Hair: Perfume tends to latch on to fibre, which is basically what your hair is made of. But the trick is to avoid spraying a mist directly on your hair because the alcohol content in your perfume will dry your mane out. Instead, spray it on your comb and brush your hair with that.
Inside of the elbow: The wrist? Good. The inside of elbow? Better. Because this is a pulse point, and since it is tucked away in the bends of our arms, the diffusion of the spirit is concealed, giving it a misty, subtle effect. Says Rasika Bhide, a perfumerwith a leading manufacturer of fragrances, “Coco Chanel once said that a woman should apply perfume in those areas where she would like to be kissed. While that is true in some cases (and utterly French), pulse points should be your guidelines for applying perfume. These are locations on the body where the blood vessels are closest to the skin. These spots emanate heat, which helps fragrance project from your skin into the air around you.”
Behind the top of your ears: As opposed to behind the lobes, which you thought were the perfect perfume points of your body, you should be spraying mist behind the top of your ears. And that’s because this spot is oilier than the lobes, and oil tends to hold on to perfume better, helping it to diffuse for longer. Also, back of our ears are pulse points, too. Make-up artiste and stylist Abhijit Paul says, “Smell can create memory. If you spray perfume behind your ears, when you hug someone, the person instantly takes a breath of your scent and forms a bond with you.”
Behind the knees: The previous principal about pulse points applies here, too. In addition to that, remember how we learnt in school that heat rises? So, the fragrance, accentuated by the warmth of the skin behind your knees, will rise around you throughout the day, keeping you fresh.
Belly button: Yes, you read that right. It’s like a coop for the perfume to nest and project itself. The belly button radiates a lot of heat, which is perfect for the fragrance to dissipate better. Guess who swears by this trick? Liv Tyler.
Pro Tips
1. Spray, do not rub. Rubbing actually breaks down the molecules of the perfume and ruins its aroma.
2. If a perfume is too strong for your mood on a day, spray a wall of it in the air and walk through it. It will cover your body evenly and leave a hint of the scent.
3. Do not spray your perfume on your clothes. Bhide stresses, “In India, people mostly put their perfume on clothes. That is wrong. You are supposed to spray them directly on your skin for them to work their best.”
4. Do not buy a perfume based on how it smells on someone else. Amit Sarda, aroma expert who works primarily with alcohol-free scents, says, “The point you should keep in
mind while buying a perfume is your lifestyle. If you work under a lot of stress and perspire a lot, you should chose a perfume whose top notes are strong, thus accounting for your body’s natural smell. How a perfume projects itself on someone depends on their physiology, which is unique for every human being.”
Did you know?
Every fragrance has three layers, known as the Fragrance Pyramid. Top notes — the scent that you smell immediately after applying, which is made of the most volatile molecules. This is what forms your initial impression of a fragrance. Heart notes — the scent that appears after the top notes have worn off. This one is the true scent of the fragrance, which is often more solid. The base notes — the heaviest layer that lingers on for the longest time, giving the fragrance its ability to bind all the three notes together.