How to Wear Perfume

Co-authored by Erica Coates

Last Updated: December 7, 2022

The right perfume can give your style—and your confidence—an added boost. Even the right perfume can go wrong if applied incorrectly, however.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Choose the Right Perfume

Some women prefer sticking with one signature scent, while others like to change things up, depending on the occasion or the season. Regardless of your preference, knowing how to pick the right scent is the first step in successfully wearing perfume.

1
Understand the different types.
- Eau de colognes fade within an hour, while eau de toilette last about two hours.
- L'eau de parfum contains a higher concentration of perfume oil and last up to four hours without fading.
- Perfume classics and perfume extracts contain the highest concentration and last up to six hours.
2
Pick a perfume type appropriate for your setting. If you work in a small, enclosed space, for instance, you should avoid strong, overpowering concentrations.

Advertisement
3
Test a perfume before wearing it.
- You can test it on a piece of paper, which is often supplied at the store, if you’re buying the perfume in person. One thing to keep in mind when testing a scent on a strip of paper is that it will not smell exactly the same way on your body as it does on paper. The key to determining if a perfume is the right match for you is to allow it to mingle with your body’s chemistry before making your final determination.
- Alternatively, you can spray a small amount onto the inside of your wrist and wait ten minutes before smelling it. This allows the full range of the fragrance to emerge, giving you a better idea of whether or not the scent appeals to you.
- Perfumes have three notes of fragrance: the top, middle, and base. The top note strikes the nose immediately but wears away within five minutes. The middle note develops after about ten minutes and the base takes about fifteen. The middle and base notes are the ones that last for hours, so you need to wait for those notes to develop in order to get a full understanding of the perfume’s scent.
- Avoid spraying the scent onto your clothing to ensure that your garments don’t smell like a perfume before you decide if you like it. Perfume can also potentially stain or discolor certain fabrics, so be cautious when applying it when you’re dressed.
4
Limit how many scents you test at once. After testing three perfumes, your sense of smell loses its sharpness, and you may not be able to get a clear idea of any fragrances you try after that.
- If testing perfumes that are vastly different from one another, you may be able to test five or six before your sense of smell becomes numb.
- Ask if you can sniff some coffee beans between tests. Coffee beans cleanse the nasal palate and enable you to better discern smells over longer periods of time. This approach won’t last indefinitely, however, so it’s best to test a small selection of scents at a time.
5
Choose a fragrance that’s right for you. Roughly 75 percent of perfumes contain some trace of rose and jasmine extracts, but the amount present varies in each fragrance. Moreover, perfumes usually contain thousands of other ingredients and chemicals, many of which actively alter the scent. This is why no two scents ever seem to smell exactly alike. That said, many fragrances can be divided into one of four categories: fresh greens, woody amber, floral fruity, and oriental spicy.
- Fresh greens have scents reminiscent of grass, leaves, and herbs. They tend to smell "clean" and suit women with vibrant, sporty personalities. Women who like to vary their perfume by occasion might consider a fresh green scent for outdoor daytime use.
- Woody amber like fragrances encompass a wide variety of warm scents. Most include traces of amber, sandalwood, cedar, and various spices. The combination of spices is what gives this scent family such versatility. Women wanting to wear a more sensual scent might wish to consider a woody amber-y fragrance, especially as an evening perfume.
- Floral fruity scents evoke a sense of playful innocence and romance. Most scents developed around a specific flower or fruit fall under this category. Some weigh heavier on the fruity side, while others smell like the interior of a florist's shop. These scents are also excellent for daytime use. Women wanting a fresh, zesty fragrance would do well to seek out the former, while those going for a classy romantic scent should look for the latter.
- Oriental spicy scents are similar to woodsy ambry scents but usually involve more of a floral element. Fragrances belonging to this category often use rich scents like orchid, orange flowers, vanilla, sweet spices, incense, and musk. These exotic perfumes can be used at any time, but work especially well for evening. Women wanting a warm, mysterious, and distinctly feminine scent should look into this category further.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Before Application

Prepping your skin before you use perfume guarantees the strongest, longest lasting scent.

1
Wash your skin and apply a lotion before applying your perfume since fragrances last longer on clean, moist skin. Apply perfume immediately after a bath or shower, when possible. Otherwise, thoroughly wash and lotion the areas where you plan on applying perfume.
2
Layer the fragrance by washing with soap and applying lotions that complement the perfume's scent. Fragrance sets that combine shower gels, body lotions, and perfumes are especially effective, but any soap or lotion that contains similar scent elements will work.
- Avoid clashing fragrances. For example, do not wash with a potent fruity shower gel before applying a musky perfume.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Application

If you use too much perfume, the scent may end up choking you or those around you. If you use too little, the fragrance could easily become lost. Knowing the right way to apply perfume helps ensure the best possible result.

1
Spray your pulse points, where your blood flows the strongest and the skin is the warmest.
- When wearing a stronger fragrance, such as an eau de parfum or a parfum classic, only dab perfume on your wrists and throat.
- If you’re wearing an eau de toilette or an eau de cologne, also consider dabbing some on the pulse points behind your ears, on your chest, inside your elbows, and behind your knees.
2
Spray perfume from a distance of five or six inches, depending on the intensity of the scent. The stronger the scent, the further back you should hold the bottle.
3
Avoid rubbing the perfume into your skin. Even though this is a common practice, doing so crushes the chemicals and alters the balance of the scent. Instead, spray a small amount of scent onto your skin and let it dry naturally.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I apply EDP onto perfume?

Community Answer

While you can, I wouldn't recommend it. Different scents can react badly with each other and not give the desired smell you want. It really depends on the perfume, but as a rule, I wouldn't.

Warnings

Resist the urge to reapply. The longer you wear a perfume, the more your sense of smell adjusts to it, meaning you may stop smelling your perfume before those around you do.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0