity, the line is left out rather than showing an estimate.
How do I find a fragrance close to the one I wear?
Note the olfactory family and the base notes of your current fragrance, then look for pages that share them. Our fragrance quiz makes that match in a few questions.
The other useful notions for reading a fragrance page are gathered in our guide Understanding fragrance. To test a page against your own skin, every fragrance in the shop is available as a 2 ml sample.