To most people, the words essential

To most people, the words essentially mean the same, and you can safely use one or the other. You will find that usage varies from country to country: in the United States, fragrance is the more common description; in England, scent or fragrance. In France? Parfum!

The fragrance industry tends to refer to the most concentrated form of a scent as perfume or parfum in contrast, say, to the less concentrated eau de toilette or cologne. Perfumers, on the other hand, use the word specifically to describe their fragrant creations, their perfumes.