Definition
Jus (French: juice) is used in both the professional perfumery industry and the enthusiast community to designate the liquid fragrance concentrate inside a bottle. The term focuses attention on the olfactive substance itself, stripping away the commercial frame of bottle design, name, and marketing narrative (Basenotes wiki, accessed 2026-05-27).
In professional usage, the jus refers to the concentrate as formulated, before dilution in alcohol. In community usage, it refers to the complete liquid in the bottle at final concentration, as worn.
In practice
Enthusiasts use "jus" to redirect discussion from a perfume's bottle, name, or marketing to its actual olfactive content. Phrases like "the jus is exceptional even if the bottle is generic" or "the jus is thin and doesn't last" are common in review culture.
In formulation, the jus is the aromatic concentrate (also called the compound or concentrate) composed by the perfumer, which is then diluted in alcohol at various concentrations to produce the commercial product: extrait, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, or eau de cologne (Fragrantica, accessed 2026-05-27).