22 Tips to make your fragrance last longer

22 Tips To Make Your Fragrance Last Longer

Luxury fragrance is an investment. You not only take the time to research and test numerous brands, you spend your hard-earned money on a good quality eau de parfum or eau de toilette. You understandably want to enjoy every last drop of perfume in the bottle. Here are 22 of Scent Lodge’s best pro tips to help you prolong your scents and make them last as long as possible.

Don’t shake the bottle: There is no need to shake a bottle of fragrance. The ingredients are equally dispersed throughout and shaking it will only allow air to infiltrate the bottle. This can lead to oxidation of the floral and citrus shortening the lifespan of the scent.

Cool and dry – If you store you scents in a cool, dark place they can last up to a year longer. Bathrooms are the worst place to store fragrances as the temp and humidity levels go up and down constantly.

Avoid direct sunlight – so tempting with today’s intricate and ornate perfume bottles not to display them in a window. That light makes the bottles look like works of art. Unfortunately, it can shorten the lifespan considerably. Sunlight can cause the botanical ingredients to turn bad faster.

Don’t carry it around in your bag – avoid temperature swings – this can shorten the lifespan of a scent by up to 25% according to one perfumer. In your bag, you travel from air conditioned apartment to hot, humid temps in summer walking to work. Then back to cool air conditioned workplace, then back outside for walk home and hot temps. On weekends, bottle sits in bag in hot car or on a patio while you enjoy a drink or Starbucks.  The best solution is to invest in a small refillable purse spray. Carry a small amount with you and apply when needed. You’ll go through the perfume before it has a chance to turn.

Store scents in the fridge – Visit a global fragrance producer and you’ll spot rows of stainless steel refrigerators in the laboratories. That is because that is where the fragrance prototypes are stored. The product is kept cool and in the dark – the ideal environment to store perfume. You can mimic this at home by storing your favourite and beloved scents in your refrigerator. They will last longer there.

Never apply with your fingers: important to apply scent using an atomizer. Applying scent with the fingers directly from the bottle or via the stopper onto skin can cause bacteria and skin oils to enter the bottle of perfume. This can cause the fragrance to deteriorate from its original formula.

Look for similar ingredient notes: If you suddenly find that your favourite fragrance has been discontinued, look for a list of the notes in it. Then, search for alternatives with the same ingredients. It won’t smell exactly like your favourite, but it may come close enough to make you happy.

Consider you citrus notes: Top notes of Italian lemon, bergamot, grapefruit, mandarin, yuzu and lime create an instant bright and refreshing character to any fragrance. These notes usually last 30 minutes before they burn off. They also tend to be the most volatile ingredients in a scent. And they are very sensitive to UV rays. This all means that citrus-themed scents have shorter lifespans than woody or oriental-spicy fragrances.

Apply behind the knees: Scent rises when warmed so applying behind the knees will ensure you enjoy your scent throughout the day. In fact, any pulse point is an ideal place to spritz fragrance.

Dry skin needs more frequent applications: Good news for anyone who has oily to combination skin. This skin type retains fragrance longer than dry skin. If your skin tends to be dry, you will need to either apply a non-scented body lotion on your skin first or reapply the scent more often in order to enjoy the fragrance for longer periods.

Spritz more in winter: The staying power of fragrance is lessened during cold winter months. This is in part because scent molecules shrink in cold weather. You might want to add an extra spritz in colder climates.

Consider perfumed deodorant: One of the easiest ways to make your fragrance last longer is to invest in the perfumed deodorant of your favourite perfume. When you apply a drugstore deodorant, the notes and ingredients in this product can conflict and counteract your signature perfume. It can actually change how you smell your perfume. Keep your perfume and deodorant consistent and you’ll project one singular scent. This also applies to shampoo!

Use your hairbrush: If you find your fragrance doesn’t last as long as you’d like, spray a hairbrush and brush through your hair. The scent will adhere to the keratin in your hair and last much longer than on skin.

Look for an ‘absolute’: An absolute (such as rose absolute or jasmine absolute) is a highly concentrated, refined perfume material, usually in a liquid form which has undergone at least two extraction processes. This is a costly process so the cost of a fragrance with ‘absolute’ may be higher. But the benefit is you will receive a stronger impact.

Scent desensitization: This may be the most important tip when it comes to prolonging the wear of a fragrance. Our sense of smell is highly developed and after about 15 minutes, we stop registering our fragrance. That is because our noses discern hundreds of odours every day. Once we recognize a scent, our bodies no longer register it. That is the reason you may no longer smell your perfume. Your coworkers and friends definitely will. But your nose may not. The solution to this dilemma is to rotate four or five different scents throughout the week. This will keep your sense of smell sharp and you’ll enjoy each one.

Full-bodied: When investing in a fragrance, look for a description that includes the wording “full-bodied”. This refers to a scent that possesses depth and richness. It will have lasting power.

Moisturize: If your skin is dry, it will draw in the moisture in your fragrance making the scent disappear. That is why it is beneficial to moisturize well with an unscented body lotion or perfumed lotion (using the same scent as your signature fragrance). The perfume will sit on the barrier of moisture that your body lotion creates making it last much longer.

Apply directly on skin: Over the past decade, many fashion magazines have recommended using the cloud method of application: spraying a cloud of perfume and walking through it. Unfortunately, you waste a lot of product this way. The scent ends up evaporating in the air before it can land on your skin. It is best to spray directly on your skin.

Spritz a pocket square: One of the best ways to enjoy your signature scent is to spritz a cotton pocket square and slip it into the inner pocket of your jackets. The fragrance will gently permeate the jacket. You’ll smell it each time you slip on the garment.

Change up the texture: If you find an eau de toilette or eau de parfum version of a scent isn’t lasting as long as it used to, look for a different texture. A solid perfume might have lasting power on your skin. Or a scented body lotion with a matching shower gel could give you longer enjoyment. You may want to experiment a little. So much of fragrance depends on your own unique skin chemistry.

Spritz a purse charm: Another way of enjoying a perfume is to spray a charm that hangs from your bag. Several Italian luxury brands offer silk tassel purse charms designed to hold scent. This creates a light, airy impression of the fragrance.

Create a scented lotion: When you are down to the very last of your perfume, add the remaining few drops to an unscented body lotion. This will create a scented body lotion prolonging its use.

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