colognes not lasting that long?
- Thread starter jonwilson
- Start date
That is the most annoying issue with fragrances!
Especially when you research a scent that has great longevity only to find when you buy it, it has been reformulated and is short lived.
Only way to be sure is to try them...
Especially when you research a scent that has great longevity only to find when you buy it, it has been reformulated and is short lived.
Only way to be sure is to try them...
You are correct that the order of strengths is eau de parfum, eau de toilette, then eau de cologne as the weakest. The strongest one of all, parfum, you did not mention. The French, I believe, set the concentration standards for these many generations ago, but I don't know if the standards are enforced round the world.
Strength translates somewhat into longevity. But it's not the primary reason for the different strengths.
Eau de colognes, eau de toilettes and eau de parfums will each of them last all day, and are intended to do so, but not on the body! The body will absorb, perspire, and neutralise any scent over time. Despite the age-old advice to put the scent on pulse points, the only way most fragrances truly last all day is to put them on clothing. Women have known this for ages. Just ask the wife. Women have been putting perfume on their clothing, hankys, scarves, etc. since before the French Revolution.
Most men, however, are reluctant to do so. Certainly, it has its drawbacks and limitations. Some brands and formulations can stain clothing. A scent, once applied, will remain until laundered off. Hence, handkerchiefs have been the most popular choice, as they are easily changed. On the plus side, a scent applied to cloth will always present its original scent profile. A scent applied to the body will be tainted by the body's own chemistry, and morph somewhat over time as it fades.
The difference in strengths pertaining to eau de cologne-toilette-parfum is the concentration of the essential oils, with the consequent increase in strength and cost, which to-day is not so much about longevity as the amount need to be applied to achieve the desired level of fragrance. Parfum comes in tiny bottles not merely because of its high cost but mainly because so little is expected to be used each time it is applied. Women who don't understand this invariably put too much on. Of course in olden times, people bathed much less and strong fragrances were fashionable amongst the wealthy. Perfume-strength fragrances are largely irrelevant to-day except when used very sparingly.
I don't believe solid cologne offers any greater longevity than a liquid one. It's just a different medium in which the essential oils are suspended.
The alcohol base also plays no role in longevity. It evaporates almost immediately upon application, leaving behind the fragrant components of the scent.
Of course, one's nose also becomes indifferent to a fragrance and perceives it to have faded more quickly than it really has.
Thank you for an excellent post.
You might try using a scentless moisturizer before perfume application or a fragrance primer like Linger or Canvas & Concrete.
Anyone have any experience with these fragrance primers?
I have not Victor (Zoologist Perfumes) recommended applying a layer of unscented moisturizer (Aveno if I remember correctly) as a fixative when I asked about increasing longevity.
My understanding is the brain once it identifies a scent as a non threat stashes/stores/ignores it to free up the resources to identify those scents that might represent a threat.
dave
dave
Ditto!
A weak perfume makes a weaker EdT or EdC. A strong perfume will make a strong EdT or EdC that will last quite long. So, the quality of the used basis, the perfume itself, is key. You can buy cheap EdP from the near or far east that will fade in minutes. Quality EdT will last nearly the whole workday.
Besindes the point to spray that stuff on your clothes (spray, stay, and walk away), you can apply it on top of vaseline, Nivea cream etc. on your body.
But, if the stuff isn't any good, no trick can really help. It's that what put me off most of the expensive designer fragrances you get nowadays. It's a constant story of reformulation. Make a product on the cash cow position even more profitable, and start to produce it much cheaper to sell it at the same price point. It's mostly cheap sh*t in an expensive bottle.
Besindes the point to spray that stuff on your clothes (spray, stay, and walk away), you can apply it on top of vaseline, Nivea cream etc. on your body.
But, if the stuff isn't any good, no trick can really help. It's that what put me off most of the expensive designer fragrances you get nowadays. It's a constant story of reformulation. Make a product on the cash cow position even more profitable, and start to produce it much cheaper to sell it at the same price point. It's mostly cheap sh*t in an expensive bottle.
I’ve tried going that route, only to confirm your finding. It’s better to put your cologne on after you’re dressed.
I’ve tried solid colognes too. What’s fantastic about solid colognes is, you can throw the tin in your pocket and reapply when necessary. I don’t however find they necessarily hold a scent any longer than anything else. And the risk of over applying is real.
At the end of the day, for me, I can’t tell if I still smell of my cologne, so reapplying can be spooky. Yesterday I went to the post office and the lady behind the counter asked me what I was wearing and wrote it down. She’s going to get it for her husband. When I got back in the car I asked my wife if she could smell my cologne. She couldn’t. Crazy.
Moreover, I haven’t found a solid cologne that I really enjoy. So there’s that.
I’ve moved my cologne collection out of my bathroom and into my bedroom on top of my dresser. I apply it after I get my undershirt on. Then I forget about it.
My brain doesn't seem to recognise the threat posed by colognes...to my wallet!
Brain plasticity over time may eventually evolve, a new neural network to detect such a threat to the pocket book.
By the time the scent of money disappearing is detected its often much too late to do anything about it.
dave
By the time the scent of money disappearing is detected its often much too late to do anything about it.
dave
from my experience, fragrances from shaving houses usually dont last that long with a few exceptions im sure. i haven't tried them all. if u want a fragrance to last long, go to a fragrance house. also trying them is a good idea as its a little different on everyone.
some houses let you purchase samples online, like maison francis kurkdjian
i used a bunch of ADP fragrances, wonderful smells, but it barely lasts half the day.
Wonderful post.
There's a good chance everybody else can still smell it after you think it's gone
Trumpers stuff is good, many of them last a good 8 hours or more. Wellington on particular is quite good, and so is their Fern.
An easy test to see whether you are afflicted with scent destroying skin, is to spray a reputedly long lasting scent on your wrist and on a piece of paper. Then compare the two in three hours time.
I usually use six sprays, not the one or two sprays recommended by the "less is more" nonsense advice.
For scents that have little lasting power on me, I double-dose, that is, spray six times on me, wait a few minutes, then spray exactly on top of where I previously sprayed. It works, but I use up a bottle at twice the rate.
If you don't want to go the moisturiser route, you can always just put six sprays on the outside of your shirt.
The reason you don't find many men's EDPs around is because men's fragrances often have a woody base to them, where the EDTs last longer than women's floral based EDPs.
Regards,
Renato
I usually use six sprays, not the one or two sprays recommended by the "less is more" nonsense advice.
For scents that have little lasting power on me, I double-dose, that is, spray six times on me, wait a few minutes, then spray exactly on top of where I previously sprayed. It works, but I use up a bottle at twice the rate.
If you don't want to go the moisturiser route, you can always just put six sprays on the outside of your shirt.
The reason you don't find many men's EDPs around is because men's fragrances often have a woody base to them, where the EDTs last longer than women's floral based EDPs.
Regards,
Renato
No doubt. Especially Interlude Man, a.k.a. Blue Beast. That one lasts 2 days on me. I'm not kidding.
Similar threads
