Why Do Perfume and Body Spray Smell Different On You?

Neveen needs to know…I know a girl who wears exactly my same perfume (actually my body spray). You can tell she’s been there from how the place smells afterwards. So why doesn’t my perfume last long enough to be in my own room? Is there some sort of “way” to apply body spray or is it just skin types?

The Right Brain responds:

As Jami and EKD45 pointed out in our Forum, there could be several answers to your puzzling perfume question.

The dose does it

From your question, the problem could be simply a difference in fragrance intensity. If that’s the case, it could be the dose. If she’s applying a lot more it’s logical that there will be more residue when she leaves the room.

Concentrate on concentration

The type of fragrance is also important. Many brands make a “body spray” scent that’s a diluted version of the pure perfume. So two people could both be wearing Marc Jacobs Daisy but if one is wearing the perfume and other the body spray or cologne, you could smell could different.

Olfactory oddness

Fragrances are notoriously unstable over time – especially if they are exposed to light or heat. If you just bought a new bottle of Vera Wang Princess and she’s just spritzed some on from a bottle that was in the trunk of her car all summer, you might not smell the same.

Site of the scent

Just like in real estate, location matters for fragrance. If you apply a scent to your pulse points, and other warm parts of your body, the fragrance will volatilize faster and smell stronger. Perfume that’s applied to cooler areas, like your hair or your sweater, may smell a little weaker.

Befuddling body odor

As Jamie said in the Forum your personal body chemistry could be a fragrance factor as well. Although we’ve never seen any specific research proving this, it does make sense that your body chemistry can affect fragrance. We see that effect all the time in formulating – the same fragrance oil will bloom differently in different bases. That’s because the chemicals in a shampoo or a skin lotion interact with the chemicals in the fragrance making the scent change, sometimes dramatically. In theory, the same mechanism could be happening on your skin.

What do YOU think? Have you noticed that perfumes changes on different people? Do you have a favorite fragrance that you can’t wear because it doesn’t smell right on you? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.