You’ve found your perfect scent, maybe it’s a seductive, high-quality dupe that smells like luxury, or perhaps it's your signature everyday fragrance. But no matter how much you love it, the biggest lie in the perfume world is that it will last all day.
If your beautiful perfume disappears before your morning coffee, don't worry, the problem isn't the fragrance, it's the technique!
As Australia’s dupe experts, we know that getting value means getting longevity. By mastering a few simple hacks, you can ensure The Sweetest Lie lingers from your first spritz until your last late-night rendezvous.
Here are the 7 essential secrets to making your perfume last longer.
1. The Moisture Foundation: Hydrate Your Skin First
This is the golden rule of fragrance longevity. Think of your skin like a sponge: dry skin is porous and rapidly absorbs fragrance oils, causing them to evaporate quickly. Moisturised skin provides a smooth, non-porous surface for the scent molecules to bind to.
The Hack:
- Apply an unscented, oil-based lotion or petroleum jelly to your pulse points (wrists, neck, inner elbows) before you spray.
- The moisturiser acts as a primer, clinging to the perfume oils and locking them in for hours.
- Pro Tip for Aussies: Apply your scent right after your shower while your pores are slightly open and your skin is clean and damp—then moisturise!
2. Hit the Hottest Spots: Your Pulse Points
Pulse points are areas where your veins are closest to the skin, generating the most heat. This warmth acts as a natural diffuser, gently pushing the scent outwards throughout the day.
Where to Spray for Maximum Sillage:
Wrists (but read tip #3!)
- Neck and Collarbones
- Behind the Ears
- Inner Elbows
- Behind the Knees (great for when you’re wearing a dress or shorts, as the scent wafts up)
3. The Biggest Mistake: Never Rub Your Wrists Together!
This common habit is the enemy of long-lasting fragrance. When you rub your wrists together, the friction creates heat, which essentially burns off the lighter, more volatile top notes of the perfume.
This speeds up the evaporation process and disrupts the delicate fragrance pyramid (the order of notes).
The Hack:
- Spray once on each pulse point and simply allow the fragrance to air-dry completely. Resist the urge to touch it!
4. Layer Like a Pro: The Art of Scent Building
For true all-day wear, build your fragrance from the ground up. This involves using multiple products from the same scent family (or an unscented base) to create a robust, complex foundation.
How to Layer:
- Shower: Use an unscented body wash.
- Moisturise: Use an unscented body lotion (see #1).
- Apply: Spray your dupe perfume.
- Finish: Lightly mist your hairbrush with your fragrance and run it through your hair. Your hair holds scent much longer than your skin!
5. Choose Your Formula Wisely: EDP is Your Friend
Not all fragrances are created equal. The concentration of fragrance oil (the "juice") directly impacts how long the scent lasts.
| Type | Oil Concentration | Typical Longevity |
| Eau de Parfum (EDP) | 15–20% | 4–8+ hours |
| Eau de Toilette (EDT) | 5–15% | 2–4 hours |
| Eau de Cologne (EDC) | 2–4% | 1–2 hours |
When looking for a dupe, always opt for the Eau de Parfum version. Our high-oil concentration EDPs are specifically formulated to give you the longest-lasting scent experience, delivering luxury longevity without the luxury price tag.
6. The Base Note Rule: Look for Woods, Spices, and Resins
Fragrances have three note layers (Top, Middle, Base). The Base Notes are the largest, heaviest molecules that evaporate the slowest. They are the anchors of your scent.
- Long-Lasting Base Notes: Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Vanilla, Amber, Patchouli, Oud, and Musk.
- Quick-Fading Notes: Light florals (like jasmine) and bright citruses (like lemon or bergamot).
If you want a scent that lasts all day, choose a fragrance with a robust, woody or oriental base, like our incredible dupe for MFK Baccarat Rouge 540—it’s packed with long-lasting Amber and Cedar!
7. Don't Store Your Scent in the Bathroom!
We know, a line of beautiful bottles on the bathroom vanity looks chic, but your steamy, fluctuating-temperature bathroom is a graveyard for fragrance.
Heat, light, and humidity break down the chemical bonds in your perfume, weakening the scent and drastically reducing its life span and longevity.
The Hack:
- Store your fragrances in a cool, dark, and dry place. A drawer, a closet, or their original box on a bedroom shelf is ideal. This preserves the integrity of the scent, ensuring every spray is as potent as the first.
