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Close, concentrated sprays vs. spread out sprays

post #1 of 14
2/25/09 at 11:54pm
Thread Starter 
Which do you prefer? I actually used to think that spraying from a bit further away and having the fragrance spread out more was the best way to do it, but I have recently realized that Close, concentrated sprays are really the key if you want great sillage and longevity. Trying out the latter method earlier today just confirmed it, really. The fragrance of choice was SMW, and I was sure to spray about 3-4 inches away from the area of application, to concentrate it. The spots were on the back of my neck, behind both ears, on one forearm and once on the upper chest/lower neck area. The whole time I NOTICED the scent much more...It was definitely producing great sillage. Also produced two unsolicited compliments (further reinforcement that I am getting another bottle). Not casual, nice comments, but intently asking about what I was wearing so they could get it for their significant other, and saying things like, "you smell ****ing great.

*If you have problems with sillage or longevity with any particular fragrance, I would suggest trying this method. Some positive signs that you're doing it right will be that you will smell the fragrance on you MUCH more. Also...if you're dealing with a very strong fragrance, you would obviously limit the number of sprays.
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post #2 of 14
2/26/09 at 1:05am
Well, think about it from this perspective. You are distributing the same amount of oil/chemicals/whathaveyou total, but at the rate that skin cells die and flake off, skin absorbes the oil, and clothes/elements wear down at the scent on your skin, then the scent molecules will be redistributed off your skin quicker as they are farther spread apart. If you concentrate it, it will slow the rate of decay from your skin, as they are closer and it will take longer for your environment to make it through all them, but the undisturbed will still produce the smell, as we all know sillage is more prominent on skin than anything else.

Concentrated sprays are what I do, I notice my frags ALL day. I usually only use 3-4 sprays, one on the base of the neck, and then linear config of the remaining 2-3 sprays, (school/work vs. going out) on the middle of my chest. I do use frags with excellent longevity (only few because I prefer to have fragrance as a style signature at this point in my life), but still, logic makes sense to me.
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post #3 of 14
2/26/09 at 3:02am
Sokkou: But you must also consider the fact that when you concentrate your spray and apply up-close, you will bounce a lot of your perfume molecules back into the air as per Newton's Law of Motion.

Ideally, I'd apply frags with droppers, because you're assured they will arrive on your skin with no bounce-back.
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post #4 of 14
2/26/09 at 3:25am
Good point, but the molecules should stay rather well bonded to one another and I don't see how they would have the locomotion to bounce off your skin, as the force pushing back on them isn't enough. We ain't in a vacuum. Who knows though, I'm a psych grad, not physics :-p
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post #5 of 14
2/26/09 at 9:59am
When I say bounce off the skin, it's because when you first spray it the perfume molecules are accelerated toward your skin at high speed. Not all of it will stick. Some will bounce. The faster they are accelerated toward your skin (closer to skin when sprayed), the higher velocity it will hit your skin.

The effect can be seen in a large scale when you point a garden hose on full power on your skin.
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post #6 of 14
2/26/09 at 10:55am
hmm never even thought about this

man there is a science in everything thanks for the info!
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post #7 of 14
2/26/09 at 12:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GourmandHomme View Post

When I say bounce off the skin, it's because when you first spray it the perfume molecules are accelerated toward your skin at high speed. Not all of it will stick. Some will bounce. The faster they are accelerated toward your skin (closer to skin when sprayed), the higher velocity it will hit your skin.

The effect can be seen in a large scale when you point a garden hose on full power on your skin.

Makes more sense now, good example. But I still think a concentrated spray and losing a bit of the frag is better than it deteriorating to undetectable amounts at a much faster rate, even if slightly less is applied, I don't think the atomizer has enough force to lose a noticable amount of the frag.
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post #8 of 14
2/26/09 at 12:59pm
My own non-totally-unscientific experiment on keeping a frag longer is (again, I'm known in BN as an advocate of this) is to spray on fabric. It's absorbs more of the frag and thus lasts longer (though I noticed it loses some sillage power). On the other hand, that method is also good to tone down strong sillaged perfumes... like I sprayed 5 sprays of Shalimar on fabric before work and it stays close-to-skin. 5 sprays of Shalimar on skin in a crowded train to work would be unthinkable otherwise.

There's a veteran female BNer here who I've persuaded gently to try spraying on fabric and the last I heard was that some of her perfumes perform and smell better when sprayed on fabric.
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post #9 of 14
2/26/09 at 1:06pm
I could see that maybe working for some scents, but my favorites are all excellent base notes that would only come out on skin and smell amazing when mixed with my natural smell.
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post #10 of 14
2/26/09 at 1:17pm
I did try a concentrated spray today, on my chest. The fragrance was CK One. Maybe because it 200ml bottle, the juice came out too much and run down my chest. I did not smell anything at all so I reapply the "spread out" style. However, coming here seeing that it works on many of you guys, I'll definitely will try "concentrated" again to see what will happen
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post #11 of 14
2/26/09 at 5:30pm
I always use close, concentrated sprays. The "slow burn" effect means you can get away with using far less, for a longer and more satisfactory sillage. Using this method I get satisfactory longevity and throw out of three sprays even from those fragrances with "gone in 60 seconds" reputations, e.g. Bulgari pour homme, Passage d'Enfer, CDG 2Man (I'm always flabbergasted when I see people saying 2Man doesn't last long on them).
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post #12 of 14
2/26/09 at 5:31pm
Concentrated sprays on clothing sections that endure the most motion/heat during the day.
Then several more spread out sprays in areas that are far away from the motion centers.
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post #13 of 14
2/26/09 at 5:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GourmandHomme View Post

When I say bounce off the skin, it's because when you first spray it the perfume molecules are accelerated toward your skin at high speed. Not all of it will stick. Some will bounce. The faster they are accelerated toward your skin (closer to skin when sprayed), the higher velocity it will hit your skin.

The effect can be seen in a large scale when you point a garden hose on full power on your skin.

Sigh. Your analogy is terribly wrong in this application and it's pretty damn clear you're not an engineer of any sort.
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post #14 of 14
2/26/09 at 6:05pm
also with close sprays you get more for your buck.....all of it goes on your skin and dosent mist away! just like everyone else has said here 2 or 3 close sprays and i smell everything i have all day long.
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