The other day in a department store, I heard it again, a sales associate praising a fragrance because it lasts all day. (Other “praise” I occasionally hear, “And it smells like this the whole time.”) As for me, mostly I don’t want a fragrance to stick around that long. Four hours or so is plenty.1
Okay, I see the merits of a long-lasting perfume, especially if the perfume is expensive and you’re looking for that one signature scent. In that case, you probably want your fragrance to last from its morning spritz through a day at the office. Why not? You’re not planning to switch fragrances later. You want the scent to linger.
For someone like me with a, um, “hearty” perfume collection, a long-lasting perfume hamstrings my choices. Last week, I sprayed myself liberally with XerJoff Richwood, a comfort scent for me. The problem is that I’d left my glasses in the other room and thought I was spraying Irisss, which is also persistent, but which calms enough to let me wear something complementary later in the day, like Chanel Cuir de Russie or even the meditative Balenciaga Le Dix.2 Richwood steamrolls anything applied within twelve hours. (I’ve also found that fragrances with a dose of incense, like many of the Amouages, for instance, tend to wear a while.)
Another benefit of a shorter-lasting fragrance is that you can switch to something completely different, if you want. Have you ever worn a bright dress or a loud piece of jewelry and loved it — but then felt done with it after a while? You can always change clothing. You’re stuck with a long-lasting perfume. This morning, I sprayed on some old Guerlain Samsara, an assertive fragrance, but one that’s over within six hours. Right now I’m wearing Frédéric Malle Angéliques Sous la Pluie, and not a trace of Samsara stuck around to interfere.
That said, the persistence of some fragrances is simply too short. Chanel 28 La Pausa, for instance, is glorious for half an hour. After that, it would take a bloodhound to pick up the scent. This is where knowledge of your own skin helps, too. Some skin seems to burn through perfume, where other people’s bodies are good at hanging on to it. There’s a magical middle ground for a fragrance’s life that for me arrives at between four and six hours. After that, a perfume feels pushy. If it wears out before then, the perfume doesn’t have enough backbone.
However, a quick snap of classic Eau de Cologne is perfect. I don’t want a citrusy cologne to do more than deliver a cooling flash of freshness and vanish, and I value it for just that. If Revlon Jean Naté lasted longer than five minutes on my skin on an August afternoon, it wouldn’t be the tonic it is.
How about you? Is persistence something you specifically look for — or think about — in a fragrance? What perfumes have you found wear forever, and which ones peter out too soon for your taste?
1. Robin says she like three hours.
2. I’ve recently rediscovered Le Dix. Wow. It's a marvel of violets, iris and sandalwood.
Note: top image is detail from Murray & Lanman's Florida water - the great perfume! via Boston Public Library at flickr; some rights reserved. (And Jessica reviewed Murray & Lanman Florida Water here.)
Hi Angela! It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve been on here! I really enjoyed your post today. And then there are folks like me with scent-glue skin! You mentioned old Samsara, one of my favorites. I easily get 12 good hours (edp) and can still smell it faintly in the a.m. with my nose to my wrist. I’ve never been able to apply a second fragrance in a day. And there are some fragrances (I’m looking at you Champagne de Bois) that I can literally smell on the SECOND day after showers!
So in a perfect world, I’d love 6 – 8 hours max.
Speaking of Le Dix, I was fortunate enough in last Fall’s swap meet to obtain a bottle of Guerlain’s Meteorites, one of the very few Guerlains I’ve never smelled. It’s another violet beauty!
Hi! It’s great to “see” you.
I think some wood and patchouli really last on skin, too–not just incense. And some skin definitely holds tighter than others.
Congratulations on scoring some Meteorites!
I, too, love Meteorites. I bought it years ago at T.J.Maxx for $9.95! One of the few I’ve ever finished an entire bottle of but, luckily, I have a backup bottle, just recently opened. But Le Dix is my true love, the first fragrance that introduced me to the violet notes I would come to love.
I’m always amazed at the fabulous deals people find at TJ Maxx! Clearly I need to stop by there from time to time.
I wish we had a TJ Maxx where I live. The closest we have is a Ross, and all they ever seem to have is celebrity fragrances.
My guess is that that’s what TJ maxi has most of the time, too.
