Most people don't put a lot of thought into what fine fragrance is about. It's a spray that is really strong and you like it or you don't.
What you're thinking about is an alcohol based fragrance, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Pretty much every "notable" cologne or perfume is based in alcohol. Hell, for most of my life that's all I knew perfume to be.
Oil is a different way to experience fragrance. The scent sits in the oil, you roll it on, and it stays closer to your body. The magic happens with your body heat, rather than the blast of fragrance in the air. It's a more subtle experience where someone notices it when they get near you, not when they're down the hall.
Now I'm not saying one is better than the other. I believe that there is no "best" fragrance base. Life isn't binary. Some days you wanna go big and bold and some days you need to speak softly and carry a big stick.
Why oil instead of alcohol?
Most simply, you want the scent on you, not in the air.
What is the alcohol in alcohol based colognes?
It's perfumer's alcohol and an ethanol made for fragrance. They denature it with denatonium benzoate or other additives to make it unfit for consumption and help make fragrances more solvent. It's not vodka or a rubbing alcohol in the first-aid kit. It's been designed to dissolve the perfume and then leave.
Alcohol based sprays are about the quick evaporation; you spray, get big top notes and then the alcohol is gone. What's left is the pure fragrance. That's why those first notes feel so fast, and why some of them disappear in a couple minutes. They left with the carrier. What you still smell later is whatever actually made it to skin and clothes.
It feels cool going on but can also sting a nick from a fresh shave. It can cause the skin to dry out and it will disrupt your body's microbiome. A nice perk is you don't get a film, and the dry-down is clean. The less nice part is it can get loud, then thin out, and it's easy as hell to overspray. Everyone knows that one guy who's sprayed a couple too many sprays.
So, what about oil?
Oil doesn't flash, it mellows out. You roll it on after a shower once the skin is dry. Focus on two to four pulse points. An Eau de Parfum (EdP) is about 20% fragrance and still an Eau de Parfum when it's in an oil or alcohol. You'll notice a more mellow release of the fragrance and a little bit longer lasting. But it's really going to miss that giant punch in the face you get with alcohol.
Like everything, you'll have trade-offs and you might get a little sheen. If you're not careful, you might mark a collar or your clothes.
Alcohol perfume has been the go-to option for a long time. If you want the room to smell you before they see you, that's the tool to use. If you only want the person next to you to smell you than oil is the best tool.
So you're ready to try an oil based cologne, but not sure which base oil is the best.
This is where people get weirdly religious about a jar in the bathroom.
I personally wouldn't put a perfume in the coconut oil you cook with. It's solid. It smells like coconut. The coconut would show up before the perfume did.
What we source is called medium-chain triglyceride oil and more commonly known as MCT oil. By it's INCI name it's Caprylic/capric triglyceride and it's a highly refined coconut oil. Coconut oil gets split, the caprylic and capric parts get kept and put back together with glycerol, then filtered and deodorized.
MCT Oil will be confused with fractionated coconut oil. They're close but not the same thing. MCT Oil is fit for consumption and more rigorously processed, whereas fractionated coconut oil is held to a lower standard should not be consumed.
Another interesting oil is jojoba oil. Interestingly, it's not even an oil, it's a liquid wax. Because of that, it won't go rancid like a seed oil. It can last years. A big perk for jojoba oil is that it is the oil that most closely mimics your body's sebum (skin/hair oil).
Golden jojoba can have a little color, a faint nutty aroma and a thicker consistency. If caring for your skin was the top priority, jojoba oil wins but in a fragrance that's not the number one need. We need a base that doesn't disrupt the fragrance, even though it's great for the skin.
Other common oils include grapeseed which is light until it isn't. It's the kind of oil that oxidizes easily, and then you're smelling grapeseed. Another is sweet almond which is nice on dry skin but again a little nutty in aroma. Not to mention not a good option for those with nut allergies. Olive oil, avocado oil, and the rest of the kitchen is food and should stay there.
MCT is quiet and consistent, which is what you want when the variable is supposed to be the composition. Thin enough to roll on and moisturizing enough to not disrupt your body's microbiome. The raw fragrance notes will dissolve well enough, even if it's not as good as alcohol.
It's generally regarded as non-comedogenic, around 0–1 so it's skin-friendly. It's not going to disrupt your body's microbiome like alcohol can. Still it's an oil, so you can get a film and it can stain a shirt more than a spray.
At the end of the day it's about finding what works for you. Do you want something that sits closer to your body, go with the oil. If you're wanting something louder, go with an alcohol base.
Bandholz offers amazing fragrances, check out our roller ball fragrances in an MCT Oil base here.