Perfume lasts longer when it has something to hold on to and is left alone to settle. In practice that means a few quiet habits: apply it to skin you have just moisturised, choose your pulse points, let it dry without rubbing, add a light veil to your hair or clothes, and keep the bottle away from heat and light. The concentration you choose matters too: an Eau de Parfum, or a Parfum or Extrait de Parfum, carries more of the fragrance itself than a lighter Eau de Toilette. Below is each habit, with the fragrances and body lotions we would choose for it.
Why Does Perfume Fade?
A fragrance is built to change. The top notes, often citrus or fruit, are the lightest and lift away first. The heart follows, and the base notes, the woods, ambers, musks and resins, stay longest. How quickly that happens depends on the composition, the concentration, the warmth of the day and, a little, on your own skin. Fading is not a fault; it is how a perfume tells its story. The aim is simply to let each part of that story last as long as it was meant to.
Choose a Richer Concentration
The name on the bottle tells you how much perfume oil is in the formula. An Eau de Toilette is lighter; an Eau de Parfum is richer; a Parfum or Extrait de Parfum is the most concentrated of all. A richer concentration is the simplest way to wear a scent for longer, and it often needs fewer sprays. Our Masterclass on Eau de Parfum, Eau de Toilette and Eau de Cologne explains the difference in full.
Tiziana Terenzi's Kirkè is an Extrait de Parfum, a woody-floral composition with fruity top notes and a musky-woody base. Burberry Goddess Eau de Parfum Intense is presented as a more concentrated expression than a standard Eau de Parfum, with an aromatic lavender top note and a vanilla wood heart. Rabanne's Olympea Solar Eau de Parfum Intense is a floral, with mandarin, ylang-ylang and oakmoss. Marc Jacobs' Perfect Intense is a woody-floral Eau de Parfum with an amber-woody base.
- Kirkè Extrait de Parfum
- Burberry Goddess Eau de Parfum Intense
- Olympea Solar Eau de Parfum Intense
- Perfect Intense Eau de Parfum
Apply to Moisturised Skin
Fragrance tends to fade sooner on dry skin, which has little to hold it. Skin that has just been moisturised gives the perfume a soft surface to settle on. The best moment is straight after a bath or shower: smooth a body lotion over clean skin, let it absorb, then apply your fragrance.
You have two choices. A perfumed body lotion from the same line as your fragrance repeats the scent in a softer key, so the two work together. An unscented lotion keeps your skin comfortable and leaves the perfume to speak alone, which is the better choice when you wear several fragrances, or simply prefer it that way.
Guerlain's Shalimar Lait Divin pour le Corps is a light body lotion from the Shalimar collection, carrying the house's signature accord. Rochas' Eau de Rochas body lotion layers that citrus-aromatic scent onto the skin, and is best left to settle before you dress. Estée Lauder's Beautiful Perfumed Body Lotion has a floral-woody accord and a lightweight texture made to layer with other fragrance products. Instituto Español's Intensive Body Lotion is unscented, made for dry skin and everyday use.
- Shalimar Le Rituel Parfumé Lait Divin Pour Le Corps Body Lotion
- Eau De Perfumed Body Lotion
- Beautiful Perfumed Body Lotion
- Intensive Fragrance-Free Body Lotion
Where Should You Apply Perfume?
Pulse points are where the blood runs close to the skin, so the skin there is a little warmer, and warmth helps a fragrance unfold. The inner wrists, the base of the throat, behind the ears and the inner elbows are the classic places. Spray from a short distance, so the scent lands as a light mist rather than a single wet spot. With a richer concentration, a few sprays are usually enough.
Why Not Rub Your Wrists?
Pressing your wrists together after spraying is a familiar gesture, but it is better left out. The friction warms the skin and hurries the lightest notes away, so the opening you chose the fragrance for passes more quickly. Spray, then let the perfume dry on its own. It settles in a minute or two.
Hair and Clothes, Lightly
Hair and fabric hold a scent well, and they move as you do, so a little goes a long way. For hair, one light spray from a distance over the lengths, rather than at the roots, is plenty; perfume contains alcohol, so keep it occasional, or choose a mist made for hair. For clothes, spray from a little further away onto a scarf or the inside of a collar. Some fragrances can mark pale or delicate fabrics, so try a hidden area first and leave silk alone. Our piece on body mist or perfume looks at mists made for hair and body in more detail.
Choose a Fragrance With a Warmer Base
Because the base notes stay longest, a composition built on woods, amber, musk, leather or resin tends to linger after a light, citrus-led one has faded. If longevity matters most to you, look at what sits at the bottom of the pyramid, not only at the top.
Guerlain's Absolus Allegoria Cuir Intense is a unisex Eau de Parfum with leather, tobacco and cedar, composed for evenings and colder days. Loewe's Earth Elixir is an Eau de Parfum with floral, amber and musk facets, among them truffle, pear, oud, mimosa and violet. Roja Parfums' Isola Sol is a unisex citrus fougère with a resinous base for a warming finish.
How to Store Perfume
- Keep it away from heat. A sunny windowsill or a shelf above a radiator changes a fragrance over time.
- Keep it out of the light. The original box is a good home for the bottle.
- Choose a steady, cool place over the bathroom, where warmth and steam come and go.
- Close the cap after each use, so air does not reach the perfume.
The Habits at a Glance
- Choose an Eau de Parfum, Parfum or Extrait de Parfum when you want a scent to stay longer.
- Moisturise first, with a matching perfumed lotion or an unscented one.
- Spray onto pulse points from a short distance.
- Let it dry; do not rub.
- Add a light veil to your hair or clothes.
- Store the bottle cool, dark and closed.
Further Reading
To go further, our pieces on fragrance layering, on choosing between a body mist and a perfume, and on where to start with niche perfume each pick up a thread from this one.
If you change only one thing, make it the first step: moisturise your skin before you spray, and let the perfume settle on its own.
