We’ve all been there — you spray your fragrance on in the morning, only for it to fade faster than your coffee buzz. It's the worst, and it may leave you wondering what the point of applying fragrance even is.
Today, we're exploring all of the secrets to making a scent last all day. Plus, you’ll learn about the layers in a fragrance and how they can help your favorite scent linger. We've also rounded up some powerhouse fragrances that'll keep you smelling incredible all day long.
What Types of Scents Last the Longest?
The first thing we should go over is the unsung heroes of perfumery: bottom notes. You don't need to get caught up in the complexities of developing a fragrance, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
A fragrance has three layers: the top notes, middle notes, and base notes.
Top note ingredients include scents like orange blossom and blackcurrant. While peony, cardamom, black orchid, and tuberose can be used as middle notes. Base notes include musk, ylang-ylang, ambrette, oud, and French vanilla.
Imagine your favorite scent as a song. The top notes are the catchy intro, with the middle notes as the heartwarming chorus, and the bottom notes are the grand finale. The show-stopping ending that lasts in your memory, except in this case, it's a scent that sticks around.
Basically, bottom notes are the MVPs when it comes to determining how long your fragrance will last. These ingredients are intense and the densest, ensuring they stay on the skin.
Let's go over some familiar scents used as base notes.
Sandalwood
Sandalwood not only adds a creamy, woody depth to your fragrance, but it also makes your scent last for hours. It’s a versatile ingredient that pairs well with both sweet scents and bright, citrusy scents for a range of different experiences.
Patchouli
Patchouli is the earthy base in the scent world — it's a warm scent that makes you want to get nice and cozy. Plus, most importantly, it refuses to fade away. Many people think they don’t like patchouli, but in reality, it’s usually a result of the way patchouli is being used. When it’s combined with the right scents and incorporated in a way that leans into its cozy feelings, patchouli is one of the best scent elements out there.
Musk
Musk and white musk are a go-to in so many fragrances… for good reason. Musk is subtle yet incredibly effective in adding longevity to your scent. The musk molecules cling to your skin, making you smell irresistible long after applying your perfume.
Vanilla
Let’s be real. Who doesn't love vanilla? From homemade sweet treats to lattes and beyond, vanilla is a fan favorite in many ways. However, it's not just for your favorite desserts and drinks — vanilla is a fragrance crown jewel that adds a delicious sweetness to your scent and makes sure it lingers.
Bergamot
Bergamot is a zesty option that’s popular for its fresh, citrusy nature, and its strength helps it leave a lasting impression. Plus, the energizing qualities make it a great addition to any fragrance.
Amber
Amber adds a warm, rich, and resinous quality to your scent, creating depth and fullness. It also has an amazing ability to hold onto the skin and linger.
What Are Some of the Best Long-Lasting Fragrances?
There are plenty of fragrances out there that will stick with you through thick and thin. As we know, the key to long-lasting perfumes is the ingredients.
The other factor that determines how long your scent lasts is how you apply it. Spritzing your perfume on your clothes won't get the job done.
However, applying the fragrance to your pulse points (your wrists, neck, behind the ears, and inner elbows) will help it linger. These areas of the body emanate heat, intensifying the scent and allowing the scent molecules to cling to the skin — being a little strategic about spraying your fragrance can help make sure it lasts all day. We also recommend applying some moisturizer to your skin, as this can help your scent stick and hang around longer.
All of that said, we have seven fragrance recommendations for you with serious staying power. Who knows, you might just find your new signature scent.
1. Way With Woods
With the endurance of sandalwood, musk, and amber, Way With Woods has the essentials to last from sun-up to sun-down. Plus, it features white tea, zesty mandarin, and earthy vetiver. This scent doesn't quit, making it your perfect companion for busy days.
Known for being a fan-favorite fragrance, Way With Woods is the kind of scent that you can wear any time and any place. It’s so loved because it has a fresh, earthy side that’s rounded out by the vetiver.
Ideal for: Long beach walks with your furry friend, grabbing mimosas with friends on a Saturday morning, your go-to hot yoga class
2. Sweet Ash
Sweet Ash wins the longevity game with patchouli, vanilla, and bergamot. That's not all, though — this lowkey, sweet fragrance is also enhanced with tonka bean, cedarwood, juniper, fir balsam, and white moss. The scent is sweet and subtle but will keep you coming back for more.
