A Detailed Guide To Applying Perfume The Right Way
In this article, I’ll be providing detailed instructions on how to apply perfume / cologne properly. I’ll try to make this article as thorough as possible. My aim with this article is to answer all your questions regarding wearing scents wether those be colognes or perfumes.
You’ve probably never given much consideration to how you apply cologne or whether you’ve made any blunders doing so. Does it really matter how you apply the contents of your perfume bottle? Obviously, the aim is to smell wonderful all day; but does it really matter where you apply the fragrance on your body? If you genuinely care about smelling good for a long time, the way you apply your fragrance is a major determining factor in your fragrance last long, and projecting like a beast.
An interesting fact about perfumes is that applying scents can enhance your happiness and confidence. So make sure you’re doing it correctly. Stephen Watkins, a fragrance scientist famously said “Perfume increases a person’s mood.”
Fragrances might be one of the most fun and enticing parts of your daily regimen, since it evokes sensuous memories and helps to establish your personal style. There is an art to applying perfume that is based on tried and proven practices and is anchored in chemistry, and human biology. Don’t worry I’ll provide you with the best tips on how to apply perfume appropriately, as well as what to avoid to keep you smelling spectacular.
What Is The Correct Way To Apply Perfume / Cologne?
Apply Fragrance To Your Body
The best canvas for your favorite perfume is your skin. “Perfume requires a right medium to anchor itself in order to completely unwind itself in the most heavenly way,” explains Matthew Milèo, a chemist. Our skin’s lipophilic (oil-loving) qualities make it the ideal medium for perfume oils to bind to, this helps the unwinding process to begin on our skin as warmth is provided to the scent. Hence, the aroma is allowed to fully express itself, and engulf the wearer its sillage.
According to Luxedore, scents make you attractive because they contain pheromones, which is just another reason to pay attention as to how you apply your cologne. So next time, apply cologne to your body. Learning how to properly apply perfume to your body is the first step in any fragrance regime.
Keep Your Skin Moisturised, And Hydrated.
Using an oil or moisturiser as a layer on your skin, before applying your perfume creates an even more intense scent-to-skin adherence. “Fragrance clings to your skin’s oils, so using it after your body lotion or oil gives a better surface for the aroma molecules to bond to,” says Melina Polly, Henry Rose’s CEO and Co-Founder. When your skin is moisturised, fragrance lasts the longest, so spray shortly after your shower or bath.
Apply your favorite perfume to your skin after a shower, when the steam will have opened up your pores, just after moisturising your skin. This will help the scent sit on your skin for longer, and also prevent your skin from absorbing the perfume oils, which give your scent it’s distinctive smell. According to Vogue, Francis Kurkdjian, an award-winning French-Armenian perfumer, states, “Perfume doesn’t linger long on dry skin.” Dabbing a small amount of Vaseline on your skin before spraying your perfume can make it last longer, this is a pro tip right here I’m giving you for free. Moisturising your skin can really help with properly apply perfume.
Apply Perfume To Pulse Points.
When it comes to cologne application, it’s important to hit all of the appropriate locations. One of the most important things you can do to improve the projection of your fragrance, is to apply your perfume to pulse points on your body. Choosing parts of the body that are naturally warm and moist, such as the insides of the elbows, backs of the knees, chest, and sides of the neck, can help your fragrance project into its surroundings. If you don’t apply perfume to your pulse points, your fragrance might not be able to perform at it’s best, and you’ll definitely loose out on getting some compliments from those around you. Trust me, applying cologne to your pulse points, can elevate your fragrance game to the next level.
I advise you to adopt a delicate application approach. Use your scent sprayer directly on pulse points. Your body heat will act as a natural diffuser, and will also help activate it throughout your fragrance.
Below you can find a diagram which shows the various pulse points you can apply your perfume to. This will help you find the appropriate parts of your body to which you can properly apply perfume.
Apply Cologne To Your Clothing
Many individuals like putting perfume on their clothes. I’d like this moment to admit that I also like to lather my clothes with fragrance, whatever I’m wearing, I always give my clothes a good taste of my scent as well. There is nothing wrong with applying cologne to your clothes. I’d just advise you to make sure that applying the perfume to your clothes isn’t going to damage them. For example, silk might get damaged due to the oils present in certain fragrances.
If you can wash the garment, and you like the smell of perfume on your clothes spray away. Applying fragrance to your clothes, can help the fragrance last longer. However, this does not mean that you skip spraying perfume on your body.
It’s also worth noting that spritzing garments with your favorite perfume may not give you the full effect of the scent. Because of the nature of a certain fabric, it may only collect specific components of a scent and not the complete symphony. With that said spraying fragrance on your clothes can give you a different olfactory experience, which might be a positive thing, if your trying to re-envision the same fragrance in a new light.
