Tips to Make Your Perfume Last Longer

Having a signature scent is a wonderful feeling – but not when it only lasts a couple of hours. Fortunately, perfume experts have some easy rules and advice to follow that will keep your skin smelling beautiful all day long.

#1 – Know What Type of Perfume You’re Buying

The more concentrated your perfume is, the longer the scent will last, so always look at the label before you buy. Eau de perfume is the strongest concentration, with a more intense scent that lasts 5 hours or more. Eau de toilette is a much lighter concentration with a gentle scent that lasts only around 3 hours.

#2 – Skip Scented Products

If you’re planning to wear perfume, make sure you are only using unscented products, including your moisturiser, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Not only can these scents clash with your perfume and create an unpleasant mix of smells, but they also tend to contain oils and perfumes that coat your skin so that your chosen perfume doesn’t stick as well.

#3 – Apply Your Perfume After Washing

For the best adherence to your skin, apply your perfume as soon as you’ve towelled yourself dry or moisturised. This prevents the natural oils on your skin from building up and creating a fine layer that stops the perfume from sinking in.

#4 – Apply Perfume to Your Pulse Points

There’s a good reason why it’s traditional to apply perfume to the inside of your wrists and elbows as well as behind your ears and at the back of your knees – it works! That’s because the skin is very thin at these points and so it gets warmed up by your natural blood flow. This helps release the scent from your perfume and diffuse the fragrance.

#5 – Don’t Rub It In

Once you dab perfume on your wrists or anywhere else, it’s a common move to rub it in. Don’t! This creates too much heat for the chemicals in the mixture and diffuses the top notes of the perfume quickly. Instead, gently dab any excess up your arm or even onto your neck or legs.

#6 – Spritz Your Hairbrush 

Brushing some perfume into your hair adds a beautiful scent as the air moves through it. Rather than spritzing your hair, which will dry and damage it, spritz your brush. This will make sure that your hair gets a very light coating rather than a concentrated blast of fragrance.

#7 – Spritz Your Wardrobe

Scents can easily become attached to materials and fibres, so if you have a signature scent that you use often, it’s a good idea to spray your drawers or wardrobe with the perfume. This will settle into the clothes while they are stored and create an additional layer of fragrance when you wear them. It will also make your bedroom smell beautiful!

#8 – Store Your Perfume Properly

When stored properly, a good quality bottle of perfume will retain its scent for 3 to 5 years. But most of us don’t store it the way we should! Your perfume should be kept in its original bottle out of bright light and away from heat, preferably in a cupboard or drawer. It should not be kept cold (for example, stored in a refrigerator) or in humid conditions (for example, in a bathroom). You should always keep the cap on the bottle when it’s not in use and pick a shelf that is easy to access so you don’t risk dropping the bottle. 

#9 – Know Your Scents

Traditional or synthetic perfumes often tend to last longer and carry a stronger scent for longer than natural perfumes, as natural perfumes often have no alcohol or preservatives in them. In addition, some base notes (the foundation scent of the perfume) are stronger than others, so the scent naturally lasts longer. Long-lasting base notes include woody, balsamic, and spicier notes, while citrus, floral, and green scents can fade a little faster.

Find Your Signature Scent

The Perfume Shop is the UK’s largest specialist fragrance retailer – and it’s now at Boundary Outlet stores in Colne, Sheffield, and Walsall. Get expert knowledge to help you find the perfect scent for yourself, a special event, or as a gift with our specially trained team.

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