Good to see you again, Rapple
**waves**
Hi Lucas! Thanks!!
Oh yes, this is why I don’t wear Dior Homme very often. Once you put it on you’re committed. It lasts All. Day. Long. Eau Sauvage is kind of like that too, maybe not quite as much.
I don’t mind if it turns into a ‘skin scent’ and lasts all day – that I can handle.
It’s been a long time since I’ve sampled Eau Sauvage, but it seems like exactly the kind of fragrance I’d hope would whisk in, freshen and cool, then only leave a faint trace behind. Oh well.
I know what you mean about morphing into a skin scent. Then it’s a nice base for anything else.
Four hours is perfect for me, as long as the skin scent portion isn’t three and a half hours of that time! The other night I went out with friends and applied Mohur Extrait at 7 pm, and it was still noticeable when I returned home at 11 pm (don’t judge, I’m old and that’s late for me), and then it lasted throughout the night as a beautiful skin scent. But then few perfumes have the tenacity (or price tag!) of Mohur Extrait. Nice article 🙂 Angela.
Now I want some Mohur extrait! I’ve tried and loved the EdP. And if it makes you feel any better, when you got in at 11 pm wherever you are, I was probably already asleep.
Late for me these days is 9pm…true story
We should form a club. The Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise club.
I’m with Rappleyea. Samsara lasts forever on me — even more than 12 hours. The sandalwood drydown lasts overnight. Good thing I really like it. So often my choice with Samsara is to carry a small refill bottle and sniff as needed (for a calm energizing deep breath).
And ditto on the Champagne de Bois.
Actually the drydown of most scents lingers, so when I put on a scent, I’d better be committed. I usually am, but now with owning many perfumes, I might have to start looking specifically for the short-lasting.
As for Le Dix, I have a small boxed bottle of the parfum containing only 10% (thrift store find). I say vintage because it comes from the era when only preservatives and colourants had to be listed.
Good thing it’s beautiful because I just applied a dab and now it will be with me much of the day.
With skin like yours, I can see why planning is a good idea! What a great thrift store score, too.
That dab of Le Dix perfume I put on yesterday afternoon is still with me 18 hours later (heading into the shower very late). And not just as a skin scent — I can smell it about 4 inches from my skin. Which is about the distance I got on the initial application. There must be some large-ish molecule in it, because if I smell it a number of times in a row it is almost undetectable. That was true yesterday as well.
That’s fascinating! And how nice it is to be able to keep on smelling it.
Thanks for the post, Angela! xo
I love for fragrances to last.
I try to choose carefully and according to my mood.
This just means I can adjust my application if I don’t want to wear so much that it grates my nerves after several hours.
Granted, I am a heavy sprayer. lol
I love how I can count on my favorites to enjoy through many phases on my skin. Vtg. Emeraude, Une Rose Chypree, Kenzo Amour, original Gucci edp, are just a handful that I look forward to smelling for hours. lol I know that’s not everyone’s cuppuh and my collection has lots of lighter, softer scents as well and with spring weather I’ve been wearing many wonderful fragrances.
But about two months ago I was seriously worried when I went to squirt a bit of TF Black Orchid edp ( another I love ) on the back of my hand from Nordie’s one afternoon and within half an hour the smell was gone! Vanished.
It made me kinda freak out. lol
Cause if BO is in danger of losing her mojo than that is pretty sad indeed.
Yikes! I can’t believe Black Orchid vanished like that! Did you have lotion on that might have somehow absorbed it?
I love how perfume changes on skin, too. Another annoying thing I hear sometimes is when someone touts that a perfume “stays just the way it smells now.”
I wasn’t wearing anything different than the usual.
It really was alarming to me. lol
And it made me kinda sad about how it seems everything is getting watered down to the point of nothing.
I cherish and treasure what I do have but wish I hadn’t given my BO backups to my oldest daughter who also loves it. lol ????????????
I’m anxious to purchase more of my beloved URC when Andy brings it back and hoping against hope it is still the same powerhouse I adore.
I love Une Rose Chyprée, too. I used my decant up faster than I’ve used up any since.
I like them to last nine hours (until the end of my work day). Some do, but most do not. Today I sprayed some Tom Ford Neroli Portofino Acqua and I can still smell it on my left wrist (but it’s much fainter on my right wrist for some reason).
