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Scent Stories: The best long-lasting perfumes you won't need to reapply
These scents have true staying power
Aside from narrowing down a fragrance selection from a favourite brand along with your preferred bouquet of notes, one of the most important aspects of scent selection is its staying power. The best long-lasting perfumes exclusively feature ingredients that stay put, lasting well beyond its first few spritzes. These scents don't just linger on your clothing all day but also last on the skin until they're completely showered off.
When it comes to longevity, professionals explain that it's important to keep the fragrance categories you're drawn to top of mind when shopping for one of the best long-lasting perfumes. Clayton Ilolahia, evaluation and communications manager at Fragrances of the World, tells Bazaar that fresh scents—those with dominant fruit or green notes—tend to have less staying power. He advises sticking with fragrances in the amber or woody families instead that contain notes like oud, leather, and amber.
What makes certain perfumes last longer than others?
There are a few factors that play into a perfume's staying power, but Ilolahia notes that its "concentration plays a key role in how long-lasting a perfume is". Perfume is generally a mixture of perfume concentrate, alcohol, water, and small additives like colours or sometimes preservatives. "The higher the ratio of perfume concentrate, the longer lasting the fragrance will be on the skin," he continues.
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How can you tell if a perfume will last?
The potency and how long a perfume will last is expressed right on its label. Ilolahia explains that eau de colognes feature the lowest concentration, designed to refresh the skin with scent but not linger. "Eau de toilette and eau de parfum are the most common perfume concentrations with eau de parfum designed to linger a little longer," he says. "And extrait de parfum, sometimes called parfum, is the highest concentration."
The long-lasting perfumes we love
If you're searching for a fragrance that's in it for the long haul, round out your rotation with a few of the following long-lasting perfumes experts and editors swear by from Chanel, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Glossier, and more.
Out of all Chanel's most beloved scents, their ambery Coco Noir eau de parfum provides a deeper combination of frutiy-floral notes, including bergamot and May rose. The fragrance also blends together gourmand and woody notes like tonka bean and patchouli, which give it its staying power.
Notes: bergamot, May rose, geranium rose leaf, Venezuelan tonka bean, Indonesian patchouli
In European perfumery, extrait de parfum is traditionally the highest concentration of fragrance landing around 30 percent, according to Ilolahia. "In the Middle East and parts of South Asia, they have practices that date back thousands of years which are 100 percent concentration," he says. Luxury perfume house, Amouage, recently launched its Attar collection, inspired by these ancient practices. Its Rose Aqor Attar scent has a pure rose oil base paired with frankincense and sandalwood.
Notes: rose, frankincense, sandalwood
Baccarat Rouge 540 parfum from Maison Francis Kurkdjian has already reached stratospheric popularity with no signs of slowing down. This extrait de parfum is a lasting blend of grandiflorum jasmine, saffron, bitter almond, cedarwood, and more means a little goes a long way.
Notes: grandiflorum jasmine, saffron, ambergris, bitter almond, cedarwood, musky woody accord
You probably won't even consider layering this robust scent from Frédéric Malle. Portrait of a Lady has an extra-strong blend of rose essence and patchouli heart notes that only gets better as they dry down.
Notes: rose, blackcurrant, raspberry, clove, patchouli, sandalwood, frankincense
Glossier's You parfum is meant to tap into your body chemistry to create a perfume that's unique to you. The juice is intentionally heavy on the base notes of iris root and white florals so that as it dries down, more of you shines through.
Notes: pink pepper, ambrox, iris, ambrette seeds
The patchouli leaf at the base of Mugler's beloved Angel perfume is what lingers on your skin, along with its notes of bergamot and red fruit.
Notes: bergamot, red fruits, patchouli
john Tom Ford Private Blend Tobacco Vanille Eau de Parfum
Tom Ford's warm and spicy Tobacco Vanille scent delivers just the right mix of musky and gourmand notes. It also has an unexpected hint of ginger to balance the two out.
Notes: tobacco leaf, vanilla, ginger
Kilian's Love, Don't Be Shy, balances its warm floral orange blossom with gourmand notes of vanilla absolute and marshmallow. While a little on the sweeter side, the scent isn't overpowering, and adds an extra touch of intrigue to a traditionally straightforward scent profile.
Notes: orange blossom, vanilla absolute, marshmallow
Maison Margiela Replica By The Fireplace Eau de Toilette
Each fragrance from Maison Margiela Paris speaks to a core memory of a specific place and time from its perfumer, and its By the Fireplace scent likely smells exactly how you might expect. A blend of clove oil, chestnut accord, and vanilla combine to form a blend of wearable notes that hold a bit of smokiness.
Notes: clove oil, chestnut accord, vanilla accord
There's a reason why this fragrance is almost always sold out. Primary notes of magnolia, musk, and Bulgarian rose mesh with a fruity blend of tangerine and blueberry to make Rihanna's namesake perfume a truly intoxicating fragrance that hangs on to whatever it touches. And as a bonus, the scent is also available as a body cream for expert layering.
Notes: magnolia, musk, Bulgarian rose
If floral scents are your fragrance lane, Ellis Brooklyn's Florist eau de parfum deserves a spot in your beauty rotation. Notes of tuberose, Italian bergamot, gardenia, honeysuckle, and jasmine combine to create a floral arrangement in a bottle—with a splash of citrus that adds extra zest.
Notes: Italian bergamot, golden gardenia, honeysuckle, jasmine
Even if you're not obsessed with the scent of books, we're betting you'll instantly connect with this popular fragrance from Byredo. The brand personified the intoxicating aroma of paper and leather into a sultry perfume that's equal parts woody and subtly sweet.
Notes: peach, plum, violet, peony, patchouli, leather, vanilla
As its name suggests, Libre Intense is a more potent version of its predecessor. Its blend combines richer amounts of lavender, orange blossom, and vanilla notes that nicely linger for hours. Don't be surprised if people stop and ask, "What scent are you wearing?".
Notes: lavender essence, orange blossom, vanilla
Hovering slightly in the pheromone fragrance category, Le Labo's Another 13 eau de parfum blends to ambroxan, a synthetic animal musk, with jasmine and moss to create an elixir that's practically hypnotic.
Notes: ambroxan, jasmine, moss, ambrette
As evidenced by other scents on our list, the combination of floral and amber notes is certainly made for the long haul. Prada's Paradoxe Intense is another of our floral-gourmand favourites and also features notes of jasmine and moss accord.
Notes: jasmine, ambrofix, moss accord
Parfums de Marly's Delina Exclusif features an intricate combination of notes that make this entrancing perfume memorable. The sensorial experience starts with rose and bergamot topped with hints of peach, apricot, and lychee. The scent then closes out with incense and oud, nicely wrapped in amber and vanilla.
Notes: bergamot, lychee, pear, grapefruit, petalia, rosa damascena, vetiver haiti orput, incense, ambroxan, vanilla, musk, evernyl
With an oud note as the star of this warm gourmand fragrance, it's almost impossible for the popular scent not to last through the workday. Its rich oud is also nicely balanced with a blend of vanilla and praline.
Notes: vanilla, praline, oud
Inspired by Better World Fragrance House's best-selling candle, this perfume roll-on version contains layers upon layers of musk (12 in total) with floral, amber, and marine notes you won't need to reapply but will want to.
Notes: Lily of the Valley, ambergris, amber woods (edited), musk
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