Perfume has a long history, and over the years, we’ve developed many myths about how to use perfume. So here are the myths.
Myths #1: Perfume comes in two types, for men and women.
Some people claim that men’s and women’s perfumes are distinctly different and that fragrances are formulated differently for each gender.
Fact: Fragrance is genderless. Women can wear men's fragrances, and vice versa.
At Scent Journer, we want to empower you to make your own selection of perfumes, not constrained by common practice of gender labelling of feminine and masculine fragrance.
No one should be judge by the fragrance worn, so we remove all gender labelling on fragrance and empower you to make your own choice of scent.
Myths #2: Rubbing your fragrance on your wrist or behind your ear allows the scent to linger longer.
The idea behind this myth is that rubbing fragrance will release the scent into your environment more quickly and absorb into the skin faster, thereby making it last longer.
Fact: Rubbing a fragrance is unnecessary. The friction will break up the delicate fragrance molecules and essentially evaporate the scent, which is the complete opposite of the goal as it makes your perfume have poor longevity. The best way is to let it rest and naturally absorb into the skin. In this manner, the fragrance oil will break down organically throughout the day.
Myths #3: Perfumes don’t have a shelf life. They can last a lifetime.
Everyone has perfumes on their vanity table, or a forgotten perfume sitting in the closet for years, thinking perfumes don’t have an 'expiration' date.
Fact: Although there is no expiration date printed on the perfume bottle, it does eventually oxidise. This is because, perfume is sensitive to light, humidity, and heat. Over the years it can be compromised as once it is being used, the head space in the bottle will start to increase which the head space allow oxidation to occurs.
At Scent Journer, we highly recommend you to store your perfume in the original box to prevent sunlight and heat from damaging the photosensitive ingredients too.
Hence, the shelf life of the fragrance is depend on how well you store it.
Myths #4: Spray Perfume only on Pressure Points
Perfume should be applied to pulse points since this is where the scent will linger.
Fact: There is some truth to this. Heat from your skin helps the scent to project the notes better. But you can also apply perfume on clothing to help it last longer.
We suggest spraying perfume on the inner part of your clothes as the fragrance traps onto the fibre of your clothes, making it last longer. Secondly, it is also the closest part to the heat of your skin. Hence, as compared to spraying on the outer surface of your clothes, spraying on the inner part of your clothes also allow the perfume to develop a blooming sillage from the heat of your skin.
This is also a reason why we keep the colour of our perfumes natural without any colouring (except special limited collection). This allows you to spray on dark coloured clothing without the worry of leaving stains. However, we highly recommend you to only spray on the inner part of your clothes.
Myths #5: Store your perfume in the refrigerator, it will preserve its scent longer.
Many sources advise that perfume should be kept in the refrigerator. The claim is that the cold, dark compartment is a good place to preserve perfume.
Fact: While it is important to keep your perfume in an area with low humidity, the refrigerator is not an ideal location. The fridge can be too cold, and taking the perfume out of the cold environment will cause a drastic temperature change that could damage the scent. Especially in Singapore's hot environment, once it is being stored in the fridge (like a bar of chocolate), storing it in room temperature afterwards, will cause a shock to the perfume.
Hence, we recommend storing in room temperature in your closet, out of sunlight, never in the toilet where humidity is in.
Don't feel guilty if you've believed in some of these myths; they're pretty easy to fall for. Now that you know the truth, you can make sure you're getting the most out of your fragrance.