Are you right-handed? I’ll bet it’s where your right wrist rubs against paper, your mouse pad etc. during the day.
Oh, good point. You’re a regular Nancy Drew.
Ha – ha. I had to figure out the same thing for my own wrists!
I’ve been known to bring decants to work so I can switch horses perfume-wise partway through the day. But I understand the logic of wanting one that lasts 9 hours!
HI Angela-thanks for posting about this topic
I have a hard time with this because with some fragrances, I am sure its still there, but my nose can’t detect it, but other people around me can.
I remember when I bought Cruel Intentions by Killian, good God, that was 24 hour fragrance. I never repurchased, but I got my moneys worth..that was way too long, but I enjoyed the journey.
This morning around 7:30 am I sprayed Santal 33, its still going strong..I am happy with this longevity.
Last week I tried Teo Cabanel’s Barkhane. The opening was a nice, big and loud.. but it faded into a skin scent very soon after, and I wanted more more more!
I read an article a while ago about how fragrances these days are having notes explode on you with in the first 15 minutes sort of like “speed dating” for people shopping for perfume. This is about how long it takes the consumer to make a purchase…say if you are shopping at your local department store.
I think the “speed dating” thing is very real, and fragrance shoppers should always give a perfume half an hour on skin at a very minimum before buying! (Um, I’ll just pretend I’ve never bought bottles untried completely…)
Hi Angela,
I totally agree with you about Chanel 28 La Pausa. It’s gorgeous – vanillic, rooty and buttery iris. But after 30 minutes I couldn’t smell it at all. If it lasted for at least 4 hours, a bottle would be in my posession. I’m not willing to pay quite a lot for something that will be “gone with the wind”
I usually wear fragrances that can stay with me through the day in a lab as I don’t carry any samples, decants or travel sizes in my bag.
In the summer however I like to have a shorter lived scent on me (and most citruses are like that) so I can re-apply the same uplifting citrus or wear a different one after work.
There is something nice about being able to reapply a refreshing scent in the heat. It’s so cooling.
I agree with you completely on 28 La Pausa!
I find Prada Purple Rain to have some similarities to 28 La Pausa and it definitely lasts longer.
Nice tip!
La Pausa lasts on me but I don’t much like it. Isn’t that always the way…
There should be some sort of “perfume law” named for this phenomenon. Maybe we should call it “Mrs Dalloway’s law.”
I like perfume with powerful sillage and persistence, that’s why you’ll never see me wearing super expensive Hermessence fragrances that last half hour to 45 minutes at best! I think I might as well wear nothing or a nice deodorant instead.
Most potent perfumes of my collection are vintage Narcisse Noir and OPIUM edt, Nahema and No5 in parfum, JOY, Boucheron and YSL PARIS in edp, vintage Patou Adieu Sagesse Ma Collection edt… I’m sure there are others as well
I bet you have a show-stopping personality, too! That’s fabulous.
Is persistence something you specifically look for — or think about — in a fragrance?
-Absolutely! There are a lot of fragrances that I adore, but I won’t buy them if they don’t last on me. I am extremely “heavy-handed” when it comes to fragrances….not only do I spray it all over my body, but I also spray the front and back of my clothes as well.
What perfumes have you found wear forever, and which ones peter out too soon for your taste?
Wear forever:
-Bronze Goddess Whipped Body Cream; not the perfume
-Pear & Olive (gotta get me some more of this )
-Santal Blush
-Chloe
-Nectarine Blossom and Honey
-Jasmine White Moss
Peter out too soon:
-Misia
-Satura Cherry Blossom
(just to name a few)
Thank you! I’m sure readers will see this is as great information, too.
Now I need to re-test Misia. I feel like it lasted a while on me, but now I’m not sure.
Bronze Goddess body lotion lasts days which is a shame. It is so over powering that I almost never put it on. I love it for a few hours but after that it’s just too much.
That’s kind of funny, in a way. You’d think that something “beachy,” like Bronze Goddess, wouldn’t last so long.
Greatcpost. I have perfume prolonging skin, even 8 sprays La Pausa (copyright Hajusuuri) is still gorgeous after 8 hours. So perfumes can get pushy with me. Ideal world be 8 hours but I often get 12 or more. I often hope to find a post that makes suggestions with sequel scents, as an example which scent can I wear after La Pausa when she is still there but I want a different scent in the evening, or which scent after Ostara when it is noticeable.
