Yes, There's a Right Way to Apply Perfume, and You're Probably Doing It Wrong

If I had two minutes to leave my house, one thing is absolutely certain: I will not go anywhere without putting on my favorite fragrance. I used to think that just a quick spritz would be enough to last me throughout the day, but unfortunately, that's not the case. Even though it seems self-explanatory, there is a correct way to apply perfume, and you might be hampering your perfume's potential by spraying it wrong. 

"I like two different ways," says Bee Shapiro, founder of Ellis Brooklyn. "For richer, more intense scents, I apply to freshly moisturized skin on my pulse points. Your pulse points run warmer than other parts of your body, so it disperses scent better. I tend to do my wrists, sides of neck, and décolletage. For lighter scents, I also apply to my pulse points, but then I also do an overall mist on my clothes. This is because the top notes of lighter scents dissipate quickly on skin but oftentimes linger a bit longer on clothes."

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(Image credit: @emmahoareau)

Not only do the places you apply your perfume matter for the longevity of your scent, but the way you apply it also matters. "Hold the bottle between three to five inches from your body to get maximum coverage while still maintaining spray accuracy," says Camron Collard, head of fragrance discovery at sampling platform MicroPerfumes. For oil perfumes or roll-ons that don't spray, apply directly to your pulse points. 

Now that you're well versed in the art of perfume application, it's time to find your next signature scent. To help you out, I'm giving you a personally curated list to choose from. These are 15 of my absolute favorite scents of all time, and they all have a current spot on my perfume roster.

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(Image credit: @cassandra.cadwell)

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(Image credit: @rikkekrefting)

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(Image credit: @michellerosedrumm)

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(Image credit: @emmahoareau)

Next up, Salty Fragrances Are Sublime, and These 10 Are "I Can't Even Handle It" Good

Associate Beauty Editor

Katie Berohn is the associate beauty editor at Who What Wear. Previously, she worked as the beauty assistant for Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, and Prevention magazines, all part of the Hearst Lifestyle Group. She graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a major in journalism and minor in technology, arts, and media, and earned her master's degree at NYU's graduate program for magazine journalism. In addition, Katie has held editorial internships at Denver Life magazine, Yoga Journal, and Cosmopolitan; a digital editorial internship at New York magazine's The Cut; a social good fellowship at Mashable; and a freelance role at HelloGiggles. When she's not obsessing over the latest skincare launch or continuing her journey to smell every perfume on the planet, Katie can be found taking a hot yoga class, trying everything on the menu at New York's newest restaurant, or hanging out at a trendy wine bar with her friends.