Ever wondered how some people manage to smell incredible, no matter the time or occasion you cross paths with them? Well, we've got a few of those on our beauty team and thus have asked them - along with the fragrance experts - to drop their good-smelling secrets...
While the best long-lasting perfumes are often the first and most effective port of call for earning a chic scent-related reputation, there are, as it happens, a few other easy tricks to incorporate into your routine to push the boundaries of smelling great into incredible. After all, sometimes even the best perfumes for women need a little helping hand to reach their true potential and as a beauty team, we make it our business to know and then test out said tricks, to uncover the ones that work - and let's just say, we're no strangers to compliments on our scent's.
So, with that in mind, we've quizzed our colleagues - along with Floral Street's founder, Michelle Feeney - on the vetted (and potentially unknown) application methods they swear by...
6 things people who smell great always do
From applying moisturiser before perfume to spritzing on wet skin, there are several easy habits you can incorporate into your routine to help boost the longevity and overall impression of your signature fragrances. Six of which come expert recommended and team tried-and-tested...
1. Wear the matching hair perfume
RRP: £58 for 30ml | Notes: iris and musk
Featuring nourishing and protective camellia oil, the mist from Diptyque showers the hair in powdery florals and musky hints, to add an alluring air to your perfume and intensity to your Fleur de Peau parfum.
RRP: £60 for 75ml | Notes: pine needle, sandalwood, amber and fresh citrus
This perfume adds the delicate blends of Byredo's iconic Gypsy Water to your lengths, to add a subtle but fresh boost.
RRP: £34 for 50ml
If you're looking for a scent that radiates summer, you can find it in the honeyed nectar that is Gisou's hair perfume. It's sweet and lightly floral, making it perfect to layer with both gourmand and floral fragrances. It's also infused with honey (hence the name) and is designed to strengthen and add shine to your strands.
The first is a potentially pricey (depending on your go-to aromas) but very effective one: hair perfumes. Most well-established perfumes will also be available in a complimenting hair mist, which can help boost the impact of the notes whilst also clinging to your strands - meaning every time you flick your hair, you get a new burst of scent.
Woman&home's Beauty Editor, Stephanie Maylor swears by wearing Byredo's Gypsy Water with its matching hair perfume, noting that, "The perfume doesn’t project that well on me, so I find doubling up with the hair fragrance adds to the intensity."
Digital Beauty Writer, Naomi Jamieson also recommends this as a sure-fire way to make your signatures last: "Diptyque's Fleur de Peau is my go-to and while it's already a long-lasting scent in of itself, I find using the hair perfume in tandem helps to add an extra layer of intensity. I tend to do two, overall mists over my head and then one spritz on the hair at my nape."
2. Layer your scent with a body mist
RRP: £24 | Notes: pink dragonfruit, lychee, Brazillian jasmine, hibiscus, vanilla and sun musk
This mist can be sprayed on your body and is a favourite of our beauty team - especially among those who love sweet and floral scents.
RRP: £24 | Notes: Black amber plum, crème de cassis, jasmine, Brazilian orchid, vanilla woods and warm musk
If you're a lover of vanilla perfumes, this mist (which can be sprayed on your skin and hair) is perfect for layering.
RRP: £48 for 100ml | Notes: bluebell, clove buds, persimmon and white musk
Jo Malone London's Wild Bluebell is said to be Megan Markle's signature perfume and if you're also a fan of this iconic blend - or any of the brand's fragrance lineup - why not invest in a similarly-scented body mist?
Layering your perfumes is a well-established way to literally double-up on your scents but woman&home's Digital Beauty Writer, Sennen Prickett and Digital Beauty Editor, Aleesha Badkar, swear by one complimenting product in particular...body mist.
And not just any body mists, but the best Sol De Janeiro scents. Sennen tells us: "I always layer a body spray over the top of a perfume - usually Sol De Janeiro 40 (which always gets so many compliments) over the top of Glossier You or Kayali's Sweet Diamond."
Aleesha on the other hand opts for Sol De Janeiro 68, which she pairs with her long-time signature, Baccarat Rouge 540 - as they share similar scent profiles. She also adds that she likes to layer formats: "I'll put an eau de parfum or toilette on my skin and then spritz a similar smelling mist on my clothes and hair - or maybe even use a specific hair perfume if it has a similar impression to the perfume I've sprayed."
3. Apply a moisturiser first
RRP: £1.49
Digital Beauty Writer, Naomi Jamieson recommends this lightly scented body butter as the perfect base for your perfumes. It's dermatologically tested and absorbs easily, leaving your skin nourished but not greasy.
RRP: £9.99
To help your perfumes cling to your skin, a ultra-hydrating moisturiser like this one from E45 is a must-have in your routine - and is specifically designed for dry and sensitive skin.
RRP: £21
If you're looking for summery base - or already love Sol de Janeiro's scents, opt for one of the brand's Bum Bum cream.
Applying moisturiser before spritzing your favourite scent blends is another easy trick to ensuring they cling to your skin - and one Naomi cannot recommend enough.
"There's a reason why most popular brands also stock their hero fragrances in lotion or body oil form," she quips, before adding: "Personally, I always opt for a softly-scented cocoa butter, as I gravitate towards skin-scents and woody florals and find they compliment each other well, but I also highly recommend investing in your signature's corresponding lotion. Even if you just apply it to your pulse point, before spritzing your parfum or toilette."
Floral Street's Michelle Feeney also says to, "Make sure you moisturise regularly, as perfume won’t cling as well to dryer skin."
4. Spray on your skin *and* on your clothes
Now, we're going to preface this by saying that some perfumes can stain your clothes, so avoid this if you're wearing delicate fabrics (like silk) or if your perfume is tinted.
Senior Beauty Writer, Rhiannon Derbyshire says, "I always spray my clothes as well as my skin" and finds this really helps her scents to linger. Michelle Feeney also recommends trying, "spritzing fragrance onto collars and clothes, as that tends to help your fragrance have staying power."
5. Apply perfume behind your ears
This unconventional perfume application spot is one Sennen swears by for a lasting impression. Spraying perfume behind your ears, like with your wrists (and any other pulse point) can help your fragrances to radiant - and with the skin being slightly oilier back there, the notes will really cling. Be wary though, of spraying your perfume near any jewellery, as this can sometimes cause discolouration.
6. Don't rub your wrists together
At this point, rubbing perfume into your wrists is a well-known perfume mistake. As Feeney explains: "Perfume can be a delicate composition so rubbing your wrists together can ‘bruise’ the scent and it can sometimes actually change the way the fragrance smells," and recommends spraying your signatures onto your pulse points - allowing it to sink and dry down into the skin, naturally.
This tip might make us sound a bit like a broken record, but Naomi says that since axing the habit from her routine, she's genuinely noticed a difference: "I always used to rub my wrists together - mostly because I lacked the patience to wait for my perfume to dry - but since leaving each spritz to soak in on its own, I've genuinely noticed my scents lingering and remaining more potent throughout the day."
