Fabrics are one guaranteed way to make your fragrances last longer that is overlooked. In previous posts, we have identified that using fabrics in perfume application is perfect for the longevity of your favourite scents but essential for perfume lovers with sensitive skin.
Spraying perfume on clothes can avoid the issues associated with spraying directly on your skin. Not only does spraying on clothes prevent direct contact with the harsh alcohols and synthetic chemicals found in alcohol-based perfumes, but it also allows you to keep buying alcohol-based perfumes compared to expensive alternatives (oil-based perfumes).
Fabrics that Matter
Application on your fabrics is all well and good, but choosing the right fabrics elevates the technique. Choosing the right fabrics all starts with natural fibres vs synthetic fibres. Natural fibres hold onto smells longer than synthetic fibres because they are more porous.
Porous fabrics have many small holes or pores, that allow air and water to pass through. The structure of fabrics, down to the type of yarn to the density. These are properties that determine how porous a fabric is. Good examples of porous materials are: cotton, linen, mesh, silk and most natural fibres.
Synthetic fibres are inclusive of fabrics, such as nylon, polyester, acrylic and spandex. These are materials that are less porous, as they have non-fibre stitches. Doing the complete opposite to natural fibres, synthetic fibres repels water and dries quickly. Synthetic fibres absorb less moisture and dry faster compared to natural fibres. Due to their lack of porosity, synthetic fabrics are also water resistant and less breathable.
My all time favourite fabric to spray perfumes on is cotton. As previously mentioned, cotton is highly porous. When wanting to elevate my perfume application that step further, I love to wear cotton fabrics. Times when I have sprayed perfume directly onto my cotton clothing items, such as cardigans, I have smelt fragrances on them days later.
Type of Perfume and its Concentration
There are different types of perfume in the industry. Typically I appreciate longevity and projection in my fragrances, hence I lean more towards my collection being inclusive of solely eau de parfums. Eau de parfums have a higher concentration of perfume oils in comparison to eau de toilette.
Eau de parfums commonly lasts on skin for 6-8 hours, possibly more dependent on your perfume application. I have found that applying perfume directly on my clothing, especially when the material is made out of natural fibres, not only elevates my perfume longevity, surpassing the common 6-8 hours of perfume wear.
Utilising your clothes as a surface for perfume application apart from solely skin can also allow for increased inclusivity in your perfume collection. What do I mean when I say this? Being an absolute fumehead, there has been times when I have come across an eau de toilette where I loved the scent. Yet being someone who prioritises longevity and projection, I wouldn’t bother buying such fragrances due to the decreased concentration of perfume oil.
With application of clothes, I have been able to get close to the same performance of eau de parfums from my eau de toilettes and body mists. Not to mention that application on clothing is an amazing alterantive to apply perfume for my fellow fumeheads with sensitive skin.
