Whether you've got a signature scent à la Marilyn Monroe and her beloved Chanel No. 5, or you like to play the field, constantly rotating with an entire fragrance wardrobe adorning your vanity, you've got the same end goal: to have your perfume last all day long.
Often times this entails overcompensating—applying a few extra spritzes to our tried-and-true wrists and collarbones, to no avail. So, in the heat of summer, we think it's the appropriate time to tell you, you're doing it all wrong.
Okay, not *all* wrong, but there are a few lesser-known parts of your body that you're not taking advantage of. If you want your spicy florals or light citruses to stick with you through the day, you have to hit all your hot spots, AKA the parts of your body that tend to heat up, as they will help diffuse the fragrance and make you smell damn good.
To ensure you're smelling lovely all day long (without tucking your bottle into your handbag for a midday spritz), study our map of secret diffusion zones on Ms. Chanel No. 5 herself.
Hair
Believe it or not, some believe that your strands are an even better vessel for carrying fragrance than your skin—you've just got to be careful about application. Instead of misting it directly on your hair (Remember: alcohol dries it out), spritz it on your brush so that it will be dispersed more evenly and subtly.
Behind the Ears
Like your wrists, the areas behind your ears are considered "pulse points," where the veins are closest to the skin, thus generating more heat and amplifying your scent. Dabbing your fragrance on these points will give you more immediate results, as opposed to parts of the lower body, which will rise up through the day. Also, if you're wearing jewelry it's a great alternative to spraying your neck, as perfume can tarnish your necklaces. (Eek!)
Down Your Back
It may seem odd, but fragrance expert Chandler Burr insists it strikes the perfect balance between giving your fragrance a long shelf life and not having it be too overbearing for those around you.
"Pull the collar of your top back, and put a blast down your back between clothing and skin," he advises. "If it's a light fragrance, do it twice. Your natural movements through the air will diffuse the scent more subtly, it won't be right in front of you—or people you're with—all day so you won't fatigue to your own perfume as fast, and it will seem more a part of you."
Inside Elbows
Another obscure pulse point, it's a more tucked away alternative to your wrists. And note: To maximize the diffusion of your fragrance, be sure to moisturize your arms (or any other part of your body) before you spritz on your scent.
Behind Knees
Even if your memory of your high school science science curriculum is foggy, you definitely remember one big rule: heat rises. So it makes sense to apply fragrance somewhere on the lower half of your body that will evaporate throughout the day. Like the insides of your elbows, the areas behind your knees are pulse points, so it's the most logical part of your lower limbs.
Belly Button
This is a little trick we stole from Liv Tyler, who inherited it from her dad Steven Tyler. "I put little drops on my fingers and put some under my arms and in my belly button," she told Into the Gloss.
