How to make your Fragrance last longer

How can I make my fragrance last longer? It’s one of our most frequently-asked questions from readers over the last ten years, and although there’s lot of new extra-strength fragrance options such as parfum / intense and extrait formulations around nowadays, we always do these five things to ensure the BEST performance from our perfumes…

1 Use matching body products, or unscented if they don’t offer them – it’s a beautiful way to ‘layer’ on your fragrance; body creams and body lotions, in particular, add emollients which hold on to perfume. The simple fact is: the drier your skin, the faster fragrance molecules will evaporate. If these range extensions aren’t available, go for an unscented body cream, butter or lotion which won’t clash with your chosen scent. Think of it as a primer for perfume!

2 Switch to a stronger formulation, if available. Eau de parfum, pure parfum and extrait or ‘intense’ versions of your faves are highly concentrated formulas that have an increased percentage of actual fragrance ingredients to the medium of alcohol (or sometimes oil). These powered-up versions should certainly last longer (though still follow all our tips to get maximum benefit), and though they may be more expensive, you can end up using far less every day.

3 Try spraying your hair as well as your skin – though be careful if the perfume is dark in colour as you may unintentionally dye your hair! (Test on a tissue, first.) Hair is porous and will waft the scent even longer than on your skin in many cases.

4 Spritz the lining of a jacket or hem of a dress (be sure to ’tissue test’!) with scent, and the heat and movement of your body will make the fragrance bloom and waft around you all day.  A handy way to try a new fragrance you’re not sure of is to spray a lightweight scarf (following the precautions above). Bored of it? Simply take the scarf off and try something else…

5 Remember that your nose can become used to your perfume, particularly if you wear the same one every single day – or you could be anosmic (unable to detect) some musk notes. Although you may not be able to smell it at all after 30-40 minutes, your friends and colleagues may still be able to, so maybe ask a friend if it’s still noticeable to them before dousing yourself again.