Which perfume lasts longest? Experts explain the 3 simple rules of making a scent stick around

Asking which perfume lasts longest is a bit like asking which cocktail tastes most delicious. Certain qualities will make a scent linger - composition, percentage of fragrance oil, and evaporation rates - but so much comes down to your personal taste.  

It's worth doing your homework to find the best perfume for women that really lasts. You can apply it before breakfast and continue enjoying it all day. You won't need to carry a clunky glass bottle around or worry that it's going to explode in your bag. Plus, you can avoid being that person filling a confined public space with a throat-burning fug of freshly-spritzed scent.

As with most beauty decision-making, it's best to apply a blended approach of facts and feelings here. So I've consulted fragrance experts to equip you with a solid knowledge base of notes, styles, and fragrance types. Then, you can filter your new know-how through your personal preferences and select the long-lasting perfume of your dreams.

Step 1. Consider concentration

"Different concentrations of perfume will last different lengths of time, and bear in mind that most fragrances last longer on clothing than on skin," write Sarah McCartney and Samantha Scriven in The Perfume Companion: The Definitive Guide to Choosing Your Next Scent.

Many of us are now navigating how to buy perfume online, making it particularly useful to understand concentration. "Typically, concentrations have different styles," explains Nick Gilbert, founder of private fragrance house Olfiction and Boujee Bougies. Here is Gilbert's handy cheat sheet: 

• Cologne: "Colognes are fresher, based around citrus and herbs, and anywhere between 3-5% of fragrance oil"
• Eau de toilette: "EDT is also a fresher take, with anywhere between 8-15% fragrance oil."
• Eau de parfum: "EDP tends to focus more on the heart notes and warmth of a fragrance, with around 12-20% fragrance oil."
• Pure parfum (or extrait): "Parfum is concentrated on the heart and base of a fragrance—usually 20-30%, and wears more closely to the skin."
  

Knowing these definitions will help you understand which perfume lasts longest, but it isn't the whole story. "The important thing to remember is that it isn’t just the concentration that impacts longevity, but the combination of ingredients used that helps the scent last on the skin," says Gilbert.

Step 2. Look for notes that linger

When it comes to which perfume lasts longest, it pays to understand notes. "The industry has developed the 'Notes Pyramid' as a way of explaining what something smells like," explain McCartney and Scriven.

"In shops, when you ask what’s in a perfume, they’ll often list three top notes, three mid notes, and three base notes. Top notes are most volatile and will float away first, perhaps after thirty minutes or so. Mid notes will last up to four hours, and base notes linger the longest, eight hours or more." And which perfume notes promise the best longevity?

• Woods: You'll find these in the base of many scents because they boast superior lasting power. "Woody notes and musky notes are all made of big molecules that require a lot more energy to warm up off the skin, so they last a lot longer than citrus, which is made of small molecules that zing off the skin. I personally love sandalwood for longevity, as well as iris and resins," says Gilbert.
• Rich florals: These tend to sit in the middle of the pyramid. With flower-based notes, heady, fleshy notes like jasmine and tuberose tend to have superior longevity to crisp neroli or fresh 'green' notes like lily of the valley.
• Resins and herbs: The best oud perfumes are a modern-day fragrance phenomenon, made from resinous wood and are popular in the best men's cologne for superior longevity and a distinctive 'notice me' aroma. Anyone who lived through the 1970s can attest that once there's a whiff of perfumes with patchouli in the air, its sweetly earthy aroma is hard to shake off.

If cross-referencing notes to find the ones that last sounds complicated, don't worry. Good perfumers take the guesswork out by matching long-lasting ingredients with stronger, more concentrated fragrance compositions.

"You’re unlikely to find a citrus-based parfum because natural citruses leap up and bounce away quickly no matter how much you use," confirm McCartney and Scriven. "They’re more likely to be found in eau de colognes and as the top notes for stronger blends. Likewise, perfumers would put deep, balsamic labdanum into a stronger blend because it will last."

Step 3. Apply your scent so it lasts

The way you treat your scent will also maximise its ability to linger. Many experts recommend fragrance layering by scenting your clothes and hair as well as on the skin for extra longevity. You can also try rubbing a little Vaseline into the skin and spraying your perfume onto that, as the occlusive (moisture blocking) qualities of petroleum jelly will 'trap' the fragrance molecules. 

"If you find a fragrance doesn’t last on you, It’s usually the result of dry skin," says Gilbert. "Try using a moisturizer to help increase longevity. An unscented moisturiser can be used with absolutely any fragrance, but if your perfume has a matching body lotion it is worth using that alongside the perfume, as you’ll have more of the scent on and some of it is locked into the moisturiser too." 

The way you store fragrance counts, too. "Light and heat make perfume degrade, so for a favourite that you save for best and only use occasionally, keep it in the dark, in its box for example," say McCartney and Scriven.

"Then, as you get towards the end of the bottle, speed up and empty it; there’s no point hanging on to the last few millilitres of a sad, dark, sticky liquid. If it’s an everyday fragrance that’s only going to be around for a few months, free it from the box and keep it on your shelf."