PS Angela I’m not sure if I did let you know how much I love Journey which I smelled and bought after your review. It is in my top 3. The other day a Dutch perfume blogger (very funny and knowledgeable he is a Dutch Luca Turin I suppose) wrote such a good review, praising it highly. I wish you could read Dutch!
I’m so glad you like Journey! I admit I bought a bottle, too. I’d think about spraying some on now, except that I’m wearing Habanita–talk about a perfume that never says die.
Ha! Here I am thinking no one pays attention to my personal perfume “pronouncements”. I guess I repeat the 8 sprays I use every time I wear La Pausa that people remember 🙂
See! You’re making a difference out there!
You’re so lucky that your skin loves 28 La Pausa! Good for you.
I like a middle ground of four hours for a perfume to last. I am a heavy sprayer, and I enjoy reapplying. I also like to be able to switch it up if I want. I think my longest lasting perfume is Alien, and Coco. Longest lasting ever for me, Vintage Opium, and Vintage Dune.
You sound like me–that’s about the length of wear I like, too.
for fragrances I wear to the office, I must have at least 6+ hours longevity (more than 6 is best, so I can be scented all day).
anything that lasts less than 2 hours literally pisses me off and I won’t buy it.
for evenings and weekends when I can reapply, i’m okay with perfumes lasting about 3-4 hours, because when I’m not in the office, I’m more experimental and tend to want to switch to something else.
That is pretty much word for word what I was thinking of writing. The only thing I’d add on my own behalf is that I love when a longer lasting perfume displays different notes over time, rather than being entirely linear. :^)
I definitely love a perfume with canny twists and turns!
Good point about how what you’re doing during the day can influence the kind of persistence you want your perfume to have!
Yes and yes – now that I can’t respritz at work it is more important than ever to have something with staying power for working-stiff days.
I’m feeling your pain!
I understand what you’re all saying about perfume needing to last, but I find I don’t really care if it doesn’t. All friends have one or two annoying habits, but I love them anyway. So with my perfumes: they behave as they do. If they disappear, I spray again when I remember to. If they have a tendency to hang about, I choose days when that’s a good thing,though in principle, I’m with Angela. I like to spray, enjoy, farewell and move on. Side note: I seem to do better with the Chanel elusive Exclusifs than many of you. I get at least 4 hours from 28 LP and a working day from Bel Respiro. Skin chemistry is just mad!
Coromandel must last all week on you, then!
I love how you compare perfume to friends, annoying habits and all.
I must try La Pausa- I’m an Iris fiend, but haven’t been in any hurry to try this one as so many people only get half an hour from it..
I do have scent eating skin tho, so it probably would disappear, still I think I will hunt it down now any way, you never know, it could be a wonderful (sticking!) surprise.
My fingers are crossed for you!
On days that I work ( I work in retail), I want my perfume to last at least 5 hours. On days off, I really don’t care if they last 3 hours. But if it lasts 8 hours, it’s almost too long for me.
I feel the same. I’ve been wearing Habanita for a good 6 hours now, and it shows no sign of flagging. Meanwhile, I’m ready to move on.
One spritz of EL Azuree (the original) lasts and lasts. It is really a parfum concentration. So does Vol de Nuit extrait. Tragically, G of the Sea lasts for what seems like mere seconds. I’m surprised at the lack of longevity of your Samsara, Angela. It’s supposed to be on your pillow the next day!
I have no problem with spraying a different fragrance on later in the day. It’d be tidy if it were in the same ball park as the AM juice, but I’m not fussy. WTH! Sometimes I put on a Lolita Lempicka and then pick a different deeper Lolita for evening.
Maybe I didn’t put enough Samsara on! I love the idea of it leaving a trail on the pillow–at least, conceptually I do.
I love Vol de Nuit, especially in extrait. So lovely.
Like others, it depends on my day. Often I am good with 4-5 hours and I can reapply or change perfumes, but when I have really long working outside of the house days, which can get up to twelve hours, I need something that is both tenacious *and* won’t blow people out of the room early in the day. This is when I reach for Une Rose or PoaL.
