How To Make Perfume Last Longer In Summer

As summer fast approaches, you understandably want to smell your best for as long as possible. The problem is that as your body temperature increases, your perfume fades sooner. Understanding how to make perfume last longer in summer is a handy skill to master. After all, you only get one chance to make a first impression and one-tenth of a second is all it takes.

Why does perfume fade faster in summer? The main reason perfume fades faster is summer is due to evaporation. As your body temperature and the surrounding air temperature increases, the alcohol in the perfume evaporates sooner, taking your beautiful scent with it.

How to make perfume last longer in summer. There are a number of ingenious ways to ensure your chosen perfume lasts longer in the summer months as temperatures rise. Here are our top 6 tips.

• Choose a perfume with more intense base notes
• Moisturise before applying your perfume
• Apply perfume to your pulse points
• Spray your clothing & accessories
• Use Eau De Parfum or Pure Parfum
• Keep your body cooler by staying out of the sun.

Coming up are 18 tips to ensure you smell divine all summer without turning yourself into a walking perfume store.

18 Tips To Make Perfume Last Longer In Summer

Considering it’s high price tag, we all want to ensure that our perfume is able to cast its magic spell for as long as possible. Here are 18 tips to make perfume last longer in summer to ensure you don’t need to continuously reapply to keep it alive.

1. Spray Your Pulse Points

What are your pulse points? These are the parts of your body which react most quickly to changes in temperature. As your body creates warmth, the heat boosts the perfume to give it an extra charge. Your pulse points are the insides of your wrists, your neck, the inside of your elbow and even the back of your knee.

Wrists are the perfect place to wear your perfume. As you interact with people, you might find yourself shaking hands or giving and receiving items and a gentle waft of charming fragrance follows each movement. Similarly, perfume on your neck adds a sensual glow to more intimate interactions like a kiss on the cheek or a hug with a close friend.

2. Lock in Scent With Moisture

Using a good all over moisturiser will not only keep your skin in tip top condition, it will also allow your skin to more easily absorb and internalise your fragrance.

In addition, applying a lubricant (such as petroleum jelly) to your pulse points before applying perfume will help lock in the fragrance of your perfume still further.

3. Spray Your Hair

When Frank Sinatra famously sang about his encounters with girls “and their perfumed hair”, he clearly showed how strong an impact beautiful fragrances had made on him. Some people like to spray the air in front of them and walk into the perfume so that it lands gently on your hair and clothing.

If you have long locks, wafts of beautiful scent will flow as your hair moves. You need to be a little careful here, though, as some perfumes can be damaging to your hair. Another method is to spray your hairbrush before running it through your hair so that less of your hair is at risk.

4. Perfume Your Clothing

Even though we wear less in the summer, lightly spraying your clothing with fragrance when you apply it to your skin is another great tip (although beware or staining delicate fabrics).

I have been complimented on my perfume even when I have not been wearing any as my clothes are still fragrant. This works particularly well if you tend to wear the same one or two perfumes most of the time.

You can also line your drawers with some handkerchiefs or cotton wool balls sprayed with your favorite perfume; the scent will gently infuse your clothes so you have an extra source of fragrance when you wear them.

5. Apply Straight After Bathing

Your skin can absorb and maintain fragrance for longer if it is applied when your pores are open. The heat from a bath or shower will open your pores and this is the ideal time to lock in your favorite smell. As soon as you step out of the shower, dry your body quickly and spray on some perfume before your pores close to help your skin absorb the perfume and hold it for as long as possible.

Better still, wait a few minutes before dressing to make sure your perfume is fully dried and doesn’t rub off.

6. Choose Eau de Parfum Or Pure Parfum

Some perfumes are more concentrated with perfume oil than others. This will have a direct impact of how long they will last, as well as how much they cost.

Eau de toilette is one of the least concentrated variations and more suitable for the cooler months. It won’t have the lasting qualities required for the summer and you will find yourself re-applying fare more often.

For best long-lasting results, you need to choose the strongest concentration which is usually Eau de Parfum or Pure Parfum. Although it will cost more, you won’t need to use as much and it will last far longer than its weaker alternatives.

7. Store Perfume Properly

Storing perfume in hot and damp conditions is a big no-no. This can actually cause your perfume to break down in its bottle, leaving you with a weaker or distorted fragrance that won’t last as long.

For example, keeping your fragrance in the bathroom means it will be exposed to constant changes in temperature that will cause it to break down. In some cases, this can impact the smell and can also make it less concentrated.

The best place to store perfume is somewhere cool, dry and dark. Most fragrance manufacturers suggest their fragrances should be stored between 60 deg F (15 deg C) and 70 deg F (21 deg C).

