Can you make natural perfume last longer?

As natural perfume makers, we get asked this frequently. Are there ways of spritzing on the fragrance and making it last all day, without reapplying? It’s a difficult one as natural perfume, if it lives up to its name and is made with only natural plant and flower oils and resins, doesn’t contain any synthetic chemicals. And the perfumes that do last the longest are, I’m afraid, the ones that contain synthetic ingredients as they are made to last longer. I am not a huge fan of the perfumes that cling on for 24 hours, as they have a slightly ‘cloying’ hit that makes me feel a little queasy.

Think differently about perfume

So with that in mind, I guess we’re asking our perfume wearers to think differently about perfume. To understand that wearing a fragrance that is aligned with nature is going to be more organic in its behaviour and will not last as long as some of the more well known commercial perfumes. So that’s a choice to be made right there - how bothered are you about ingredients and sustainability?

Things to do to help your natural perfume last

As natural ingredients can react with light and heat, it’s advisable to keep your perfume in its box and in a cool place. Then you’re off to a good start! You might notice the perfume becomes more light and golden with time and this is totally natural.

Best places to spritz

There’s a reason why we put perfume on our pulse points - inner wrists for example as the skin is thinner here and therefore it’s a warmer area for the ingredients to develop. We like to spritz on clothes and hair as the scent tends to last longer and has a slightly different Impact.

Best if you let the natural oils in your skin react

If you like to apply perfume after a shower or bath, apply some natural oil as perfume will evaporate quickly on non hydrated skin. Ideally, apply when your skin has settled a little and your own natural oils have had time to develop. In the evening for example, the perfume can have an entirely different scent when it blends with your own oils.

Remember your perfume is made up of notes

When you first spray on your perfume, the top notes will meet you - for Jones and Modha, these are uplifting, bright citrus green scents of bergamot, grapefruit, orange mandarin. As with all perfumes, these top notes are lighter and evaporate quickest, leaving the middle and base notes to develop and settle. So after a while, you will be getting these more spice / warm / green notes as they mix with your own skin oils. This is the pleasure of perfume, being able to sense the notes as they develop and settle. The speed of this depends on your temperature, the outside temperature, how hydrated your skin is etc. We love the organic nature of all this playing together to create something wonderfully original every time. You can get to know your perfume with time and delight in the way it progresses.

Enjoy the journey

As with nature, there will always be an organic unpredictability with natural perfume. Enjoy the first spritz of the day as a ritual where you gather your thoughts and find clarity and uplift. Revisit the scent on your body later and discover how it is responding. At other moments in the day you may wish to revisit the uplifting feeling with another spritz. It’s such a wonderful ritual and there’s a sort of ceremony to it all, as you feel at one with your environment.

With each spray of your natural perfume, you’ll be discovering a new way of thinking about perfume.