Change Your Fragrance Regularly
This may appear to be a sales ploy, but there is a scientific reason behind it. Smell has a memory, much like the rest of our senses. When we become accustomed to a scent, our brain will mute it to avoid overstimulation. You’ve undoubtedly been in a position when you go into a house and can smell a dish being made in the kitchen. If you question the cook, he or she will most likely be unaware of the strong odor because he or she has been hovering over the pots and pans for quite some time. Perfume is the same way. Changing scents will therefore excite your sense of smell, allowing you to smell it better than if you wore the same perfume every day.
Apply Perfume After Taking A Shower
Cleaning your body before applying your favorite scent can have many good effects. A hot water bath may wash the skin while also relaxing the pores, making it easier for your cologne to attach itself to your skin. If skin is too unclean this may harm the cologne’s smell, and the scent will not endure if the skin is too dry. Moreover, having fresh odor free skin, will help your fragrance display its unique DNA; This is because, you won’t have any body odor interfering with your perfume.
Perfume evaporates fast when it comes into contact with dry skin. It’s the same as dumping water on dry soil: it’ll just run off. As a result, before applying perfume, make sure your skin is smooth and moisturised so the perfume can adhere to your skin. Applying unscented body lotion or moisturiser or Vaseline first is the best method to achieve this.
Don’t Overspray Your Perfume – Properly Apply Perfume
In general, one spray per desired pulse point suffices. The goal is to smell nice, not to inundate yourself and others around you with a strong perfume scent. Of course, the perfume’s concentration is a significant consideration. A less concentrated Eau de Toilette can be spritzed more often than a highly concentrated Extrait de Parfum.
We will gradually smell a perfume less and less as we become accustomed to it, prompting us to apply more of it over time. Don’t do it for the sake of those who aren’t as accustomed to your perfume as you are.
Reapply Cologne As Necessary
You may need to reapply your perfume depending on the type you choose, especially if you’re heading out in the evening. Simply spray a small amount onto your pulse spots to do this.
Hopefully he tips mentioned above can aid you in properly applying cologne.
How Many Sprays Depend On The Type Of Fragrance
If you’ve ever puzzled why certain fragrances with very similar scents are named—and priced—differently, you should know that various naming practices signify different levels of fragrance concentration.
Perfume is the most concentrated, Eau de Perfume is the second most concentrated, Eau de Toilette is the third most concentrated, and Eau de Cologne is the least concentrated.
The more intense the perfume is, the longer it will linger and the less you should use. There is no magic number for how much to apply, but two spritzes immediately on skin should always be enough—and occasionally too much. Test the strength of a new perfume at home before wearing it out. Try one spritz on a pulse point and notice how powerful it is by dabbing extra on others.
What Things To Avoid While Applying Perfume?
Don’t Use Perfume To Cover Body Odor
The alarm clock has been wailing for a long time, but you haven’t had time to get out of bed, much alone wash. So you believe that one (or many) sprays will save the day and provide you with a sense of freshness and cleanliness? Please accept my apologies, but no! Perfume does not mask undesirable odors, contrary to what Louis XIV and his perfumed court believed, who rarely bathed themselves. Above all, it is insufficient to compensate for a lack of hygiene! The scent will not, in fact, be able to “clean” you. Worse, the scent combination will be much more suspect! You risk being banished to the rear of the open space if your coworkers see this risky tactic.
Avoid Deodorant Sprays – Properly Apply Perfume
Perfume, and deodorant are two quite distinct items. While deodorants might have unique scents, they can’t compete with your favorite perfume. Indeed, no matter how strong the deodorant’s scent is, it will not perform better than a fragrance. These two items have quite distinct formulae, and the composition work behind them is not similar. Perfume has no effect on perspiration.
Avoid These Spots While Spraying Your Favorite Cologne
Eyes
Spraying perfume near your eyes is perhaps one of the most apparent places to avoid. Ethyl can cause irritation and stinging if it comes into touch with sensitive regions, such as your eyes, in alcohol-based fragrances.
Hands
While putting perfume on your wrist is one of the most common methods to stay smelling fantastic throughout the day, if the scent gets on your hands, alcohol-based fragrances can dry out your skin and cause cracking, and damage your hands. Additionally, rubbing your eyes after getting perfume on your hands may create discomfort.
Armpits
Another potential source of discomfort is spraying perfume into your armpits. Itching and burning may occur as a result of the perfume’s contact with the sweat glands in your armpits.
Genitals
Spraying perfume near intimate regions can cause skin to dry out. According to Insider Health, scents can “possibly irritate the vaginal area and cause irritation, itching, and discomfort” in women. Furthermore, for men testicles can absorb the perfume oils rapidly, and introduce them into the bloodstream, and this is detrimental for health.