If you live in a very hot country you could consider storing your fragrances in a cooler. As most domestic fridges run at 5 degrees C when storing food, this is not recommended. Popping your fragrances in a separate drinks chiller set at between 60 deg F (15 deg C) and 70 deg F (21 deg C) would be ideal.

8. Keep Perfume Away From Direct Sunlight

In the same way that heat and moisture in the bathroom can damage your perfume, direct sunlight also causes it to break down, especially in summer. If you keep your perfume on a dressing table or on display, try to keep it in its original box to stop sunlight from damaging the contents.

9. Use Matching Products

It is possible to find so many matching products to your favorite perfumes these days: body lotion, shower gel, hand cream, to name but a few. By using as many of the same products as possible, you can lock in the scent of your perfume in a number of different ways to help it last longer.

10. Do Not Rub!

Many people give their wrists a quick spray and then rub both together, thinking this will help their perfume to absorb more quickly. Unfortunately, this action can wipe away some of the perfume so parts of the fragrance don’t absorb at all. Dab the perfume on gently and allow it to dry naturally and it will last longer.

11. Do Not Shake!

Some people like to give their perfume bottle vigorous shake thinking it will help mix the ingredients. This can potentially allows air to infiltrate the perfume which can cause it to react with the perfume oil and expire sooner.

The most I do is every week or so I turn my bottles upside down and back up again just to gently move the contents.

12. Keep In Its Original Bottle

Most perfumes already come in beautiful bottles but some people like to decant into their favorite container or an atomizer to carry with them. Once air hits the perfume, it will start to evaporate leaving you with less perfume and a lower concentrate that may not last as long.

Also topping up your scent frequently during the day could cause an overloading of the scent and spoil the overall effect.

13. Keep Your Skin Moisturised

Soft, moisturised skin will help perfume last longer by allowing your pores to absorb the perfume more readily. Always moisturise after bathing and more often in hot weather to prevent your skin from drying out.

14. Carry Scented Cotton Buds

While an atomizer can allow air to damage your perfume, there is another way to ensure you can take your perfume with you for a quick touch up with better effects. Soak a cotton bud with some of your perfume and carry it in a zip-locked plastic bag to allow you to dab it onto your wrists when you need an extra boost.

15. Add Last Drops To Lotion

When your bottle has almost run out, you can make the perfume last longer by adding the last drops to unscented body lotion. This way, you will be able to use the perfume for much longer.

16. Spray Your Accessories

Similar to spraying your clothing, adding a little perfume to an accessory like a scarf is a great way to help the smell last even longer. As your scarf moves, little clouds of your favorite perfume will gently float out to extend the scent and keep your perfume alive for longer.

17. Use Perfume Notes That Last Longer

Of all the perfume types, Woody, Musky and strong floral perfumes last the longest. Perfumes can be divided into a number different types and each one has slightly different powers of longevity. It’s worth understanding th main types last the longest

Woody / Musky Notes

Musky/woody fragrances tend to last longer as they are made up of stronger base notes. Many masculine fragrances are often made up of these smells but they are also contained in many feminine fragrances. They tend to last longer as these oils take longer to evaporate and musky perfumes can still be detected after 10 – 12 hours.

Oriental / Spicy Notes

Oriental scents last a close second when compared to Woody/Musk. They tend to come across as exotic and spice aromas can be warm and comforting, both qualities that can be found in many feminine perfumes. Made up of base and middle notes, these are also capable of lasting 10 – 12 hours.

Floral Notes

Floral scents are known as ‘middle notes’ or ‘heart notes’. In particular, rose, patchouli and freesia last incredibly well. Although they do not last as long as base notes, they can be the main aroma for 6 – 8 hours and give a romantic, feminine feel.

18 Keep Your Cool

Keeping your body cooler will make your perfume lasts longer in the summer. Consider keeping out of the sun, or wear lose clothing and a hat if you are out and about. Too much sun ages your skin anyway, and we don’t want that!

Conclusion

Mastering how to make perfume last longer in summer need not be a mission. It is a great idea to experiment and find which tips suit you the best.

My 6 key my take-aways are:

• Use a more base note heavy fragrance
• Moisturise before applying your perfume
• Apply to your pulse points
• Spray your clothing & accessories
• Only use Eau De Parfum or Pure Parfum
• Keep yourself cool

Before you go, I have put together a review of the most elegant perfumes ranging from timeless classics to modern day sophistication that I think you will enjoy.

Further Reading

Below are some additional articles from Viora London’s blog. We write articles on a number of interesting lifestyle topics such as fragrance, beauty, designer handbags, luxury accessories and more.