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Fact: Colognes don’t come cheap. To get the most bang out of your beauty buck, try these top tips for superior storage and longer-lasting hold for your fragrances:
TIP #1. This is an oldie but surprisingly underrated goodie: Simply smear a smidgen of petroleum jelly onto your pulse points – I like the nook of my elbows for this purpose – then spritz on your cologne of choice to seal in the scent. Demand a sciencey explanation? The trick works because odour molecules move sluggishly through oils and liquids, stretching out the time it takes for your scent to diffuse into the air.
TIP #2. If you’re really, really partial to a particular perfume, consider splashing out on the oft-denigrated ancillary products from the same line. These scented shower gels, hand creams and what-not should never be treated as an afterthought – they’re excellent for extending the ‘essence’ of a fragrance family.
Here’s a real-life example. I for one absolutely adore the aroma of Chanel’s Chance Eau Vive, which boasts the most jubilant and juicy citrusy notes segueing into a soothing heart of jasmine and understated white musk simmering in a base of woody cedar and voluptuous vetiver. So what I’ll do is to lather up with the Chance Eau Vive Foaming Shower Gel, anoint my freshly cleansed body with a generous glob of Body Moisture, then finish off with a spritz or three of the Hair Mist before stepping out of my boudoir.
TIP #3. Okay, now for storage. Short of squirrelling them away in an airtight armoury, how should you store your scents so that they don’t go off? The solution, as it turns out, is so very simple – protect your perfumes by chucking them in the fridge. When you think about it, this beauty hack is incredibly intuitive. High heat vapourises the volatile essential oils in your perfumes, so chilling them ought to make them go the extra mile. Besides, you’re already doing this for your face creams, so why not fragrances? Makes a whole lot of “scents”, yes?
Crucial caveat: You need to play it cool, not cold. Freezing your fragrance will blunt its sharpness, so I like sticking my bottles right next to the eggs on the edge of my fridge’s door for both easy retrieval and peace of mind. Thinking of restocking the bar fridge in your boudoir? Complement Singapore’s sultry stickiness with a breezy bouquet courtesy of the new Chanel Gabrielle, with its fresh and fruity accords of jasmine and ylang-ylang mingling with a burst of orange blossom. A spritz or two of this, straight from your fridge, is almost as good as sipping on an icy margarita, especially when it’s hot as blazes outside.
Photo: 123rf
So yes, try these cool tips on for size the next time you’re scent shopping and you’ll see that the nose knows when a fragrance is fresh. Have fun summer spritzing!
