Pure alcohol (well as pure as can be managed) only has a slight odor, and it flashes off quickly. This leaves the oils which will also flash off, just not as quickly.
Alcohol in colognes are mainly just acting as a solvent, helping all the other compounds in the cologne stay nicely dissolved and mixed together. And it doesn’t majorly mess up the smell because the other compounds are SUPER fragrant and it is not a ton of alcohol.
> Ethanol is a clear, colourless liquid with a characteristic pleasant odour and burning taste
Other sources online say “sweet but pungent”. If it’s in a drink and it smells nasty, those are other byproducts of the fermentation process you’re picking up, not ethanol. I’ve had some New Zealand white wines especially that smell amazing, so it’s not even going to be so ‘smelly’ in every drink.
When colognes are made, they mix alcohol with essential oils from flowers, fruits, and herbs. Alcohol by itself does have a strong smell, but it helps the oils dissolve and evaporate faster, so the pleasant scents can be spread into the air. The alcohol itself evaporates quickly, leaving behind the fragrance.
Pure alcohol has only a mild, slightly fruit smell. Liquors other than vodkas obviously have other stuff in them, but typical alcohols not sold for consumption are required by most countries to be poisoned and smell bad so as to discourage people from drinking them. They will often add a variety of bad smelling stuff, which is why they smell different. An alternative is rubbing alcohol, which by itself is smelly and poisonous
There are many types of alcohols besides the ones you can drink (ethanol). The term alcohol just means a family of organic compounds containing a hydroxide functional group. Colognes use more than just ethanol. Don’t drink your cologne.
A lot of the odorants we use exist as oils, which wouldn’t be conductive to a spray format + too concentrated. Many oils are soluble in alcohol, which dilutes it and makes it sprayable.
The alcohol just acts as a carrier/vehicle for the application, but it evaporates rapidly so the alcohol scent doesn’t linger + it’s low enough volume that it’s not noticeable due to being overpowered by the fresh application of the perfume/cologne. The actual odorants evaporate more slowly, so the scent sits on our skin/clothes and lasts through the day.
Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is odorless. It also dissolves the chemicals needed for perfume easily and it vaporizes easily to distribute the perfume.
What you smell in the alcohol you drink is not ethanol, it’s other byproducts of the fermentation/distillation process. The higher quality alcohol the less you can smell it. Perfume basically uses very high quality ethanol.
Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is odorless. It also dissolves the chemicals needed for perfume easily and it vaporizes easily to distribute the perfume.
What you smell in the alcohol you drink is not ethanol, it’s other byproducts of the fermentation/distillation process. The higher quality alcohol the less you can smell it. Perfume basically uses very high quality ethanol.
Alcohol is a CLASS of substances. So there is no singular alcohol. The common alcohols that people come across would be ethanol (in all alcoholic drinks) and iso-propyl alcohol (propanol) which is used in disinfectants.
Some forms don’t smell terrible, especially in fairly low concentrations. Some are very pungent. Others will smell like petrol etc.
But the “alcohol” that is drunk (ethanol) is usually flavored with other stuff. Whiskeys get a lot of their smell/taste from charred wood so they might have an oaky and smoky taste. Vodka probably comes closest to pure alcohol and water among the common alcoholic beverages. While people might find vodka has some smell, most probably won’t call it terrible.
Alcohol used in colognes isn’t the same as the drinking stuff—it’s more like a neutral spirit with no smell. When mixed with scents, it helps spread and hold the fragrance on your skin. It’s like a behind-the-scenes helper making sure the perfume stays put and smells fantastic!
Some fragrance notes tend to mask the smell of alcohol. This is one of the reasons why bergamot is traditionally used as a top note in many different perfumes. Some citrus top notes last scarcely longer than the smell of the alcohol itself, so they can be included without impacting the long term aroma.
You’ll notice lime is an unusual note in perfume, orange is more common, lemon even more common, and bergamot the most common.
Alcohol boils easily so you can get a lot of smell for very little cologne. The smell can also be combined with other things to make it more pleasant and some people enjoy the smell of alcohol.
Different kind of alcohol. Most colognes use ethyl alcohol (same stuff you drink) as the solvent, rather than isopropyl alcohol (the usual rubbing alcohol). Isopropanol has a strong smell, while ethanol’s smell is much fainter.
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Pure alcohol (well as pure as can be managed) only has a slight odor, and it flashes off quickly. This leaves the oils which will also flash off, just not as quickly.
