7 Essential Perfume and Cologne Tricks You Should Know

Perfume Buying Trick

When shopping for perfume, cologne, or other scented products, our noses get easily overwhelmed, making it hard to fully smell each. Luckily, there’s a way to trick your nose into properly taking in each fragrance: Just bring a cup of coffee with you! After you sniff one perfume, smell your coffee (or take a sip). You’ll be able to smell the next scent fully, as if you just walked up to the perfume counter.

Stay Away from Phthalates

If you’re concerned about phthalates, make sure to find out if any are contained in your perfume or cologne. Although their use has been restricted in Europe, they’re still legal in the US, and are found in many perfumes and colognes.

Perfume Storage Secret

Perfume and cologne are very volatile—the fragrance breaks down rapidly when exposed to heat and air. If you’re not going to use the entire bottle within 30 days, store it in the refrigerator to extend its life.

How to Make Your Perfume Last Longer

Do you find your perfume fading after a few hours? To make it last longer, rub a small amount of petroleum jelly onto your skin before you dab on your favorite scent.

What to Do if You Put on Too Much Perfume

Oops! You accidentally put on way too much perfume, and you’re afraid the restaurant you’re dining at will smell like someone just detonated a flower-scented bomb. To make your perfume less strong, dab a cotton ball dipped in rubbing alcohol wherever you applied the scent. Your friends will thank you.

See also: What's That Smell?

Turn Perfume Into Bath Oil

You can literally bathe in your favorite perfume by making your own scented bath oil. Just add a few drops of perfume to a quart of baby oil, shake well, and add to your bath.

Turn Perfume Into Air Freshener

Someone gave you perfume or cologne as a present and although it smells nice, it’s just not your thing. Instead of spraying it on yourself on trying to give it away, use it to freshen rooms in your home. Squirt a small amount near light bulbs, and when you turn on the lights you’ll also turn on a lovely scent. You can also use perfume as a refill for a bottle that contains aromatherapy sticks.

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