This Secret Perfume Trick Will Make Your Scent Last All Day
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If you've ever spritzed on your favorite fragrance before leaving the house only to find that the scent dissipated mere moments later, you're not alone. Discovering that a perfume doesn't have lasting power is such a common experience that there are Reddit threads dedicated to the topic. But that doesn't mean that there's nothing you can do about it.
I recently asked our pros in the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty & Personal Care Lab and a fragrance expert to help break down what actually causes our scents to fade and share some tips and tricks on how we can prevent it. Their answers were surprisingly simple, so let's get to it.
What makes perfume fade quickly?
You may have been thinking that you simply didn't spray enough perfume or that you didn't spritz in the right places , but it turns out your fragrance fading can be due to more than a few factors.
"The longevity of the scent depends on its fragrance ingredients, their concentration, and your skin properties," says GH Beauty Lab Director Sabina Wizemann . This means the fragrance type and its specific notes, as well as your skin hydration, all matter.
"Fragrance tends to last longer on skin that's well moisturized, while dry skin causes it to evaporate faster," says Patti Kapla , Fragrance.com 's vice president of business development. "Heat, sweat, and friction also play a role, and something as simple as rubbing your wrists together after applying fragrance can actually break down the top notes and make them fade sooner."
How can you select a long-lasting fragrance?
The key to walking out of Sephora or your local department store's fragrance section with a perfume you know will be long lasting comes down to concentration. "If longevity is a priority, extrait/parfum, eau de parfum, or parfum oils may be a better choice than eau de toilette or eau de cologne, since they are more concentrated," Wizemann says. Kapla agrees, noting that "an eau de parfum or parfum will last longer than a lighter eau de toilette or eau de cologne simply because there's more fragrance oil in the bottle."
Selecting scents with rich, warm, and smoky notes can be to your benefit, too. "Ingredients like vanilla , amber, musk, oud, patchouli, sandalwood, and other woods tend to have real staying power, while fresh citrus and aquatic notes are more fleeting by nature," Kapla says. "That said, concentration and formulation matter more than any single note, so it's worth testing a fragrance on your actual skin and letting it sit for a few hours before you decide, rather than judging it off a paper strip or the first few minutes you smell it."
How can you make your perfume last longer?
Once you've selected a perfume with a higher concentration of fragrance oil, both Wizemann and Kapla say that there are a few more steps you can take to ensure you're getting the best, long-lasting scent out of your fragrance.
Moisturize:Going back to one of the reasons your fragrance may fade quickly, dry skin is not beneficial to the long-term wear of your perfume. It's in your best interest to apply a body cream or lotion before applying your go-to scent. "The more hydrated your skin, the more likely it is to hold fragrance for longer," Wizemann says.
Spritz intentionally:Where and how you apply your fragrance can help it last longer. "Apply to pulse points like your wrists, neck, and behind your ears, and try not to rub it in afterward since that friction can disrupt how the scent develops over time," Kapla says. "It also helps to lightly mist your clothing or hair from a little distance, since fabric tends to hold onto fragrance longer than skin does."
Layer:You can also amp up your scent by wearing a lotion or another perfume with the same or complementary fragrance. This helps to build longevity, Kapla says.
Store appropriately : Lastly, you'll want to make sure that where you store your perfume is helping the fragrance to last, not working against it. "Heat, light, and humidity all break down fragrance oils over time, so it's worth keeping your bottles somewhere cool and dark instead of on a bathroom shelf or windowsill," Kapla says.
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