Ideal for: Road trips up the coast, summer evenings on the beach, morning walks, date night
3. Tart Deco
Tart Deco uses a dose of vanilla as the key to its lasting power. Vanilla perfumes tend to have a hint of sweetness, and this vanilla and cherry fragrance also blends the fruity scents of black cherry, raspberry, rose, jasmine, mimosa, birchwood, and vetiver. It's a juicy, sophisticated, gourmand-style scent that draws anyone in.
If you’re looking for a long-lasting scent that’s a throwback in a bottle, this is the fragrance for you. The sweet cherry notes pair perfectly with the florals and rich vanilla to make this scent equal parts elegant and fun.
Ideal for: A night out with friends, farmer’s market runs on the weekend, pool parties, game night
4. Me
Although it’s subtle, don’t let Me fool you. This skin scent has all the high-quality ingredients it needs to stay with you through the day and night. With a blend of orris, plum, peach skin, white moss, musks, and sandalwood, this is the kind of low-key scent that’s woody, musky notes will never get old.
Skin scents are fragrances that are specifically designed to smell like clean, fresh skin. If you can’t quite imagine that in practice, think of how good you smell right when you hop out of the shower. A skin scent captures that fresh, clean, intimate aroma.
In other words, it helps you smell like you (but a little better).
The beauty of Me is that it’s designed to interact with the specific chemistry of your skin. The result? The kind of fragrance that will smell deliciously unique on every wearer.
Ideal for: Blind first dates that your besties set you up on, strolling through an art museum, picking up a tub of ice cream on the way home from work
5. Honey Suite
Sometimes you want a scent that, along with lasting all day, will help you stand out in a crowd. If that sounds like you, look no further than Honey Suite.
This fragrance is both delectably sweet and irresistibly spicy because it brings together smells like crystallized honey, broom absolute, lavender flower, saffron, incense, havannawood, cedarwood, and vanilla bourbon.
Now, if you read broom absolute and immediately thought of sweeping your floors, we understand. However, in the fragrance world, broom absolute (also known as genet absolute) is the name for the essential oil extracted from the flowers of a Mediterranian shrub. It adds to the sweetness of Honey Suite and gives it a woody twist.
Ideal for: Mornings spent baking, elegant evenings, candlelit dinner parties with loved ones
6. Rose Era
Given that it’s one of the most classic fragrance ingredients, you’ve likely smelled a rose perfume before, but odds are you haven’t smelled one like Rose Era.
This scent offers a fresh, new take on a beloved classic. Clean, fruity, and floral, Rose Era features rose (obviously!), strawberry, clean laundry accord, ambrette seeds, white moss, saffron, and sandalwood.
Where some rose fragrances can be a little too powdery, the strawberry note in Rose Era gives in a juicy, playful side. If you associate rose fragrances with older generations and times gone by, you’ll have to give Rose Era a try and get ready to reimagine what a rose scent can truly be.
Ideal for: Trips to the grocery store, antique shopping, getting ready to walk down the aisle
7. Citrus Circus
Citrus Circus is a citrus scent that uses white amber to achieve a long-lasting dry-down. It also combines creamsicle, grapefruit, lime zest, sparkling water, neroli, violet, and cedar for a citrus explosion that hangs in the air, making it a true show-stopper. When you’re looking for a burst of good summer vibes (no matter what time of year it is), this scent will do the trick.
Ideal for: Open air concerts or drive-in movies, rollerblading with your besties, days when you need to be on your A-game
Built To Last
Snif works hard to bring you the best long-lasting perfumes that are formulated to seriously last. Whether you’re a fan of spicy, earthy, citrusy, or floral fragrances, Snif has something for everyone — plus, our best-selling fragrances are unisex, making them perfect for any wearer.
Sources:
What The Heck Is Bergamot, The Flavor Behind Earl Grey Tea? | Farmer’s Almanac
Beneficial effects of green tea: A literature review | PMC
12 Different Types of Cedar Trees with Pictures | Planet Natural
The 'musk' smell of cologne used to come from a pretty bizarre, unexpected place | Business Insider