How to make your perfume last, according to a perfumer
IMAGE VIA @perdrisatperfume/instagram
WORDS BY CAIT EMMA BURKE
“Spray your clothes, because if you spray your clothes you’ll double the chances of being complimented.”
If you’re a fellow perfume lover, you’ll be familiar with the disappointment of realising your new favourite scent just doesn’t last the distance. What smelt so vibrant and rich when you sprayed it on in the morning has evaporated into thin air by lunchtime, and with it, your hopes of receiving the holy grail of compliments: “You smell so nice, what perfume are you wearing?”.
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But are there ways to make our perfumes last longer? And what type of perfumes should we be opting for if longevity is top of the list for us? With these and more questions in mind, we reached out to Melbourne-based perfumer and the founder of Perdrisât, Callum Rory Mitchell. Below, he shares his top tips and tricks.
Hi Callum! What can we do to ensure our perfume lasts as long as possible?
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The first, and arguably the most important, step before we even begin to question a perfume’s longevity, is to realise that our odour receptors only register new smells. So if you have been wearing a perfume all day, and you’re walking around surrounded by a cloud of your own scent, chances are your brain won’t even register it.
A compliment directed towards a perfume-wearer is often followed by the perfume-wearer’s earnest question, “Wait… you can smell it?!”. So, sometimes, it’s not the perfume, it’s you… (or your brain’s odour receptors). Secondly, if you put body lotion on, or even Vaseline, just after showering, and then apply perfume, it slows down the evaporation curve. Whether or not this is true or just a self-fulfilling prophecy is up to you to try out and decide for yourself. Everyone’s skin is different!
Lastly, and probably the best hack for longevity; spray your clothes, not your skin! The fabric of your clothes will grip onto those molecules for dear life. That last bit of advice comes with a warning: if you find yourself wearing a crisp linen shirt, perhaps check how dark the perfume juice is before you douse your white clothes in it.
Why do some fragrances seem to last for ages and others disappear quite quickly?
It comes down to the perfume’s formulation. Some perfumes that last hours are mostly made up of base notes; patchouli, resins, vanilla, musk. The top note-heavy perfumes, like hesperidic colognes, are masters of the disappearing act. Let’s face it… any perfume with a big dose of citrus is not going to last all day. Eau de colognes (and generally eau de toilettes) for example, are notoriously short-lived and should be thought of as mostly a pick-me-up.
Eau de parfum or more particularly, extrait de parfum, will last a lot longer so I recommend people double-check the label. Most of the time, a lot of popular perfumes are Eau de toilettes, so if longevity is an issue, avoid eau de toilette, don’t expect a citrus bomb to last longer than an hour and put down the skin scents.
If I apply more, will the scent last longer?
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If only it were that easy! It will definitely help for projection because more is more, but we simply can’t escape chemistry. The top notes will always rush out the door without a goodbye. So before committing to a fragrance, test it out, because the true character of a perfume is in the heart notes. Don’t get fooled by the empty promises of the perfume’s opening line.
That being said, when I feel chaotic, I just spray generous amounts right into my cupboard, and that way, I always find my scent imbued in my clothes for days on end. So as I mentioned before, spray your clothes, because if you spray your clothes you’ll double the chances of being complimented. I know as a Leo I’m biased, but that’s what it’s mostly about, right?
Are there certain areas of the body I should be applying to?
When I was a child, my dad would always suggest my siblings and I spray perfume on our stomachs because your body heat there can help project the perfume’s sillage. Even though it remains undecided whether this is actually a thing or not, I still do it, but I more religiously overspray around my neck, because I’m a hugger.
I stopped spraying wrists because I’m also a hands-in-pocket guy. Unless I am testing a new scent and want to see how addictive or appalling it is. If I find myself going back to sniff constantly, that’s always a good start. Oh, and if you have long luscious hair, spray the back of your neck and swish your ponytail around.
What should I be looking for when choosing a perfume if longevity is important to me?
Read the label. For my longevity fiends, look out for extrait de parfum… the perfume concentrate is dosed higher, sometimes even more than double. Bear in mind, double the juice, double the price.
And secondly, avoid ‘molecule-style’ perfumes if longevity is your heart’s desire. These are usually nice, but simple formulations. Seek out the baroque perfumes; the old school animalics like civet, or look into dark florals, like the overripe, leathery fruits of osmanthus, or a deep red rose fixated with a dank patchouli.
If an eau de toilette is like a watercolour, extrait de parfum is like a Rothko – you will find generous strokes of amber, neo-woods, or musk, and if longevity is your thing, there are many brands that specialise in fragrances that perfume bros call ‘beast mode’. There must be an entire Reddit forum about it.
Some fragrances also expand to body care (soap, shampoo, etc). Will that help my scent last longer, given it’s layered across multiple steps?
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If you love a scent, I don’t see anything wrong in luxuriating in all its forms. I don’t think it will necessarily help a scent last all day, but I do think it will beef up your love for a particular scent, and that’s even better because we all need something to worship. And the things we worship don’t just have to be a deity, or in my case, a signed and framed poster of Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but can also be a scent profile. So, when it comes to body care: As an act of worship? Yes! For longevity? Only slightly.
Can you explain base notes vs top notes, and how this impacts scent longevity (if at all?)
Top notes are smaller molecules, meaning they evaporate faster. Base notes being larger molecules, are therefore harder for the nose to detect, and often can even fatigue the nose (some people dramatically refer to this as anosmia). If perfume is an evaporation curve, the curve starts with the top and ends with the base notes, measured from minutes to hours.
It’s becoming less popular to list a perfume’s notes with a classical top-heart-base structure. And for me, it personally feels reductive. With Porcelain, for example, my lipstick-iris scent, I have a small dose of my cloudy pear accord. I could’ve listed it as a top note, but on some people that note lasts longer than the clay accord, so I simply list all the notes, and let your skin (and your brain) determine what’s there, and therefore, what’s important.
Anything else to add?
Don’t let longevity be the only deciding factor when going for a perfume. And don’t forget, your brain can trick you. If you overspray, you may offend someone. If you under spray, don’t expect a compliment; you will come home, confused as to why no one said how hot you smell. It’s a fine line. Don’t assume a perfume on someone else will be as gorgeous on you as it is on them. Your chemistry will determine that. Your body temperature will play a role too. Get two scents: one chill one, and one you can imagine wearing to the Opera.
There’s a time and place for all kinds of perfumes, and you may find the minimalistic ones speak closer to your heart, even when they are short-lived. Perfumes are volatile poems… Remember your favourite song is still your favourite song even if it’s three minutes long (in my case, ‘Venice Bitch’ is a nine-and-a-half minutes long song, so that’s pretty lucky for me).
For advice on finding your signature scent, head here.
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