Almost everyone who wears perfume has experienced this: you apply your favourite scent in the morning, feel instantly put together, and by midday, it feels like it’s completely disappeared. According to Abdulla
Ajmal, CEO, Ajmal Perfumes, this is one of the most common concerns he hears and surprisingly, it has very little to do with the perfume itself.
“Over the years, I’ve had countless conversations with customers who feel their perfume just disappears too quickly,” he says. “And honestly, it’s rarely about the fragrance itself. Most of the time, it’s about a few simple habits that people either don’t know about or just overlook.”
It Starts With Your Skin
One of the biggest factors affecting how long a fragrance lasts is skin hydration. Perfume clings far better to moisturised skin than dry skin, which tends to absorb scent oils quickly.
“The biggest one is dry skin,” explains Abdulla Ajmal. “If your skin isn’t hydrated, it’s going to soak up the fragrance like a sponge. That’s why I always tell people to moisturise first. Just a simple unscented lotion makes a world of difference in how long your scent stays with you.”
Using an unscented moisturiser before applying perfume creates a smooth base, allowing the fragrance to sit on the skin and evolve gradually throughout the day.
The Right Way to Apply Perfume
Another widely overlooked habit is how perfume is applied. Many people instinctively rub their wrists together after spraying, a small gesture that can actually shorten the life of a fragrance.
“People spray and immediately rub their wrists together. While it feels natural, you’re actually crushing the fragrance molecules before they’ve had a chance to settle,” he says. The better approach is to spray and let the fragrance dry naturally.
While wrists and the neck remain classic pulse points, Abdulla suggests experimenting beyond the usual. Areas like behind the knees or the inside of the elbows generate warmth that helps diffuse scent more gently and last longer.
Where You Keep Your Perfume Matters
Longevity doesn’t just depend on how you wear fragrance, it also depends on how you store it. One of the most common mistakes is keeping perfume bottles in the bathroom.
“I see people keeping their bottles on bathroom counters, right next to the shower steam and sunlight coming through the window that’s the worst possible spot,” notes Abdulla Ajmal. Heat, humidity and light can break down fragrance molecules, altering the scent and reducing its lifespan.
A cool, dark drawer or closet shelf away from direct sunlight helps preserve the perfume’s original character for much longer.
Layering and Choosing the Right Concentration
Layering is another simple yet effective way to make fragrance last. Using a body lotion or oil from the same scent family helps build depth and gives the perfume more to cling to, resulting in a richer and longer-lasting effect.
Concentration also plays a role. An Eau de Parfum generally outlasts an Eau de Toilette because of its higher oil content, a detail worth keeping in mind when choosing a scent for longer wear.
Understanding Your Personal Chemistry
For Abdulla Ajmal, years of working with fragrance across different climates and cultures have reinforced one key idea: scent is deeply personal and rarely behaves the same way on two people.
“I always tell people that fragrance is really about personal chemistry,” he says. “The same perfume behaves completely differently on different people, and that’s what makes it beautiful. When you understand your skin, your daily habits, and even the weather you live in, the fragrance starts working with you instead of fading away.”
It’s a sentiment that echoes a much older understanding of scent. As Coco Chanel famously said, “A woman’s perfume tells more about her than her handwriting.” Fragrance, in that sense, isn’t just something you wear, it’s something that lives on the skin, shaped by how you care for it and how you move through the world.
Which is why making a fragrance last isn’t about spraying more or choosing something overpowering. As Abdulla Ajmal points out, these aren’t secrets just small, often overlooked habits learned from working with people across so many environments. Once you understand them, the entire fragrance experience changes.
