Perfume Longevity: A Complete Guide To Boosting Your Fragrance Duration

One of the most influential factors of a perfume’s success is its longevity. This is for a couple of major reasons. If a perfume doesn’t last long, you must reapply for starters. If you need to reapply, this means you need to carry the perfume with you. Another reason that perfume longevity is essential is that it directly relates to a perfume’s cost efficiency.

If perfume A costs $100 and perfume B costs $120, but you must reapply perfume A three times a day instead of applying perfume A once, the cost efficiency heavily favors perfume B.

While the math is simple, finding a perfume that lasts long isn’t always easy. Fortunately for you, we review perfumes based on longevity. Additionally, we offer perfume samples to help you understand which scents last longer than others. 

But there are things you can do to help stave off perfumes from losing their effects too fast. So let’s look at some unique ways to help milk that perfume for all it’s got.

Clean, Organic Perfumes Last Less Long

We certainly appreciate clean and organic perfumes. In fact, we have a complete guide to organic perfumes that helps people better understand how they work. 

But the cold hard fact is that organic perfumes tend to last the least amount of time. This is because they lack preservatives and stabilizers. Stabilizers help perfumes not burn off so fast. 

I’m not dissuading you from purchasing an organic perfume; we stock organic perfume samples. I’m merely conveying that this article might be even more critical for those of you who choose organic-based perfumes. 

Apply The Perfume on Optimal Parts of Your Body

Where you apply a perfume influences how potent and how long a perfume may last. You want to apply the perfume to parts of the skin where the thinnest layers exist. 

Wrists

Behind ears

Neck

Elbows

Thinner layers of skin mean more access to warm blood flow. Think of these areas as little huggers that cuddle the fragrance keeping it fresh and emitting its scent to the world. 

Don’t Rub The Perfume In

We tend to believe that rubbing a perfume in empowers its scent. But this is untrue. Instead, you begin the process of burning off those top notes. Top notes always burn off as a priority; that’s the basic fragrance chemistry at play. But you expedite that process immensely when you rub the perfume in. This is because perfumes work in layers; once the top notes are gone, the middle and base notes take over and begin their life cycles. Hence, your perfume will last less time. 

Steam Helps

If you apply a perfume right at the end of your shower while the steam continues to rise, you may extend the life of your perfume. This is because steam opens your pores and penetrates the perfume. 

Apply Perfume on Top of Body Oil

If you apply your perfume atop a body oil, your hydrated skin creates a protective seal for the scent. This means the scent can last longer throughout the day. This effect is why many perfume brands offer a lotion in combination. 

Always Note The Expiration Date of Your Perfume

We have a guide to understanding expired perfumes. I suggest you check it out. 

While expiration dates aren’t exact science, they do help you predict when a perfume may lose its original potency. The perfume has likely lost at least some of its potency by the expiration date, if not a great deal. 

Perfumes lose potency through exposure to the elements, such as air. 

Buy Perfumes That Last a Long Time

In the most obvious perfume longevity tip, you can always read our perfume reviews and purchase perfumes that last longer. But remember, everyone’s skin chemistry is unique, and just because a scent lasts longer for others doesn’t always mean you can expect the same results.

This is why trying out perfume samples makes a lot of sense. You can give a perfume a test run with your real daily life. Some people live in hotter and colder climates or sweat more, or many other life influencers. 

Trying a perfume sample can help mitigate your daily life’s X-factors. But as mentioned above, there are several things you can do to help extend a perfume’s longevity.