Don’t Rub Your Fragrance
Refrain from rubbing scent onto your skin. Fragrance should be left on the skin for a few minutes to combine with your natural oils. When the wrists are rubbed together, the high notes fade and disappear.
You’re missing out on the full experience your perfume can offer you, because you’re rubbing away, or drying up a lot of the perfume. Furthermore vigorously rubbing your perfume combines the scent with your natural oils, changing the way it smells.
Lead A Healthy Lifestyle
Keep your body in mind and what you’re doing with it. The fragrance of your perfume will change if you drink, smoke, or consume specific meals. If you wear too much perfume at an Indian restaurant, for example, your fragrance will blend with the aroma of the cuisine, making for an unusual lunch to say the least.
Don’t Apply Fragrance To Your Hair
Alcohol tends to dry and damage the hair. Hence you should avoid using perfume on your hair. If you are adamant on spritzing your locks, make sure it’s a non-alcohol-based fragrance.
Try Using Fragrance Free Products
Keep fragrance-rich body cleansers and lotions to a minimum to avoid accidentally having the scent of your cleansers or lotions combining with your fragrance. Better still, eliminate them entirely. They run the danger of turning your scent into something excessively sweet, too powerful, or even unpleasant. Allow your perfume to perform its greatest work by keeping your skin clear of extraneous scents.
Don’t Overspray – Properly Apply Perfume
If you’re new to perfumes, avoid putting cologne on all of the above-mentioned hot body parts. Start with a single spritz in one area. If your perfume dissipates soon, spray the cologne in a different location the next time you apply it. Because you might grow nose-blind to odors you wear frequently, you might want to ask a close friend or family member if the application is acceptable.
What Is A Fragrance?
Fragrances are made up of a combination of oils, alcohol, and water. While the concentrations and intensities differ from one product to the next, most men’s colognes include roughly 2 to 4% oil. Parfum de Extrait range from 20 to 30 percent; Eau de Parfum from 8 to 15 percent; and eau de toilette from 4 to 8%. Those oils can range from natural botanicals to chemical compounds that are wholly man-made. They linger longer on your skin if the proportion is larger.
After they’ve been applied, the combinations will start to break down into notes, as they’re known in the business. The initial fragrances that strike your nose are known as top notes. Heart notes take center stage when the alcohol and water evaporate and the oils mingle with your body chemistry. Finally, foundation sounds linger as the day progresses.
Because of this shifting dynamic, the smell must also be compatible with any other products you might be using that day. Consider how your fragrance will mix with other items such as shampoo and soap, as well as shaving cream and, notably, body lotion. Fragrances may be made to linger longer by layering them, which is why many businesses will provide a grooming package that includes the distinctive aroma. (However, similar to home bartending, you may find a cocktail of different goods that works for you.)
Why Should You Wear Fragrances?
You may utilize perfume as a mood enhancer if you know how to apply it properly. Scents that are energizing and uplifting might help you feel invigorated and happier. As previously noted, you may use scent to induce happy sensations and remember yourself of happier days.
The proper scent may quickly lift your spirits.
The advantage of using perfume as a mood enhancer is that you may reapply it as needed throughout the day to maintain the mood increase.
Perfume has been used to make people feel better since ancient times. Perfume is being worn for the same reasons today. If you don’t already have a trademark perfume, these five advantages are compelling reasons to do so.
You will be more appealing to females if you wear a scent. Smell is the most essential factor for women when picking a mate. While visual clues are the most essential component for men when selecting a woman, fragrance is the most potent factor for women when selecting men, according to a European study. A man’s eyes are his primary tool, whereas a woman’s nose is her primary tool (even if she isn’t aware of it!).
Women also have a greater and more refined sense of smell than men. Women routinely outperform males in smell tests, both in identification and detection, beginning from birth. In reality, women’s noses have been genetically modified to detect male pheromones (scented sex hormones). These odors are combined with fragrances to create an even more distinctive and appealing olfactory experience.
Conclusion
It’s difficult to apply fragrance the correct way. If you wear too much perfume, your scent will fill the room before you do. Moreover, you might as well have saved your money on that expensive niche scent if you applied too little. You need to know where to spray perfume to achieve the most impact, as well as how to apply it to make it stay all day. Properly applying perfume can elevate your perfume game to the next level.
Scent is one of our most powerful sense. It is linked to our memories, and we may form strong emotional bonds with it. Wearing a perfume is a unique method of expressing oneself that goes beyond the visible. It makes you memorable and gives you a good first impression.
I hope you enjoyed reading my article on how to properly apply perfume. I tried to make this article as detailed as possible, and provide you all the necessary information when it comes to applying cologne. As always, if you’ve found the article interesting don’t forget to share it with others. I’d love to know about your tips, and tricks when it comes to applying fragrances in the comments. Take care, god bless, and keep smelling fantastic. 🙂