Walk into any Middle Eastern perfume counter and you'll hear several words thrown around almost interchangeably: attar, perfume oil, Eau de Parfum (EDP), and Extrait de Parfum. They're not the same thing, and knowing the difference makes it much easier to pick a fragrance that actually suits how you want to wear it.

What Is Attar?

Attar (also spelled ittar) is one of the oldest fragrance formats in the world, with roots in Middle Eastern and South Asian perfumery going back centuries. Traditionally, attar is made by distilling natural botanicals — rose, oud, saffron, sandalwood — into a concentrated oil base, rather than blending aromachemicals into a spray. That's what gives classic attars their deep, almost resinous character: they tend to smell rich and complex from the very first application, and they sit close to the skin rather than projecting outward the way a spray does.

What Is a Perfume Oil?

A perfume oil is a broader category. Like attar, it's oil-based rather than a spray — but it doesn't have to follow attar's traditional distillation method. Most modern perfume oils, including our own "Inspired by" range, are compounded fragrance oils: a blend of aromatic ingredients suspended in a carrier oil, designed to closely echo a specific scent profile (often a well-known designer fragrance) at a fraction of the price. Because they're oil-based, they share attar's slow, close-to-skin release, but the scent itself is built to match a target fragrance rather than following a traditional Middle Eastern recipe.

What Is Eau de Parfum (EDP) & Extrait de Parfum?

Eau de Parfum (EDP) and Extrait de Parfum (also called parfum or perfume extract) are both liquid spray formats — a fragrance concentrate diluted in a carrier and dispensed as a fine mist from a spray bottle. The difference between the two comes down to concentration: Extrait de Parfum is the more concentrated of the two, which is why it tends to last longest and feel richest on skin, while EDP sits a step below it but still lasts noticeably longer than a lighter Eau de Toilette. Both formats project further into the room than an oil or attar. We stock sprays in both concentrations across our range, so it's worth checking each product listing to see which one you're getting.

Key Differences at a Glance

• Format: Attar and perfume oil are both applied directly to skin as an oil; EDP and Extrait de Parfum are sprayed.
• Projection: Oils and attars stay close to the skin ("skin scent"); EDP and Extrait sprays project further into the room.
• Longevity on skin: Oil-based formats generally wear slowly and evolve over many hours; among sprays, Extrait de Parfum tends to last longest, with EDP close behind — both outlast a lighter Eau de Toilette.
• Origin: Attar follows traditional distillation methods; perfume oils, EDP and Extrait de Parfum are all compounded to hit a specific scent profile.

How to Choose

If you want a fragrance that feels personal and long-wearing without filling a room, an attar or perfume oil is usually the better fit — they're also a good choice for anyone who prefers not to spray fragrance directly onto clothing. If you want a scent that announces itself and that others can pick up on from a distance, an EDP or Extrait de Parfum spray does that job better. Plenty of people carry both: an oil for everyday wear, a spray for evenings out.

You can browse our full range of attar and traditional-style fragrances, our designer-inspired perfume oils, or our EDP and Extrait de Parfum sprays to compare formats side by side.