Welcome to the fascinating world of fragrances. Start here with the basics and then follow your nose, as they say!
What you need to know:
The base of any fragrance you can buy in shops will be the “perfume essence”—what actually makes the smell. This is a combination of essential oils (cedar wood, lime, sandalwood, etc), absolutes (jasmine, rose, neroli), animal extracts (musk, ambergris), and synthetic fragrance (this could be nearly anything).
This base perfume essence would actually not be that attractive by itself and in some cases would be actually unpleasant. It is too concentrated, so it needs to be diluted, and this is done with alcohol and water.
Fragrances come in many forms and have many different names but generally the main four categories are as follows: Parfum, Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette, Eau Fraiche, and Eau de Cologne.