How to Wear Cologne

Wondering whether you should spray cologne on your body, hair, or clothes? To ensure your favorite scent radiates from your body all day, we’re giving you tips on how to wear cologne correctly plus things to avoid when applying cologne.

How to Wear Cologne

Preparing your skin, knowing the pulse points, and spraying from a distance are all ways of applying cologne appropriately. There are strategic yet simple ways of wearing cologne and making sure the scent stays long, without over-spraying and consuming a bottle within a week

Moisturize Your Skin 

Despite the skin consisting of 64% water, moisturizing the skin helps cologne scents become more effective. Notice how the soil has trouble retaining water during long periods of drought? Dry, flaky skin acts the same way — it prevents the skin from absorbing and maintaining the fragrance. 

To avoid that, start the day with a nice, hot shower to cleanse the body of any other scents. In this way, the pores open, allowing the skin to absorb the aroma better. After taking a bath, be sure to remove any lingering dampness in your body before applying cologne. 

Some fragrances come with complementary products, including soaps, aftershaves, or body balms to layer the scents properly. In effect, there won’t be competing scents that can overpower your cologne’s aroma. It would be better to use unscented products to prevent them from clashing with the cologne’s fragrance. 

Target Pulse Points

Did you know that 90% of women feel more confident when wearing a fragrance? That’s because the olfactory system sends signals to the limbic system, which is responsible for the part of the brain that interprets emotions and memories.

With that said, one of the key things in successfully wearing a cologne is applying it to the heated areas of the body. The heat helps the scent blend with your body chemistry, diffusing the aroma throughout the day. To utilize your fragrance, choose one or two areas to apply the cologne: 

• Behind each ear: The back of the ears are pulse points that enable the cologne to stay for long. A person who will hug or kiss your cheeks can form a memory through your scent.  
• Neck/lower jaw/base of the throat: If you are spending time around people indoors, you need to ensure the scent doesn’t become too invasive. However, spraying cologne at the neck, lower jaw, or base of the throat allows the aroma to give off a better presence for people who will go near you. 
• Shoulders: The shoulders leave a trail of scent when moving while also keeping the aroma radiate when you are stationary. 
• Inner elbows: When we bend our arms, we’re also protecting the cologne from evaporating faster.
• Wrist: The arteries and veins in the wrist are closer to the skin’s surface, making this part of the body warmer. If you’re off to a meeting or an event where you would most likely shake hands, the aroma on the wrists gives off a sillage trail once you get in contact with people. 

Pick a single area first if you are new to applying cologne, especially those without a spray. If you notice that the scent tends to fade quickly in a certain body part, you can change the area or choose a combination of pulse points.

If there’s no atomizer, press a finger over the bottle’s opening and tip it over. You can also transfer the cologne to a different bottle with an atomizer to have more control with the sprays. 

Do Not Overapply 

Colognes with strong notes may only need 2 to 3 squirts. Meanwhile, lighter fragrances, like summer fragrances, need at least 4 to 6 sprays. An excessive application may end up changing the cologne’s natural aroma.

Some colognes don’t have strong stability power. In this case, it helps to reapply or dab a little cologne in your pulse points in the afternoon or evening. 

Over-application can cause the skin to become greasy, causing the scent to become less effective, especially when mixed with pollution, sweat, and grime. Too much cologne may also make it difficult to clean clothes and remove the fragrance.  

Factors That Can Influence the Way You Apply Cologne 

When you need to apply cologne regularly, knowing essential factors about a cologne’s properties can help you follow the appropriate way of wearing cologne. 

Concentration Level

If you have a busy day ahead, and you know it would be impractical to reapply a cologne, it would be better to wear cologne with a higher concentration. 

Colognes with lower concentrations can stay for two hours, while those with higher levels may linger for 4 to 5 hours. Most bottles indicate the concentration levels, with colognes ranging from 2% to 5% perfume oil. 

There may come a time when you will become immune to your usual cologne scent. In such cases, you can ask friends or family about whether your cologne is coming off too strong or light. 

Storage 

While there isn’t a straightforward shelf life for colognes, some bottles would include an optimal use-by date. To make your cologne last longer, keep it inside its original box or in an organizer where light can’t reach it. Light exposure means more heat, so the fragrance may dissipate even before you use it. 

Likewise, fluctuations in temperature can affect a cologne’s potency. Hence, humidity in the bathroom or car can destroy a fragrance’s molecular integrity, and consequently, amplify the notes. 

To avoid bringing your only bottle in places with varying temperatures, you can refill small perfume bottles that can hold enough cologne for a week or two. Be careful not to break the bottle while opening it, as damaging the bottle may keep you from returning the screw tops or atomizers.

Weather

During the cold months, the temperature gives the notes a slower pace to develop and disperse. Hence, it’s ideal to wear strong fragrances like Burberry Brit and Burberry colognes or warm yet exotic vanilla scents. 

On the other hand, hot days can intensify the notes, causing the aroma to wear off easily. For such days, opt for cooler scents such as Versace’s clean and citrus colognes. 

Common Mistakes When Applying Cologne

Part of wearing cologne properly is knowing what things or habits to avoid. To make the most out of your perfume, keep yourself in check and avoid making these mistakes.  

Spraying Cologne on Clothes 

Letting cologne and the body’s natural oil mix allows the scent to create a maximum effect. Perfumers develop colognes in a way that enables the aromas to interact with the body, not with clothes. 

Spraying cologne directly on clothes also prevents the fragrance from going through its scent stages. Since there’s no body heat, the scent would evaporate quickly. 

Aside from removing stains, you may need to get the cologne’s smell off of your clothes. The only time to consider applying cologne on clothes is if you have sensitive skin or allergies to particular ingredients. However, it won’t have the same effect as spraying it on pulse points.

Doing the Spray and Walk Method 

Do you know how some people like creating a cologne mist in the air and walk through it? While it seems fun, you would actually be wasting precious products as the mist may not reach the body’s pressure points.

A direct spray on the skin still works best, especially if you want to maximize every drop of designer cologne like ones from Burberry. 

Rubbing the Cologne

See how we emphasize spraying cologne to pressure points and letting it mix with the body’s natural oils? Unlike rubbing deodorant into the skin, there’s no need to rub cologne. Doing so can break the fragrance’s molecular body, causing the aroma to fade faster. 

Mixing Fragrances 

While layering is great for clothes and cakes, it can disrupt a cologne’s way of drying down. Mixing and matching scents can lead to a confusing and unpleasant clash of various scents. 

Conclusion

After investing in the best fragrances that last longer, you can get every cent’s worth by knowing how to wear cologne properly. Make sure to spray 1 to 2 times at the body’s pressure points and avoid spreading the cologne on your clothes to maximize the fragrance’s effectiveness.