Make fragrance last longer on your skin

If you’re wondering where to start in regards to putting on your perfume, then you might be surprised to find that it starts with buying the proper one. When you are buying perfume at the store, it is important to distinguish the scents that you like immediately after you put them on that later disappear completely, to those that you also like but they last for a couple of hours. A cool and interesting scent is not worth buying when it only lasts for an hour! Even though the general rule of thumb in perfumery is that Pure perfume lasts longer than Eau de Parfum, Eau de toilette or Eau de cologne, every now and again there is an exception to the rule. So, the best way to see whether your potential perfect perfume is long-lasting is to spray a little bit on the top of your hand when you’re at the store. After that, go shopping for a little bit! When a couple of hours pass, you’ll see whether the perfume persists or not and if you like the middle and bottom notes (which linger for longer than top notes).

After you’ve decided to buy your long-lasting perfume, another important thing that sometimes people miss is storing your perfume properly. Knowing how to store your perfume can help extend its shelf-life, which is detrimental not only for your wallet but for the stability of your favorite scent. Perfume is best stored on room temperature, in the original box in which you got it. It’s not only more beautiful in the fancy box, but it’s protected from the sun rays which have enough energy to break the bonds between the ingredients in your perfume over time.

A natural enemy of perfumes that we do not consider frequently enough is oxygen. During their production in the perfume factory, perfumes are treated like a fine wine – they are stored in rather cold places, without sunlight or oxygen. Oxygen can, of course, oxidize the perfume ingredients thus changing their structure, and doing so, changing their scent profile. Some perfumers even suggest buying perfumes in smaller packages, because you can finish them quickly and less oxygen is trapped in the bottle with the perfume. Natural ingredients are particularly unstable, and this is why antioxidants are added to perfumes – to scavenge the reactive oxygen species that can harm the perfume molecules. Because of the all-natural rage that is going on in most of the industries, it is beneficial to know that natural is not always better.

Heat can be both a good thing and a bad thing for perfumes. When you put your perfume on, it is generally a good idea to spray it on your pulse points, where your warm blood flows really close to your skin. When your heart beats, the perfume is rhythmically propelled into your scent circle, keeping it freshly perfumed. However, too much heat can destroy your perfume, much like the sun or oxygen does, so everything is better in moderation.

The state of your skin can also determine the longevity of your perfume. It is known that dry skin does not retain perfume all that much, so if you’ve recognized that you can smell your friend’s identical perfume for much longer, this might be the cause. In order to prevent this from happening, you could moisturize your skin after you’ve taken a bath. It’s that simple! But, beware, the soap or shower gel you use can mask or interact badly with the smell of your perfume and make the smell muddy and short-lasting. Use body lotions and aftershaves from the same perfume collection to reap multiple benefits: you can build up your scent making it last longer, and make the skin plumper so that it can effectively bind the perfume.

If you’d put perfume only on your skin, you’d quickly regret it! Alcohol, which is the vessel for the perfume molecules, can cause damage to your skin, especially if your skin is particularly sensitive and prone to irritation. Hair does not benefit from perfume either – it can damage it and make it less shiny. Also, perfume actually lasts longer on clothes than on skin! So, you can combine and put a couple of spritzes of perfume on the skin, and some on your clothes to make the scent last longer. Just don’t overdo it!