What makes a certain perfume last longer than another?

Quality of the perfume, it can be cheaper but still be much better in comparison to others. I have some from Victoria’s Secret and it seems to last forever.

ambergris. it’s the oil in it that makes it last.

Also, some attars just have an inherently longer life.

Huh, I didn’t know about ambergris or the differing lives of certain oils and scents…now I’m just wondering how to check on this before I buy. Thanks for the info!

The kind old ladies wear in church seems to last forever. You should ask one of them.

@filmfann, ha! Very true. Ugh. That stuff is toxic.

@juniper I believe different scents act differently with everyone, and actually smell differently on everyone if sprayed on the right areas. it has to do with Pheromones. Not sure if this has anything to do with the lasting of the scent but it could..

^^ Yeah, I think your personal chemistry plays a part.

Fragrances that are more oil based and are in a ‘perfume’ base last longer than ‘au de toilette.’ Cheaper perfumes often have a synthetic scent based in an au de toilette, with a lot of alcohol. Those evaporate the quickest.

To prolong the scent, get the scented moisturizer in the line too. Put that down first and then put the perfume on your pulse points. The smell will last through almost the entire day.

@figbash covered it pretty much. “perfumes” come Parfum, Eau de Parfum (EDP), Eau de toilette (EDT). Parfum has the most oils and will last the longest and be the most expensive. Using the ancillary products (lotion, shower, gel, deoderant) is the ideal, it is called “layering” your fragrance. But, if you cannot afford them just being well moisturized with a neutral lotion and applying the perfume on moistured skin will help it last longer. By the way buying the deoderant in a line is fantastic, because if you get warm it triggers the fragrance, but know that most fragrance deoderants do not have antipersperant so you might want to use comething like Certain Dry with it. This is a great time of year to buy fragrance and try ancillary products, because for Chriistmas there are many gift sets where the lotion and shower gel come with the EDP for just a few dollars extra.

I know when using oils for scent that different oils have inherent length. Some are long-lasting and some are short-lasting. The longer lasting ones usually have a more subtle scent where the shorter-lasting ones have a stronger scent but it is usually more powerful. So they say that when making your own perfume from oils you should find a combination of those two that works smells good together.

“When blending your oils it is important to note that essential oils come in three different categories, top notes, middle notes and base notes. Top notes are light fragrances that help to energize and lift your mood. Common top note oils are cinnamon, peppermint, orange and lemon. Middle notes have a little more weight then top note essential oils, but not as much as base notes. They are the main components of aromatherapy blends. Melissa, lavender, rosemary, nutmeg and tee tree are examples of middle note essential oils. Base note oils last the longest and tend to be heavier and more rich than all of the other oils. Some examples include clove, jasmine, ginger and vanilla.”

From This website.

Top notes are what you smell when first sprayed, middle notes are as it is drying and base notes are the final sent left at the end.

It’s a combination of body chemistry (how your body reacts to specific notes in the perfume), the notes themselves (for most people, citrus scents aren’t long lasting, whereas vanilla will last days if it’s the “right” kind) and how the perfume is applied (and where, to a lesser extent).

I know, for instance, that I “amp” certain notes (florals, for instance) and they will stay on forever. However, other notes get “eaten” by my skin and disappear quickly.

Spray-on perfumes, with an alcohol base, tend to last longer, imho, because they get to more of you, whereas oil-based and roll-on perfumes don’t because they are localized.

If you want to make your perfume last all day, I suggest applying it to your pulse points—bend of the knee, inner elbow, and throat/behind the ear. “You should wear perfume where you want to be kissed,” as the great Coco Chanel said.

Duration is inversely proportional to how good it smells.

Its the oil in them.