Jo's Scent Notes: From mists to extraits – how to make your scent last longer
Body mists are the new fragrance ‘buzz’, with many brands launching these airier versions of their bestselling scents. But how long will they actually last on skin…? I thought it was time to revisit a chapter of The Perfume Bible, which I co-wrote with Lorna McKay (my co-founder at The Perfume Society, at the time).
You may already know that a bottle of (say) Chanel No. 5 parfum smells much more intense, and lasts longer, than the ‘matching’ eau de toilette – but how long your fragrance lasts on the skin is down to three factors.
First, your skintype: fragrance ‘dissipates’ sooner on drier skins, but hangs around for longer on oilier complexions. (Possibly one of the few upsides of having a shine-prone skin.) Whatever your skintype, a technique known as layering will help make your scent last longer: if the perfume you love has a matching bath product, body lotion/cream or powder, all of these really will turbo-charge the staying power of your perfume, because they give something to ‘cling to’. If those bath and body treats aren’t available (or beyond your budget), a rich but unscented body cream is the best ‘primer’ for perfume; certainly, try and avoid anything that clashes with your favourite scent.
Secondly: the types of ingredients used will affect a fragrance’s lifespan on skin. Citrus notes are more ‘volatile’, and disappear sooner, than smouldering spices, sexy musks and quietly humming woods.
But the third key factor is perfume ‘strength’. And before you splash out – and splash on – you need to understand what’s what. The basic rule of thumb used to be that the higher the concentration, or ‘strength’, the higher the price-tag. But with the fairly recent arrival of many new, niche, limited distribution (and exciting) brands, who’ve shaken up the perfume world, the rules on price no longer apply: some fairly ‘light’ fragrances nonetheless command some pretty hefty prices.
Perfumes are essentially a mix of alcohol (ethanol), water and scented oils – or in some cases, just ethanol and those precious oils.
Body mists, however, are often just water-based, with scented oils at a concentration of somewhere between 1-2% (or slightly more, with some brands). As a result, you can’t expect them to last for long on skin. An hour or two – maybe three if you’re lucky. Mostly, they’re accordingly inexpensively priced (save offerings from Dior, Tom Ford, CHANEL and the like). The posher brands may call them ‘eau fraîche’, rather than body mists.
Personally, what I love about body mists is exactly that – you need to keep respritzing and respritzing to enjoy them. And that moment when you spray your skin really is the peak pleasure moment, for you personally, in the fragrance application process. Other people will be able to make out a scent on you for quite some time after you’ve applied it, but it’s notoriously difficult to smell yourself, after a few minutes of application. (The brain simply cuts off the messaging.) What does seem to make it easier to enjoy your own scent over a longer period is applying it to fabric; as you move, it’s somehow time-released from the cotton/silk/whatever. Just be sure to do the ‘tissue test’, beforehand: spray your fragrance on a tissue, and check that there’s no staining of the fabric. If it looks completely clear, you can even spray a white fabric with it.
Eau de Colognes are also super-light – and often feature more will volatile ingredients like citrus and herbs in the blend: a traditional hangover from the early recipes for this type of scent. Generally, they offer from 2-5% of aromatic compounds. Great for a ‘wake-up’ splash, in the morning – or a cool-down in the day – but don’t expect this strength of scent to hang around for long: as with a body mist, you’ll be lucky to get two hours out of an eau de Cologne.
Eau de toilette (a.k.a. EDT) is the next concentration up. These offer somewhere between 5-15% of aromatic ingredients, in that water/alcohol base. The name? ‘Toilet water’ isn’t exactly romantic, so it may help to know that it came from the French phrase ‘faire sa toilette’: the ritual of getting dressed and ready, in which putting on perfume (in whatever strength) is the final, glamorous gesture. Ideal for work, for interviews, for when you want to wear scent for your personal pleasure, rather than to help get you ‘noticed’. Two to three hours of wear is all you can reasonably expect before the last traces drift away.
Eau de parfum (also referred to as EDP) feature a 10-20% concentration of oils (typically somewhere around 15% of those aromatic compounds). Again, these have lots of ‘waft’; staying power of anywhere from four to five hours is a reasonable expectation. Some insiders suggest that if you’re looking for ‘bang-for-your-buck’, eau de parfum is a good bet: generally quite a bit cheaper than the parfum concentration. Because it can still be quite strong, apply lightly for day – and more generously, when you’re dressing up. Eau de parfum has now become the bestselling concentration in the UK, outselling eau de toilette, precisely for its staying power.
Perfume, or parfum – also sometimes referred to as ‘pure perfume’, ‘perfume extract’ or ‘extrait de parfum’ – features somewhere between 20-40% of scented perfume ingredients, along with alcohol and/or water.
These perfumes/parfums (whatever you like to call them) are generally the longest-lasting on the skin – up to six or eight hours (and sometimes well into the next day) - with the best ‘sillage’: a wonderful word for how a fragrance projects before you, or trails behind you. Parfum is really for after-dark, for special occasions – weddings, parties – rather than for everyday; accordingly, these true ‘perfumes’ often available in glass-stoppered bottles for dabbing, rather than the sprays and spritzers which lower concentrations tend to come in – making for a so-pleasurable ritual, as you apply the pricy ‘juice’. The intense concentration explains why the ‘perfume’ version of any fragrance is always the most expensive, within a range – but over the years, I’ve come to believe that these actually offer the best value. Very often, I can still make out a parfum on my skin after 24 hours – albeit not strongly, but it’s there. Compare that with an hour, for a body mist…
So, above are the most common phrases – and strengths. But working out which is going to go the distance isn’t quite as straightforward as it seems, because perfume houses don’t only dilute their creations, depending on the strength: sometimes they do quite a bit of reformulation for each version. Which means when you’ve found a fragrance you really like, do explore it in all its concentrations. You may find that you adore the eau de toilette, but the parfum’s too old-fashioned – or, conversely, that you’re crazy for the perfume, but the body mist doesn’t seem to share its magic. It’s another example of why there really is nothing – but nothing – like trying a fragrance on its skin before buying.
Fine new and used copies of The Perfume Bible on Amazon, here.