Alcohol in colognes are mainly just acting as a solvent, helping all the other compounds in the cologne stay nicely dissolved and mixed together. And it doesn’t majorly mess up the smell because the other compounds are SUPER fragrant and it is not a ton of alcohol.
If it smells bad that’s not pure ethanol. This is from the government’s chemical safety website in my country:
https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/npi/substances/fact-sheets/ethanol-ethyl-alcohol
> Ethanol is a clear, colourless liquid with a characteristic pleasant odour and burning taste
Other sources online say “sweet but pungent”. If it’s in a drink and it smells nasty, those are other byproducts of the fermentation process you’re picking up, not ethanol. I’ve had some New Zealand white wines especially that smell amazing, so it’s not even going to be so ‘smelly’ in every drink.
When colognes are made, they mix alcohol with essential oils from flowers, fruits, and herbs. Alcohol by itself does have a strong smell, but it helps the oils dissolve and evaporate faster, so the pleasant scents can be spread into the air. The alcohol itself evaporates quickly, leaving behind the fragrance.
“Alcohols” ‘make up a family of compounds. This is like asking “why do I smell good when there are other humans who smell bad.”
“Alcohols” ‘make up a family of compounds. This is like asking “why do I smell good when there are other humans who smell bad.”
Pure alcohol has only a mild, slightly fruit smell. Liquors other than vodkas obviously have other stuff in them, but typical alcohols not sold for consumption are required by most countries to be poisoned and smell bad so as to discourage people from drinking them. They will often add a variety of bad smelling stuff, which is why they smell different. An alternative is rubbing alcohol, which by itself is smelly and poisonous
There are many types of alcohols besides the ones you can drink (ethanol). The term alcohol just means a family of organic compounds containing a hydroxide functional group. Colognes use more than just ethanol. Don’t drink your cologne.
Alcohol evaporates in seconds, and you may be surprised how slight its smell is.
The smell of the cologne is much stronger than the smell of the perfume.
A lot of the odorants we use exist as oils, which wouldn’t be conductive to a spray format + too concentrated. Many oils are soluble in alcohol, which dilutes it and makes it sprayable.
The alcohol just acts as a carrier/vehicle for the application, but it evaporates rapidly so the alcohol scent doesn’t linger + it’s low enough volume that it’s not noticeable due to being overpowered by the fresh application of the perfume/cologne. The actual odorants evaporate more slowly, so the scent sits on our skin/clothes and lasts through the day.
Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is odorless. It also dissolves the chemicals needed for perfume easily and it vaporizes easily to distribute the perfume.
What you smell in the alcohol you drink is not ethanol, it’s other byproducts of the fermentation/distillation process. The higher quality alcohol the less you can smell it. Perfume basically uses very high quality ethanol.
Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is odorless. It also dissolves the chemicals needed for perfume easily and it vaporizes easily to distribute the perfume.
What you smell in the alcohol you drink is not ethanol, it’s other byproducts of the fermentation/distillation process. The higher quality alcohol the less you can smell it. Perfume basically uses very high quality ethanol.
Alcohol is a CLASS of substances. So there is no singular alcohol. The common alcohols that people come across would be ethanol (in all alcoholic drinks) and iso-propyl alcohol (propanol) which is used in disinfectants.
Some forms don’t smell terrible, especially in fairly low concentrations. Some are very pungent. Others will smell like petrol etc.
But the “alcohol” that is drunk (ethanol) is usually flavored with other stuff. Whiskeys get a lot of their smell/taste from charred wood so they might have an oaky and smoky taste. Vodka probably comes closest to pure alcohol and water among the common alcoholic beverages. While people might find vodka has some smell, most probably won’t call it terrible.
Alcohol used in colognes isn’t the same as the drinking stuff—it’s more like a neutral spirit with no smell. When mixed with scents, it helps spread and hold the fragrance on your skin. It’s like a behind-the-scenes helper making sure the perfume stays put and smells fantastic!
Some fragrance notes tend to mask the smell of alcohol. This is one of the reasons why bergamot is traditionally used as a top note in many different perfumes. Some citrus top notes last scarcely longer than the smell of the alcohol itself, so they can be included without impacting the long term aroma.
You’ll notice lime is an unusual note in perfume, orange is more common, lemon even more common, and bergamot the most common.
Alcohol boils easily so you can get a lot of smell for very little cologne. The smell can also be combined with other things to make it more pleasant and some people enjoy the smell of alcohol.
Different kind of alcohol. Most colognes use ethyl alcohol (same stuff you drink) as the solvent, rather than isopropyl alcohol (the usual rubbing alcohol). Isopropanol has a strong smell, while ethanol’s smell is much fainter.