So you are getting ready for a night out, a date, or just another normal day… where do you spray your perfume? More importantly, where do you spray your perfume to get the perfect scent bubble? In terms of perfume longevity and making sure that your application lasts hours, we have addressed that here. But let’s say you have done the base preparation, and now it is time to apply your product. Where are the best places to spray?
Perfume Whisperer or Shouter?
Initially, when I started to get into perfumes I was someone who liked their perfumes to shout. I liked my products to make a commotion, some may argue in my earlier years my applications caused more headaches than commotion. But we grow, and we mature! Whilst there are people who like their perfume to shout, others like theirs to whisper – a subtle scent and projection. I am somewhere in between, I still like my scents to have a presence, but not make passers-by feel overwhelmed.
With my stronger perfumes, I spray less, between 3-4 sprays, 5 maximum if I really want to cause a scene. Whereas with my translucent perfumes, I can easily spray up to 10 times. These are things that you learn when getting familiar with each of the fragrances you own and how they perform when in interaction with your skin or fabric. For instance, Opium by Yves Saint Laurent is a deep and bold fragrance with luxurious amber and vanilla base notes. Despite being an Eau de Toilette, it has a stronger projection in nature and its performance is amplified on a well-prepped base (e.g. moisturised skin). Hence, I would stick to the range of 3-4 sprays for its application. Whereas, a body mist such as Bare Vanilla by Victoria’s Secret would be more likely to get away with sprays upwards of 5 as in comparison is weaker.
Hit Pulse Points
Where do you spray for the perfect scent bubble? Spraying perfumes on your pulse points, such as behind your ears helps radiate fragrances outwards creating an effective scent bubble around you. Spraying in areas like behind your neck, as well as behind each shoulder blade not only helps with establishing a scent trail (sillage), but makes the scent prominent to others when receiving hugs. Inner elbows and wrists are also important, but the most important thing to remember when applying product to these areas is to prepare the area with Vaseline so the scent has something to hold on to.
Moreover, when spraying in these areas, many people make the mistake of rubbing their wrists together or generally rubbing the perfume into the skin of the area they sprayed. This is a no-go and is hurting your perfume application. Rubbing can dull the top notes of the fragrance, and it can cause the fragrance to mix with your natural oils, changing the way it smells. The best way forward is to simply let the perfume air dry.
Perfume Nose Fatigue
Some places you may have noticed me not mention was the base of the throat, chest, or front of the neck. There are two reasons why I have not mentioned these. Firstly, consistently spraying in these areas can cause ‘nose fatigue’. This is when you can’t smell the fragrance you are wearing because you have become accustomed to it. Hence, some people spray their perfumes in places not directly under or close to their noses.
Secondly, I have sensitive skin and it is important to remember that perfumes have alcohol in them. So spraying it on areas that for me are sensitive, such as my neck and chest are just places I avoid. To account for this, I have found that spraying on my clothes on the neckline of shirts or dresses is an effective compensation. In some ways, I would argue it to be more effective as scents generally cling on longer to fabric than skin.
Fabric is your Best Friend
As previously mentioned, scents cling better to fabric than skin. When I have applied perfume on my clothes on a night out, I smell the scent on my clothes days after. Spraying perfume on clothes allows the scent to diffuse slowly in comparison to skin. This enables the perfume to be long-lasting. So trust me spraying your clothes is just as important, arguably even more than spraying your body. In my opinion, you can’t do one without the other.
Click here to read the best places to spray your fragrances on your clothes!