I think there used to be (like, in the 1950s) more of a vogue for carrying travel vials of perfume in your purse to freshen up. It’s not a bad idea.
Yes POAL is good for a full day, with beautiful but moderate silage (on me).
That’s such a good one, too. I always forget about it.
Fun and interesting post!
In my imaginary world, it would be nice to make settings on a perfume wearing, like for work, projection = 2, longevity = 10. For those days when I might want to switch up, projection = 6, longevity = 2. Ha, nice dream!
In reality, 4-6 hours is plenty but I can’t help but be impressed by 16-24 hour longevity even when I don’t need it.
I have to comment on La Pausa though. Without exaggerating, it lasts only on the trip from the sprayer to my wrist and it is a divine 5 seconds but after that it completely disappears on me. Hermessences are powerhouses in comparison!
I’d love it if we could dial in our own sillage and persistence! That would be perfect.
It’s so sad about La Pausa! Maybe it’s simply meant to be spritzed on pillowcases for sweet dreams.
As a rule: 9 to 5 is perfect for me 🙂 But, it has to develop. The volatile, shrieking, sometimes difficult notes must give way to something richer that is there to say, ‘This is me, your Bois des Îles,’ and then, with a last gasp, die with the dignity of balsams.
Other than that, I don’t mind the longevity much so long as it stays beyond 3 to 4 hours.
I love “die with the dignity of balsams”! And I completely relate to your comment.
Angela, do you like the top-heart-base development in the classical style like BdI or Ma Griffe or the more static style like Tresor and Encre Noire?
I like the fragrances that develop as they go, like Bois des Iles or Ma Griffe (which, by the way, vanishes on me even in extrait). Chamade is a good one for telling at least three stories as it wears.
To each his own, but in my book nobody beats the Guerlains as classic perfumers.
I love the Guerlains, too. I really do.
Oh boy. I dab or spray around the décolleté, so it covers the neck and the shirt collar.
Oh, yes, the Guerlains, too. With Shalimar, one feels the top, heart, and base clearly.
Nice post, Angela!
I like perfumes I wear to last all day as in 12 hours since that is the average I am out and about on a work day. I refuse to reapply during the day and very rarely reapply even if I have an evening event. I experiment to see how long perfumes last and also how many sprays I can safely wear without asphyxiating myself and others in a confined space (“de train de train”).
Short-lived perfumes that I almost never wear on a work day due to its disappearing act (and which I really could not saturate myself with before I leave for work) include: CdG Red Carnation: 4 sprays = barely 2 hours., L’AP Safran Troublant: 8 sprays = 4 hours. I’ve never worn Chanel No. 5 to work but for travel, 3 sorays from my No.5 EDT travel atomizer gives me 2-3 hours of scented bliss without annoying my companions (or let’s just say no one had ever complained about me wearing No. 5).
I am glad and sad that there is someone else for whom ‘work day’ tends to mean twelve hours. I do have times I can work at home, so it isn’t constant, as it sounds like it is for you. Too much! Although I don’t have kids – the only way I can work these hours – and am in awe of those working outside of the house and raising kids. Perfume-wise, I do make decants of things for touch ups during the day. The heavy hitters are for conferences and super packed days when I don’t even have time for that.
You guys work long days! I hope you have long vacations where you can wear whatever perfume you want.
I’m with you on the long days. Too much!! And I have kids, two little ones. Gotta make this a better would for them.
Absolutely!
Gosh, 12 hours is a long day! Poor u, hope u can do a shorter day eventually.
Part of that 12 hours (and really, it actually goes to 14 hours quite often) includes commute time which I use to recharge my batteries. I have one long train ride for now and a 1.3 mile walk (my choice vs taking the subway). It’ll be a sad day when we move offices again (2017) because that commute is UGLY.
I groan for you. I’m glad you’ve figured out how to make your commute relaxing, though, and I love the idea of a good walk rather than a subway ride for that last leg.
Oof and sorry to sound so whiny in the worst ‘no one works as hard as me’ way! I’m just tired!
I can understand why you’re tired! That’s a long day.
You’re lucky to find fragrances that last that long a day! Why don’t you want to reapply? Is it just too awkward at work? (Or maybe too much planning?)
