Using Perfume Correctly
If you’re a perfume wearer, are you using perfume correctly? It’s surprising how many people don’t know how—from spraying excessively in the wrong areas to rubbing a fragrance on the wrists. All of these can hurt your fragrance.
You’ve bought yourself an expensive bottle of designer fragrance. Firstly, do you save it for a special occasion or wear it for work? It’s cost you a lot of money, so let’s save it for the best. What happens when we save a fragrance for a special occasion?
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Saving perfume for a special occasion
The problem with saving fragrances for special occasions is that they will eventually go off and develop a musty smell that no one wants to wear or smell. You’ve spent a fortune on your favourite, and now the pretty little bottle with a hefty price tag sits in the wardrobe, waiting to be used.
Some fragrances can be powerful and overpowering, so spraying excessively can make the fragrance heavier than it should be. Others around you can smell it for several hours; if it’s strong, you can still smell it.
If you can smell your perfume for hours afterwards, it can trigger a headache and mean you have the wrong scent on your skin. No perfume should give you a headache or linger for the whole day.
Strong perfume can be very off-putting to others and expensive. So, how do we find the right amount of perfume to use?
Using perfume correctly
We’ve all heard the saying less is more and it certainly comes into its own when we talk about cosmetics and perfume. Heavy make-up and over-spraying of perfume scents is enough to put many off—especially the opposite sex.
I remember my late Nan wearing a hefty fragrance. A little spray really would have been enough, as the perfume was very strong and not the cheapest, even back in her day. What’s also important is how and where we apply our fragrance. Specific points on the skin and body will affect scents differently.
Top 10 Tips on using perfume correctly
1. Applying perfume after taking a shower or a bath will help your perfume last longer
2. Moisturising your skin will make your perfume last longer.
You can even use a body lotion or cream with the same scent as your perfume for even better enhancement.
3. Perfume loves to sit on moisturised skin, so trying a little petroleum jelly on your pulse points before you spray your perfume will help with its longevity.
4. Many people insist on holding the bottle in front of them as if they are spraying an air freshener. When applying perfume, it’s essential to choose the right points, which are the pulse points.
These warm points will help your fragrance sit for longer on the skin.
Our next 4 points
5. It’s a well-known habit that most women will rub their wrists together after spraying their perfume. What happens when we do this?
Rubbing your wrists together breaks the top notes, and rubbing your wrists together will make them disappear faster, so it’s essential to dab your wrists together to protect the fragrance notes.
6. Hold your perfume bottle at a distance so that large drops of the perfume won’t land on your skin. 5 to 7 inches away is good.
7. Avoid spraying perfume onto your clothes as it will stain.
8. When we buy designer perfumes, we must display them on our bedside cabinets for everyone to see. No one sees the beautiful display of perfumes apart from yourself and the people you live with.
If your bedside cabinet is near the sunlight coming through the window, then your fragrance won’t last as long as the heat evaporates the scent. It’s essential to keep them inside a dark cupboard, somewhere dry and away from light, and keep them in their original box so the bottles don’t get damaged.
9. As we have already covered, avoid wearing too much perfume.
Your fragrance should attract those around you and not the other way around.
Remember, less is more.
If you wear the same fragrance every day, you may have gotten used to the scent and, therefore, not be as aware of how others will smell your fragrance.
Please read my previous post on sillage and try wearing a different perfume every day.
10. Always choose a perfume with lighter family fragrance notes for daytime wear and heavier notes for the evening.
Alternate options
Getting out of old habits can be challenging. Somehow, we seem programmed to buy expensive perfumes, use them heavily and sometimes wear the wrong fragrance for our skin.
Nowadays, there are alternatives; by that, we don’t mean cheap. I don’t like using the word cheap because it always comes across as unfavourable. I want to say it is less expensive and kinder for the purse/wallet.
There are many fragrances out there that are lighter on the purse strings, go a lot further when used correctly, and are still enjoyable, subtle, and longer-lasting for any occasion.
If you want to try a sample of your favourite perfume, comment below or sign up for our monthly newsletter.
4 Comments
jobs
very simple and candid explanation of the use of perfume. I had always thought the right perfumes are those that one can smell all day long till I now read your article. That led me to ask. How can one know the right perfume for their skin? And which is the best way to apply perfume to me?
Louise Allen
Hello,
Yes, we have often been led to believe that perfume/ aftershave should smell all day but if we are wearing the right scent, we won’t notice the fragrance as it settles on the skin. Many will apply perfume incorrectly so I felt it was important to cover this in my post to help others.
Thank you for reading my article.
Johnny
This is the first time I read about how to use perfume, and I am shocked! I´be been toding it all wrong! I used to save my best perfume for special ocassions, and thought that the strong smells was a good sign, but now I know that that´s not the right smell!!! Thanks you so much for letting us know that it´s a good option to moist our sking before applying perfume, that´s also something I did not know and will totally try!
Louise Allen
Hey Johnny, haha I’m pleased to have given you a little insight into getting the most out of your fragrance. We have been led to believe that stronger fragrances will last much longer but that’s really not the case. We can choose a more delicate scent that will still last just as long and will sit better without overpowering ourselves or anyone else !
Designer fragrances are often saved for ‘best’ because of their expensive price tag but they do ‘turn’ once opened and not used within the expiry date.
With so many other alternatives on the market, we don’t need to spend a fortune and knowing the little tips to get the best out of our fragrance will most certainly help the one we choose to last longer.
Thank you for reading my post and happy to help with any further info.
Louise