Where should you actually apply perfume? Five tips for making your scent last

There’s nothing more frustrating than carefully choosing a perfume, spritzing it before you leave the house and then barely noticing the scent a few hours later.

While how long a fragrance lasts depends on everything from its formulation to your skin, the way you apply it can also make a big difference. A few simple changes to your routine could help you get more from every spritz.

And if you're looking for an affordable fragrance to experiment with, Jawhara's new Arabian-inspired collection is now available at Boots for £14.99 per 100ml Eau de Parfum.

Here are five tips to consider the next time you reach for your perfume.

1. Apply it to pulse points

The wrists and neck are two of the most familiar places to apply perfume, but they're popular for a reason.

Pulse points are areas where blood vessels sit relatively close to the skin, including the wrists, neck and behind the ears. These areas tend to be warmer, which can help fragrance develop naturally on the skin.

Rather than covering yourself in perfume, a few targeted sprays can be enough to create a subtle scent trail.

Jawhara's five fragrances offer plenty of options for experimenting with this approach, from the smoky oud and vanilla of Oud Velvet to the warm cardamom, myrrh and cedarwood notes in Amberwood Nomad.

2. Moisturise before you spray

Dry skin can make it harder for fragrance to cling to the skin, so applying perfume after moisturising can be a useful step.

A fragrance-free moisturiser is a good option if you don't want another scent competing with your perfume. Once your skin has absorbed it, apply your fragrance as normal.

This can be particularly useful if you tend to find your perfume disappears quickly.

3. Don't rub your wrists together

It's one of the most common perfume habits, but rubbing your wrists together after spraying isn't necessarily the best approach.

Instead, allow the fragrance to settle naturally on your skin. Rubbing can alter how the scent develops and can make the opening notes disappear more quickly.

Instead, spray a spritz on each wrist, leave it alone and let the fragrance do the work.

4. Consider your clothes

Fragrance isn't limited to skin. A light mist over clothing can help the scent linger, although it's worth checking the fragrance and fabric first to avoid potential staining or damage.

Hair can also hold fragrance, but rather than repeatedly spraying perfume directly onto it, you can consider using a fragrance specifically designed for hair or lightly misting the air and walking through it.

The key is moderation. A little fragrance can go a long way.

5. Choose richer fragrance notes

If longevity is particularly important to you, the fragrance itself matters too.

Deeper notes such as oud, amber, musk, vanilla, woods and resins are often associated with longer-lasting fragrance profiles, while lighter citrus and fresh notes can be more fleeting.

That's one reason Arabian-inspired fragrances like Jawhara have become increasingly popular with perfume lovers looking for depth.

Jawhara's collection taps into those richer profiles, with Oud Velvet combining smoky oud, amber wood, cedarwood and creamy vanilla, while Sweet Dates blends vanilla, raspberry, date, patchouli, caramelised amber and cedarwood.

Elsewhere, Sultan Rose offers saffron, rose, peony and vanilla incense, Golden Nectar combines bergamot, pear, ylang-ylang, vanilla flower, tuberose, musk and vetiver, and Amberwood Nomad features cardamom, myrrh, cedarwood, labdanum and a smooth ambery base.

At £14.99 per 100ml, the collection offers an accessible way to experiment with richer fragrance profiles without committing to a designer perfume price.

And with five distinct scents to choose from, there is plenty of scope to find one that suits your everyday routine, whether you prefer something sweet, floral, woody or more intensely ambery.

Jawhara fragrances are available online now at Boots for £14.99 per 100ml.

• Delivery at Boots costs £3.95, or is free on orders over £25. Click & Collect costs £1.50, or is free when you spend £15 or more.