It’s everyone’s dream, isn’t it? To waltz into a room announced by your signature scent, and having it last on your skin without constantly reapplying.

While some people’s natural body chemistry or favourite fragrance seem to create staying power with little effort, there are plenty of tips for ensuring the longevity of your perfume without applying an overpowering amount.

Bookmark this article and keep it in mind when performing your toilette throughout the festive season, so you can smell like your ideal self no matter how many events or holidays you end up enjoying.

Find the right formula

Placement matters

Apply on your heart

Your heart is the largest and strongest pulse point on your body, so why not take advantage of spraying perfume there? As it’s beneath your nose, the fragrance will diffuse upwards all day, and you’ll be able to smell it yourself. 

And isn’t there something so romantic about linking your signature perfume with your heart?

Don’t rub your wrists together

Resist the immediate instinct to rub perfume into your skin when it’s wet and freshly applied, as it creates an aggressive friction that ‘burns off’ the top notes faster, which means you actually get less wear out of one application!

Burning off the top notes in this way also won’t give you the full olfactory experience of your fragrance’s composition.

Dab into the skin, don’t rub

If you’re layering two scents or need to blot away excess perfume, lightly and slowly tap your wrists together or anywhere else that you’d like to apply the scent, like your inner elbow or the sides of the throat. This will still spread the perfume, but won’t affect the longevity like rubbing will.

Hydrate your skin

Applying perfume over a moisturiser or skin slightly damp from the shower will give the fragrance a level of hydration to ‘cling’ to. Applying to clean skin will also ensure that there’s less of a buffer of sweat and natural oils to prevent the perfume from attaching to your skin.

Spray onto clothing

Fabric is very good at holding fragrance, so it makes sense to put a little on your shirt or jumper. You can double up the pulse point technique here and spray the perfume around the wrists, elbows and neckline, so that your pulse point body heat will continue to diffuse the fragrance through your perfume. 

A word of caution, though — don’t spray perfume onto white or very light-coloured clothing, as it could lead to discoloration as the formula oxidises.

The takeaway

It’s going to take trial and error to discover what methods of perfume application work best for you, your body, and the compositions of your signature scents. 

It’s also important to keep in mind that once you’re used to the smell of your favourite fragrance, it won’t be as impactful to you. That should be your main advisory on the importance of not over-applying!

And if all else fails, there’s no harm in slipping a 30ml EDP or 10ml roll-on oil into your handbag for those times when you just need a little zhoosh.