Technically, my company has a fragrance-free policy but it is never enforced. I spray and walk into the mist and I don’t like to get perfume on clothes so it is not practical in a “public” bathroom 😉
Oh yeah, I can see how that wouldn’t work!
Like others here, how much longevity I want depends on what I am doing that day. If it is a work day, it would be nice to be able to have 8 hours or so, at least some of the time. I say it would be nice, as very few perfumes last that long on me. I refuse to take a bottle to work with me, and I haven’t gotten around to making decants of everything I own. What I will do is keep a couple of decants or samples in my purse, then if my perfume peters out after a few hours, I will apply something else.
On days off, when I have access to my entire collection, I don’t mind less longevity, as long as it is reasonable. Anything less than 2 hours, though, and I will not buy it unless it is something like an EdC that is only intended to last a short time. This is the trouble I have with so many natural perfumes; they disappear quickly on my skin, sometimes in less than an hour. I love Secret Garden, not only because it is beautiful, but because it is one all natural that lasts a good 3 to 4 hours.
The longest lasting thing I have ever tried, and the only perfume ever to survive through a shower on my skin, is vintage Secret de Venus perfume oil. That stuff is good for 24 hours or more.
I guess if I had to choose an “ideal” length of time, it would be around 4 or 5 hours.
Well, I can tell you that Habanita lasts a good, long time. Whew. I’m ready for something else.
Isn’t Secret Garden lovely? I do like that one.
I generally believe in the long staying parfums- something that stays on for 30 minutes annoyed me a lot.
I was at Neiman Marcus the other day and decided to explore some of the Guerlain fragrances. I asked the SA how long it lasts and his answer was ‘oh very long’. So I asked him to clarify what he means by long – and he have me this blank look. Being an annoying person I am I gave him multiple choices and apparently in his mind 2-4 hours is long. That is sad
It sounds like he had no idea what he was talking about, too. L’Heure Bleue is usually good for at least 5 hours on me, and many of the other Guerlains are persistent, too.
If I can get 4 hours from a perfume I’m thrilled. Most are gone in an hour or two regardless of how many sprays I do. I usually spray at least 10 times. There are a handful of scents I spray less but those are the real heavy hitters. I’m okay with perfumes that don’t last all day and night because I get to use more perfume and change it up midday. Less than an hour makes me mad but I usually designate those as bedtime scents so they fade out about the same time I do.
Your skin must vaporize perfume on contact! You should be studied by the perfume industry for secrets on making it last.
Angela, I loved reading your thoughts on fragrance longevity. And the comments are fascinating. I love reading about everyone’s FPQs (fun perfume quirks).
I tend to enjoy scents that disappears in an hour or two. Eau de Cologne, Jean Nate (oh yes please), several of the Hermessences, citrus and lavender essential oils, all are great for me. I also like scents that have a light to moderate life of 3 to 4 hours. When I finally understood the Infusion d’Iris veil of scent idea, I recognized that a big part of the appeal is that it hits the perfect time mark for me.
I admit I have a bias against very long lasting fragrances. It seems that the scent bits that stick around the longest are often those that smell unnatural, metallic, muddy, or less pleasant to me. (I’m looking at you, Alien.)
Six hours of the same scent can be ok, but longer than that can make my nose tired. But “homeopathic” doses of heavy hitters like Youth Dew make me happy, so there’s hope in every bottle. 🙂
Hey, I never thought of using perfume in a homeopathic approach! There’s something to be said for an overdose of what ails you.
I completely understand with preferring fragrances that don’t stick around as long, though.
I tend to wear 28 la Pausa on days when I want a quick uplift in the morning and want to smell “clean” (but not in a laundry musk way), and don’t want my perfume to be obvious at a meeting later in the day or the like. Also, I spray it on the nape of my neck, where it last longer on my hair, and sometimes on my chest spraying under whatever top I’m wearing that day, and the fabric absorbs some and holds it longer. I find it very useful for certain days and occasions.
I think longevity is a bit overrated and only abets the trend toward loud, blunt synthetics. Of course, I’m rather fickle and don’t want to smell the same thing for hours on end anyway. 😉
I love your approach of loading up on La Pausa on the chest and nape. That’s a great way to wear it!
I am surprised at the amount of you who are happy with 3-6 hours because, in general, people want for the perfume to last at least 12 hours and to project like crazy 8 hours.
