Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
agua fresca
English translation:
eau fraiche
Added to glossary by
Owen Munday
May 22, 2008 08:37
16 yrs ago
10 viewers *
Spanish term
agua fresca
Spanish to English
Marketing
Cosmetics, Beauty
Perfumes and colognes
From a market research interview with a Spanish man about the various grooming products he uses. They refer to aftershave, cologne and this agua fresca, as if it was lighter, less strongly scented than cologne, and can be used every day. Many, many references are made to it:
"A. Pienso que es más colonia que agua fresca, pero vamos a mí me huele más a agua fresca.
B. ¿LA DE AQUA DI TITO?
A. Sí. A mí me huele más a agua fresca aunque sea colonia..."
The interview is a very long, and fairly confusing transcript, with lots of typing errors, so it's sometimes difficult to figure out which product they're talking about but this term, which is not so much a product but a category of scent that they use to describe and compare all sorts of different products, comes up again and again.
What are the possibilities in English for this? Body spray? Toilet water (although that's maybe going to get very confusing with Eau de Toilette, which I understand is stronger than cologne)? I don't want to resort to something too generic like scent... Any ideas much appreciated!
Spanish from Spain for UK English readers preferred.
Thanks!
"A. Pienso que es más colonia que agua fresca, pero vamos a mí me huele más a agua fresca.
B. ¿LA DE AQUA DI TITO?
A. Sí. A mí me huele más a agua fresca aunque sea colonia..."
The interview is a very long, and fairly confusing transcript, with lots of typing errors, so it's sometimes difficult to figure out which product they're talking about but this term, which is not so much a product but a category of scent that they use to describe and compare all sorts of different products, comes up again and again.
What are the possibilities in English for this? Body spray? Toilet water (although that's maybe going to get very confusing with Eau de Toilette, which I understand is stronger than cologne)? I don't want to resort to something too generic like scent... Any ideas much appreciated!
Spanish from Spain for UK English readers preferred.
Thanks!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 2 +1 | eau fraiche |
moken
|
| 4 | scented water (splash) |
Cinnamon Nolan
|
| 4 | light cologne |
Noni Gilbert Riley
|
| 3 | Light fragrance |
ServingMed.com
|
Proposed translations
+1
13 mins
Selected
eau fraiche
Hi Owen,
Don't know much about this, but the French expression "eau fraiche" seems quite common in English and would translate to agua fresca in Spanish.
I believe the difference is that it has less or no alcohol content compared to other scents.
Good luck!
Álvaro :O)
REF:
Eau Fraiche (Usually 3% or less perfume oil)
Eau de cologne - EDC (2 - 5% perfume oil)
Eau de toilette - EDT (4 - 10% perfume oil)
Eau de parfum - EDP (8 - 15% perfume oil)
Soie de Parfum (15 - 18% perfume oil)
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080322125507AA...
(Don't know how reliable this is!)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 mins (2008-05-22 08:54:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
From a different website:
What are Eau De Toilette, Eau De Parfum, etc?
These terms refer to the strength of the fragrance, or more specifically, to how much high grade alcohol and/or water has been added to the fragrance oils. Parfum (generally the most concentrated form you can buy) has 15-25% perfume oil dissolved in alcohol. Any mixture with a lower proportion of oil to alcohol is an eau (water).
Eau Fraiche (Usually 3% or less perfume oil)
Eau de cologne (2 - 5% perfume oil)
Eau de Toilette (4 - 10% perfume oil)
Eau de parfum (8 - 15% perfume oil)
Soie de Parfum (15 - 18% perfume oil)
PARFUM or Perfume (15 - 25% -- also sometimes referred to as extract or extrait)
Perfume oil (15-30% perfume oil in an oil rather than alcohol base)
You may also see the term Parfum de Toilette. Most companies use this term to describe a concentration that is either the same as Eau De Parfum, or between Eau De Parfum and Parfum. Other companies use the term to describe an Eau De Toilette concentration.
To further confuse matters, some companies use different notes, or different proportions of notes, in the different forms of fragrance they offer. In addition, some companies reserve costly fragrance oils for their parfum, and use synthetic substitutes in lighter concentrations.
http://nowsmellthis.blogharbor.com/blog/_WebPages/PerfumeFAQ...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 25 mins (2008-05-22 09:03:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Finally, here's an Yves Rocher site that uses both terms for one of its products:
Agua Fresca Eau fraîche
La manzana de los más pequeños
Su primer perfume, con las notas deliciosamente verdes y frescas de la manzana verde. ¡Un aroma que les encantará!
Referencia:29793 Frasco 75 ml
http://www.yves-rocher.es/shop_app_ES/app_ES/jms.jsp;jsessio...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-22 10:06:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
No problem Owen - I see what you mean - but I'd challenge that he knows nothing about them, even if he says so himself: judging from the excerpt he does seem to know the difference between an "agua fresca" and a cologne - and as you can see from the list above, the difference can be quite subtle! Was he de-briefed at any point? :O)
Don't know much about this, but the French expression "eau fraiche" seems quite common in English and would translate to agua fresca in Spanish.
I believe the difference is that it has less or no alcohol content compared to other scents.
Good luck!
Álvaro :O)
REF:
Eau Fraiche (Usually 3% or less perfume oil)
Eau de cologne - EDC (2 - 5% perfume oil)
Eau de toilette - EDT (4 - 10% perfume oil)
Eau de parfum - EDP (8 - 15% perfume oil)
Soie de Parfum (15 - 18% perfume oil)
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080322125507AA...
(Don't know how reliable this is!)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 mins (2008-05-22 08:54:49 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
From a different website:
What are Eau De Toilette, Eau De Parfum, etc?
