Do you know the right way(s) to use your perfume? How to use it so that you can enjoy its scent all day long? It turns out that most people don’t. By listening to obsolete (and wrong) myths, they don’t take advantage of its effect and power.
If you are not sure whether you are part you belong to, don’t worry. This is where we come in. In this article, you will find the most useful techniques and tips summed up in an accessible way. Through them you will learn interesting secrets from the perfume world, but more importantly you will extend the life of your fragrance. If you want to find out how to make the most of your favorite perfume and how to wear in the best possible way, read on:
When to apply perfume?
When it comes to perfumes, the right timing is just as important as choosing the right fragrance. The most important thing you must remember is to always apply your favorite perfume after taking a shower/bath and before putting any clothes on. When your skin is clean, it can easily absorb the fragrance with maximum result in keeping the scent during the day. Moreover, the moisture on your skin will “lock” the perfume’s scent on your skin and you won’t have to worry about perfume stains on your clothes.
You can also apply vaseline beforehand and then try applying the perfume on your skin. In this way vaseline will act like a film preventing the perfume to go directly into the pores of the skin, resulting in a longer-lasting scent.
Once you have showered and applied the perfume following the above steps, you have to wait for a while until it dries out on your skin and dress afterward. If you dress immediately after you’ve applied your perfume, the chances the fragrance to be preserved are really low.
How much perfume should you apply?
Never apply too much perfume. You might find it hard to estimate how much is enough and this may easily lead to over spraying yourself and instead of attracting people, you will get the opposite effect. If you have applied the right quantity, your perfume should be smelled by the person you are talking with (or sitting next to) but a person from across the room should not be able to smell it.
How to properly apply perfume?
Here’s some of the best advice on how you can apply your perfume. One of the best ways is to spray some perfume in front of you and then step into the “perfume cloud”. Another preferred way is to spray the perfume directly on your skin, preferably on pulse spots. Such spots are the wrists, neck, chest, elbows and behind the knees. Many blood vessels are closest to the skin at these spots and the warmth and movement of the blood will make it easier for the fragrance to spread all over your body. The heat your body emits will carry the scent of your perfume.
You can also put the scent on your hair as you spray your hair comb. This trick will help you add a touch of femininity to your allure, and will enhance the scent’s effect on you and the others around you. It’s important to know though that you must wait the alcohol to evaporate and then use the comb. This eliminates the damaging effect of the alcohol on your hair!
Another thing you can do is to put some of your favorite perfume in an unscented body lotion. This way you will not only enrich the lotion with a few drops of your favorite fragrance (it’s important to be unscented so that the scents won’t mix), but will also have a gorgeously-scented lotion that keeps the fragrance “locked” on your skin for hours basically for free.
When you spray your fragrance, you should also always start from the bottom to the top of your body because this is the direction in which heat increases and it will make the scent last longer.
What are the most common perfume applying mistakes?
There are several mistakes you can make when applying perfume even when you are following the above tips:
- Keep in mind that you should never rub your wrists once you apply the perfume, because it will affect the scent in a negative way;
- Don’t apply perfume on all of the mentioned pulse areas at once because you will exceed the acceptable amount of fragrance;
- If you want to directly spray your hair with perfume, make sure there is a distance of several inches between the perfume bottle and your hair, because the alcohol in perfumes dries the strands of the hair.
Perfumes and other cosmetics products
A perfume is probably not the only cosmetic product you use. Besides the standart products like shampoo and conditioners, most women use body lotions, different masks and so on, each of which with its own scent. What is the point of applying your favorite perfume afterward if it will be impossible for people to recognize it among all the other scents from your cosmetics?
You can easily avoid this by carefully choosing the scents you apply on your body. Choose shampoos and conditioners that are similar in scent to your perfume. You can also choose products that are of the same brand to make sure the fragrances complete each other. As we’ve already mentioned, another option is to choose unscented cosmetics products and add a few drops of your favorite perfume in them. This will furthermore increase the longevity of your fragrance!
Perfumes and clothes
Never apply perfume directly on your clothes. Many people make this mistake, thinking that this will make the fragrance last longer. There are several reasons you should not be doing this. For example, some perfumes leave stains on the clothes. Besides this, the scent once applied on your clothes, will not last long once you walk out the door. The fragrance will not be able to “lock” itself into your skin if it is applied on your clothes. You can, however, scent your wardrobe! Just spray some of your favorite perfume on a tissue paper, fold it, and let it rest in your wardrobe. The result – fabulously smelling clothes with no perfume stains and a happier you!
Perfumes and seasons
Each season has its own specific requirements regarding the quantity of perfume that is appropriate to apply. In other words, the amount of perfume you apply depends on the season. Hot summer days, for example, help keep the fragrance for longer on your skin. Scents tend to last longer in the warmer months, mainly because your skin is more hydrated during that time. This means that even if you wear a lighter fragrance in summer, applied sparingly, it will give you hours of divine scent. On the other hand, cold winter days have the opposite effect. During winter, you should choose denser perfumes with richer perfume notes and more generous perfume compositions. It is not by accident that summer perfumes are lighter while winter perfumes have stronger and richer scents.
Spring is all about freshness, innocence, awakening, and happiness. The perfume notes that go best with this season are crisp, light, and fresh – like mint, basil, orange blossom, etc.
Summer is the season of adventures, hot weather, ripe fruits. You can choose fresher and cooler fragrances in order to contrast the hot weather. Proper summer notes are bergamot, rose, jasmine, mimosa, etc.
Fall brings calmness, relaxation, introversion with itself. The notes that go best with our fall mood are warm and musky, like patchouli, vetiver, sandalwood, amber, etc.
Winter is perfumes’ favorite season. Do you know why? Because the cold temperatures give all those delicate and sophisticated notes the necessary time to fully express themselves. The best winter perfume notes are vanilla, cinnamon, incense, spices, etc.
Perfumes and hormones/medicine
If after a while your perfume has a different scent, do not panic. A possible cause of this may be an intake of certain medications or different hormonal changes in your body. Perfumes are extremely sensitive to hormone changes and that is the reason why the same perfume smells differently on different people. In such cases, if you use a temporary medication, you can wait until the treatment is over and start using your perfume again.
Another useful advice:
If you want to have your favorite fragrance with you so that you can easily freshen up and touch up your scent, it’s not necessary to bring the whole bottle with yourself at all times. It’s heavy, takes so much space, and it can get messy. The solution is easy – spray your favorite scent on a cotton swab (or two) and put it in a zip lock bag. You’re ready to go!
Follow these tips and you and the people around you will enjoy each day as the aromatic and fabulous it can be.