Much like Cleopatra, we love everything about perfumes and are always welcoming newcomers to our growing collection. Whether it’s an oil, a light eau de toilette or a cologne, fragrances don’t come cheap, and in a perfect world our signature scent would last all day. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case and many of us find ourselves buying a rollerball for our handbag to touch up as needed. How you wear your perfume, however, is just as important as the aroma itself and we’re sharing some tips on how to make that scent last longer.
- Choose notes wisely. Bright floral, citrus or green scents are uplifting and fresh, but they are notorious for not lasting long. Picking a scent that has woody or spiced notes in it will automatically give your perfume a longer wear time since these notes are more potent and powerful by nature.
- Formula matters. Fragrances are made with different plant and synthetic oils in addition to alcohol, but each formulation has different dilutions of perfume oil, which affects its longevity. Parfum or extrait de parfum has the highest concentration of oils (around 20 percent and can go as high as 40 percent) and tend to be priced higher than an eau de toilette that usually contains less than 10 percent oil.
- Layer with lotion. Moisturizing skin with an odorless body oil or lotion will help lock in the aroma. If your signature scent comes in a lotion form, even better.
- Spray with strategy. Pulse points in the body produce heat and the warmth in these areas will help diffuse the fragrance throughout the day. Key areas to spritz include behind the knees, inner elbows, nape of your neck and, of course, wrists.
- Don’t rub. This is one of those things that everyone does by nature, but it’s completely unnecessary and should actually be avoided. Rubbing in a perfume will cause the molecules to break down and essentially cause your scent to disappear.
- Store properly. Another don’t is storing perfume on your bathroom counter. Things like humidity (from showers), heat and light cause the compounds to break down, making your perfume less fragrant. Opt for a cool, dark nook for storage.