These terms refer to the strength of the fragrance, or more specifically, to how much high grade alcohol and/or water has been added to the fragrance oils. Parfum (generally the most concentrated form you can buy) has 15-25% perfume oil dissolved in alcohol. Any mixture with a lower proportion of oil to alcohol is an eau (water).
Eau Fraiche (Usually 3% or less perfume oil)
Eau de cologne (2 - 5% perfume oil)
Eau de Toilette (4 - 10% perfume oil)
Eau de parfum (8 - 15% perfume oil)
Soie de Parfum (15 - 18% perfume oil)
PARFUM or Perfume (15 - 25% -- also sometimes referred to as extract or extrait)
Perfume oil (15-30% perfume oil in an oil rather than alcohol base)
You may also see the term Parfum de Toilette. Most companies use this term to describe a concentration that is either the same as Eau De Parfum, or between Eau De Parfum and Parfum. Other companies use the term to describe an Eau De Toilette concentration.
To further confuse matters, some companies use different notes, or different proportions of notes, in the different forms of fragrance they offer. In addition, some companies reserve costly fragrance oils for their parfum, and use synthetic substitutes in lighter concentrations.
http://nowsmellthis.blogharbor.com/blog/_WebPages/PerfumeFAQ...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 25 mins (2008-05-22 09:03:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Finally, here's an Yves Rocher site that uses both terms for one of its products:
Agua Fresca Eau fraîche
La manzana de los más pequeños
Su primer perfume, con las notas deliciosamente verdes y frescas de la manzana verde. ¡Un aroma que les encantará!
Referencia:29793 Frasco 75 ml
http://www.yves-rocher.es/shop_app_ES/app_ES/jms.jsp;jsessio...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-05-22 10:06:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
No problem Owen - I see what you mean - but I'd challenge that he knows nothing about them, even if he says so himself: judging from the excerpt he does seem to know the difference between an "agua fresca" and a cologne - and as you can see from the list above, the difference can be quite subtle! Was he de-briefed at any point? :O)
Note from asker:
| Hi Álvaro. It's a nice idea but I don't think the interviewee would use such a term (he's a typical guy who confesses to knowing nothing about these things). I need something much simpler without it being vague. Difficult. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Margarita Gonzalez
: Even my husband knows, and he's never used any.
2 hrs
|
|
Thanks Marga. I never use any type of scents either. In all honesty though, although I know the term, I would't have been able to tell an eau fraiche from a cologne. :O) :O)
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many thanks to everyone for all your help. Once again, it would've been nice to be able to spread the points out (thanks Cinnamon for your suggestion). In the end, the client preferred to rearrange all the references made by the interviewee to the products, since his references were so confused. But now I know that another type of perfume exists, even if the term does seem very new here in Spain. Who'd have thought that 'smellies' could be so complicated!"
15 mins
ServingMed.com
Netherlands
Netherlands
Native in English
Netherlands
Broad medical experience
Native in: English (Variants: US, UK) 
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English
Light fragrance
In products at Amazon.com they describe it as a light-hearted fragrance, and light fragrance seems to work well as a contrast to cologne or perfume.
3 hrs
Cinnamon Nolan
Spain
Spain
Native in English
Works in field
Spain
Quality- Professionalism - Experience
Native in: English (Variants: US, US South, UK, British)
Works in: Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
scented water (splash)
There are many Google hits for this, although I wasn't familiar with it. Apparently, it's normally a mixture of flowers or fruits with water, often home-made, but now there are many commercial products.
"Light cologne" also exists, usually as "light cologne spray", which I have seen before; however, perhaps it's too similar to cologne for this interview.
5.0 ml Alcohol Free Scented Water. Autenticidad 100% garantizada. Género: Hombre. Tipo de Producto: Fragancia. Tamaño: 5.0 ml. Nuevo en caja (No probador) ...
articulo.mercadolibre.com.mx/MLM-17646566-bvlgari-petits-et-mamans-para-dama-50ml-_JM
Purchase Athena's Dolce Tentazione Scented Water products here or in my Spatique. A leading online shopping experience for Dolce Tentazione products.
www.stormsister.biz/dolce tentazione/scented water.html
Scott County Lavender - [ Traducir esta página ]The essential oil floats to the top of the collection flask and leaves scented water on the bottom. This highly scented water is "Hydrosol". ...
www.scottcountylavender.com/hydrosol.htm
"Light cologne" also exists, usually as "light cologne spray", which I have seen before; however, perhaps it's too similar to cologne for this interview.
5.0 ml Alcohol Free Scented Water. Autenticidad 100% garantizada. Género: Hombre. Tipo de Producto: Fragancia. Tamaño: 5.0 ml. Nuevo en caja (No probador) ...
articulo.mercadolibre.com.mx/MLM-17646566-bvlgari-petits-et-mamans-para-dama-50ml-_JM
Purchase Athena's Dolce Tentazione Scented Water products here or in my Spatique. A leading online shopping experience for Dolce Tentazione products.
www.stormsister.biz/dolce tentazione/scented water.html
Scott County Lavender - [ Traducir esta página ]The essential oil floats to the top of the collection flask and leaves scented water on the bottom. This highly scented water is "Hydrosol". ...
www.scottcountylavender.com/hydrosol.htm
3 hrs
Noni Gilbert Riley
Spain
Spain
Native in English
Spain
The translator people turn to
Native in: English (Variant: UK)
Works in: Spanish to English, French to Spanish, English, and 1 more.
light cologne
Bearing in mind Owen's comments about what the chap in question is likely to know about this are of cosmetics...
Discussion