For me, I like for most of them to last 8 hours (a working day) and to project at an arm’s length. I’m fine with some fragrances to last 4-6 hours, but in rare cases. And there is an unsatisfying feeling when I buy an expensive niche that becomes a skin scent in one hour and it’s gone in 4…
I guess I’m more fickle than you! Seriously, though, I do understand your point. I bet you love Amouage. Most of them stay vigorous for hours and hours on my skin.
I have tried a few from Amouage and the house doesn’t really click to me. The most interesting was Dia and that seems to be one of their poorest performing stuff 🙂
I guess I’m not that much into their incense based theme.
I’m a vetiver guy and the other preferred notes are oud and leather.
I’ve had trouble with leather sticking around on skin, but oud seems to last a while, and vetiver can.
On weekends I enjoy testing and changing, but usually I leave home before 7 am and come back at 7pm, and I want my perfume to last and keep me good company through the day. Mysoginist academic environment makes reapplying a bad political move, let’s put it this way. Amouages and classic Guerlains usually do the deal, and I am fiendshly liberal in application. Many Hermès and Chanel Exclusifs (hey, 28 la Pausa) fail to stand by me, alas.
Such a long day! I wonder if a discreet solid perfume could get you through the dry stretches? Of course, there aren’t that many on the market.
That’s a nice suggestion…
I’m with Waterdragon on this one, some last some don’t. However, if very expensive, I want some wear out of them, 4 hours at least. Which is why a number of Chanel Exclusifs are a no no. I love smelling La Pausa but it’s gone in the blink of an eye, and I have real trouble smelling 31 Rue Cambon at all.
On the whole I prefer the bigger Guerlains and Amouages, but then again, L’Artisan and Hermès have created some of my favourites. Having lots of different scents is still my idea of heaven, and thankfully I can pretty wear anything at work.
I’m lucky, too, to have an easygoing office, and I try to keep my sillage personal. I have a few samples in a desk drawer, and I usually have a mini or a decant in my purse.
I have scent glue skin so I usually only apply 1 or 2 sprays. It doesn’t have to project much since I enjoy sniffing my arms but any perfume has to last at least 6 hours on me (low end is for all-narural perfumes)
It sounds like your skin really helps you out with the longevity, fortunately!
Also, I have to like every minute of a scent since I don’t have the luxury of a too sharp top being gone in 5 minutes.
Good point!
I wish I knew more about skin chemistry and why some skin hangs on to scent while other people burn right through it.
I really want a perfume to last 4-6 hours or more, if It’s a favourite.
This used to be an absolute rule, but I’m more flexible as my love and knowledge of perfumes has grown (not that I’m terribly knowledgeable) I can except 4 hours for a relatively expensive niche perfume, only if I really love it.
My greatest joy in a new sample is if I absolutely love it, and it lasts, and the silage is noticeable (I’m looking at u Journey!)
I’m beginning to appreciate quieter scents tho, and Après L’Ondee is on my to buy list even tho it only lasts an hour, if it cost more, it wouldn’t be tho.
Songes, POAl, Fille de Berlin , Journey, Fleur de Cassie and L’Air de Rien are favourites for me in terms of both scent and excellent tenacity.
Like others have said tho, on a relaxed day at home, it’s nice to wear a shorter lived one that can be changed, and I’m more forgiving for spring/summer perfumes too.
You bring up such a good point about the seasons. Something about cold weather seems to demand longer-lasting, thicker fragrances, but it seems all right in warm weather to wear something more fleeting.
I am a heavy sprayer and I want my scent to last 6-8 hours. I will compromise a bit if I really love it, but it must not be horribly expensive. I get 12-14 hours out of many of my Tauers, and not surprisingly I am a big fan of Amouage.
The Tauers–those I’ve tried, at least–really do seem to have great longevity.
Linear scents: 2-3 hours. Otherwise, if a perfume follows a carefully orchestrated trajectory of notes revealed over time, 4-6 hours are good. Like you, I enjoy making a change later in the day and I know what will work with any residual drydown. Or sometimes I spray more of the same. It’s nice to have the option.
No, longevity is not a selling point–probably the opposite.
I like that differentiation: that scents with development are nice when they last–and develop–longer.