How to Apply Perfume

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A perfume can be a delicious whisper that reminds people “I’m here”—or a booming shout that hollers “Look! It’s me!” Make sure your signature scent is saying what you want it to.

Step 1: Use unscented toiletries
Use toiletries that are unscented or in the same scent as your perfume. You don’t want your shampoo, conditioner, soap, and deodorant to clash with each other–or your perfume.

Step 2: Moisturize
Moisturize, ideally with a lotion or body oil that has the same scent as your perfume. Not only does this layer the fragrance, which helps it last throughout the day, but scent adheres to moisturized skin better than it does to dry.

Tip
The best time to apply moisturizer is when you step out of the shower or bath and your skin is still damp.

Step 3: Spray & walk through
If you have a perfume bottle with a spritzer, then just before getting dressed, spray the perfume into the air in front of you at chest level, pause, and then walk through it. This will give you an even, all-over scent.

Step 4: Apply to pulse points
Apply the fragrance to any of your pulse points, where the warmth of your body helps project the scent more: behind your knees, the inside of your wrists and elbows, at the base of your throat, and behind your ears.

Tip
Perfume your hair, which will trap the scent and release it slowly all day, and your ankles, where it can rise.

Step 5: Reapply scent
Plan to reapply your scent after around 4 hours, but ask someone else to confirm that you need to. Because the nose becomes accustomed to smells over time, you’ll probably think the scent has worn off before it really has.

Step 6: Use lighter version in summer
Since heat and humidity intensify smells, use a lighter version of your perfume–like just a lotion, the cologne, or the toilette–in summer. Save perfume and parfum, which have higher concentrations of the scent, for winter.

Warning
Don’t apply perfume that isn’t alcohol-free before going to the beach–it can irritate your skin.

Step 7: Pick a new scent
Pick a new scent for a very special occasion or for a vacation, and wear it only during that time. Later, when you smell the perfume, your brain will associate it with the event, and you’ll be flooded with memories.

Did You Know?
The medieval town of Grasse, France, is the perfume capital of the world.