Fragrance Primers Are the Beauty Secret You Didn’t Know You Were Missing
It’s such a chic little beauty detail.
Anyone who knows me knows I’ve been through a bit of a fragrance renaissance over the past year. My love for scents has overtaken my obsession with makeup, making it my favorite category to cover, explore, and use in my day-to-day life. Not only has this led me down a very well-scented path to discovering my favorite niche and festive perfumes, but I’ve also been able to further explore some of my favorite houses, like Byredo, Jo Malone, and Diptyque. With all this research, I’ve come across some lesser-known tips and tricks for making your fragrance last as long as you want it to, since not all formulas are created with the same alcohol-to-fragrance-oil ratios. Chief among them? Fragrance primers.
Similar to primers you use before applying makeup or painting, fragrance primers are designed to help your perfume “stick.” This typically results in greater longevity and sometimes even sillage (also known as the scent trail), especially if you use primers with notes similar to your perfume. That said, there are numerous types of fragrance primers available, even if they’re not exactly marketed as such. Of course, I have a running list of my favorites, so if you’re ready to step up your fragrance game for 2026, keep reading for the unexpected addition to your routine that you didn’t know you needed.
The Perfumes
Yes, some perfume formulas act as primers. The two below have continued to emerge as my favorites, partly because of my affinity for woody, molecular scents.
D.S. & Durga’s I Don’t Know What is described as a fresh fragrance enhancer, and I couldn’t agree more. It opens with a bergamot note that gives way to one of my favorite notes of all time: iso e super. Others like ambrox super and civettone give it that airy, molecular, slightly animalic quality I love in my perfumes. When paired with other scents that share a similar DNA, I end up in the fluffiest, musk-forward, my-skin-but-better cloud, and I live for it every single time.
One of the most underrated fragrance primer lines is Bvlgari’s Allegra Magnifying collection. The brand offers a variety of single-note formulas that can be combined with any other perfume in your collection to introduce a note or enhance the note that’s already present. I have magnifying sandalwood, which, as you’ve likely guessed, is composed solely of a sandalwood note, and it is divine worn on its own as well as a primer for my other layering combinations.
The Body Care
One of the easiest fragrance primer hacks is to use body care products you already own. Not only does well-moisturized skin retain scent much better than dry skin, but scented body products also work similarly to the magnifying line from Bvlgari—they enhance notes from the same scent family.
In my opinion, Olibanum is the best scent in Nécessaire’s lineup. So you can imagine my absolute glee when the brand expanded the offerings available in this scent to include a body lotion. Let’s just say I haven’t stopped using it since adding it to my body care routine, and the perfumes I’ve layered on top have never smelled better, thanks to notes of vanilla, fig leaf, and cassis buds. It’s green, warm, and incredibly intimate, perfect for pairing with a skin scent.
One of my favorite brands of all time, Escentric Molecules, has a body wash I would wholeheartedly ingest if I could. Notes of lime, orris, iso e super, musk, and incense combine to create an intimate, skin-like scent that sits close to the body. Especially when paired with the matching lotion, the wash turns any fragrance with similar notes (like Molecule 01 or Escentric 01 from the same brand) into a head-turning concoction that will leave people salivating.
The Solid Perfumes
While some people use them as standalone scents, I prefer to use solid perfumes as fragrance enhancers. They’re fantastic for increasing the longevity of the eau de parfum version of the same scent, or for subtly introducing complementary notes into another pre-existing formula.
Not only does Diptyque’s Orpheon solid perfume smell exactly like the traditional liquid eau de parfum, but it comes in the most adorable little pocket-sized container. Plus, it’s refillable, so you can bring the perfume’s woody aromatic notes with you if you’d like to reapply your fragrance concoction on the go.
Only Human is my favorite scent from NOYZ, hands down. It’s described as a skin-hugging gourmand featuring notes of pink pepper, water lily, vanilla bean, and ambroxan, among others, and though I typically use it as a primer, I also love wearing this one to bed. It’s soft, intimate, and next-level cozy—perfect for helping me to drift off into dreamland.
The Fragrance Oils
I adore using fragrance oils as primers, especially when they have complementary notes to the rest of my body care and perfumes. They feel like both the final step of a body care routine and the first step of a luxe fragrance layering combination, and I’ve been having a ball making personalized scents using this exact method.
If you’ve ever been on the fragrance side of TikTok, you’ve likely come across a few videos featuring Nemat’s Amber oil. While the traditional amber note can be warm and even a little boozy, this oil adapts to the wearer. I typically pick up very clean, woody notes when I wear this, so I pair it with any and every fragrance in my collection. Some people are completely noseblind to this scent, however, so if you can, I highly recommend smelling it in person before buying.
Cyklar has emerged as one of my favorite body care brands of all time this year. Of course, this means the brand’s fragrance oils were an instant favorite when they launched earlier this year. The scents Vanilla Verve and Sacred Santal are two of my favorites, and I use them interchangeably as primers, especially around this time of year when my winter fragrance palette gets a little more smoky, sensual, and woody.
The Occlusives
One of my favorite fragrance primer hacks is using good, old-fashioned occlusives, aka ingredients that act as a physical barrier on the skin to lock in moisture. Common options include petrolatum, mineral oil, beeswax, and silicones. You likely already have the two options listed below, and you can even use them to make your own solid fragrance.
Vaseline is a staple in my household, and I was shocked to learn that I could use it as a fragrance primer on TikTok. Take a little bit of the balmy formula, tap it onto your pulse points, and then apply your fragrance over it. This “traps” the fragrance and makes it evaporate more slowly, so you get longer wear from your fragrances and fewer touchups.
In a similar vein to Vaseline, I love that Aquaphor also comes in this twist-up tube for easy application to the skin. It’s the perfect thing to throw into your bag to reapply as needed.
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