Tips & Tricks To Make Your Perfume Last Longer

1. Choose the right perfume

It starts with choosing the right perfume. Not all perfumes have the same longevity. Some perfumes just naturally have more staying power than others. Check out your perfume on Fragrantica.com to see how the community rated the longevity of the perfume. 

In general, higher the concentration of oils in the perfume higher the longevity. We talked all about different concentrations of perfumes in this article but the tldr is that Parfums have the highest concentration followed by Eau de Parfums (EDP). So look for these when choosing your next perfume.

We will soon write a dedicated article on longest lasting perfumes but the we'll give you two options here:

Montale Arabians Tonka

As low as $32.9

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Mancera Red Tobacco

As low as $32.9

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2. Moisturize your skin

A moisturized skin holds onto fragrance molecules betters. Apply an unscented oil-based moisturizer to clean skin for best results. You can also use vaseline if unscented moisturizer is hard to find.

Some perfumers also sells body lotions in the same scent as the perfume which will amplify the longevity even further. For example: Check out this extensive range of Miss Dior items from body milks, hair mist, scented soaps to shower gel and a ton of other products in the same scent.

3. Try spraying on your clothes

This trick may not work with every perfume but it does on most of them. Most perfumes will last longer on clothes than they do on skin.

Make sure to patch test it so it doesn't stain the clothes although its quite rare these days. Definitely do it if you get your hands on a vintage perfume. Avoid perfumes that have a very dark juice and your clothes are light.

Avoid clothes that are not washed frequently like jackets as the oils may damage them over time especially if you keep spraying more everyday. This is best suited for clothes that are washed after 1 or 2 wears.

4. Spray a bit more

Sometimes all you need to make a perfume last longer is to spray a bit more. Try spraying twice in the same spot to create 2 layers of the perfume. How many sprays you need depends on the perfume and where you are wearing it.

Don't go all CurlyFragrance with 27 sprays though!

When you get a new perfume, ask your family, friends and colleagues if they are getting overwhelmed with your scent. The feedback will help you find the maximum number of sprays that are acceptable for that perfume. 

5. Carry some with you for top-ups

Your favorite perfume just might not have the staying power for a whole day. So its best to carry some with you and spray top-ups whenever needed. Keep in mind that your nose may have acclamated to the scent but others might still be able to smell your perfume.

At ScentGod we send travel sized 8ml vials of your favorite perfumes each month that are easy on the pocket - literally and financially.

Questionable advice floating on the internet

There are some advice on the internet on improving the longevity of the perfume that seems questionalble to me. So lets discuss them.

1. Apply perfume after shower

The reason quoted is that your pores have opened up and ready to accept perfume and hold on to it. This will supposedly help the perfume last longer.

Well, that is if you take a hot shower which is not the case throughout the year. And even if you do, I wouldn't want perfume to go into my pores anyway. Perfume companies often do not mention any ingredients that the perfume is made of. I'm okay with having my unknown ingredient perfume on my skin but not in the pores.

2. Spray on pulse points

We've talked about spraying perfume on pulse points for best performance. The heat helps dissipate the perfume and that's exactly the wrong thing to have when the goal is longevity.

I wouldn't say don't spray on pulse points, do it so you can be smelled. But also, spray on non pulse points area and clothes as mentioned above that will take your scent till the end of the day.

3. Spray in your hair

Another big no no. Perfumes are 40-98% alcohol and spraying that in your hair on a regular basis will damage them. It is possible to do but you'll have to take extra care of your hair to counteract the assault of alcohol (cool band name?).

If you must, there are hair mists that are water based designed specifically for hair.

4. Spray on your hair brush

Better than spraying in your hair, right? Well, yeah but unless you wear the same perfume all the time, its going to mix up your perfumes or you'll need as many brushes as perfumes or keep washing the brush. All of these are more cumbersome than beneficial.

Are these articles written by men? Lol.

Keep your perfume from going bad

A perfume that has oxidized will not last as long as it did when it was new so it is important to know how to store and handle your perfume bottle for most longevity.

We discussed all about that in this article on How to Store Perfumes.