Quote:
Originally Posted by
Critic 
This used to get me all wound up but a sure fire way to improve
projection is simply to spray more or spray in areas away from your nose so you are able to accurately perceive the scent more. I've worn L'Eau D'Issey Intense and many others close to my neck and it has knocked out my nose in less than an hour. Hours later, colleagues would comment how nice I smell yet I couldn't smell a thing. Longevity is improved by moisturising and spraying on clothes.
To fully enjoy scents, you just have to accept that some will like your skin chemistry and stick around but some will not, and will disappear quicker than you spray them on.
Interestingly, Burberry London, a scent which supposedly doesn't last on MOST people sticks around for well more than 8 hours on me. That's me dabbing a small miniature. Too bad it's not really my cup of tea...
I agree wholeheartedly with these statements. I really wanted Escada Magnetism to work on me but unfortunately, it just doesn't. It wouldn't last or project on me, so I dumped it. And rather than feeling sad about it, I just reinvested in the scents that I knew would last and project better. Ultimately, there is little you can do to improve projection. I think projection is controlled partially by the components of the fragrance in question, but it's mostly dictated by the natural projection of the wearer. I have never had a strong natural projection; some of us just don't smell strongly in general. Therefore, I only have mega sillage/projection when I wear fragrances that are universally strong ie. Opium PH, Kouros, Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin, etc. Otherwise, my sillage is mostly subtle to modest, unless I spray 5+ times which I prefer not to do.
My advice: If you really like a fragrance, find a healthy number of sprays that you can live with and that others won't hate you for. I've come up with a consistent test for determining a fragrance's projection. When I'm at home in the evenings, I start by making sure I'm fragrance free. Then, I spray one time on the inside of my elbow on bare skin (the fold of the arm, if you will). From there I just go about my evening as I normally would. The good projectors will send sillage up to my nostrils for 2-3 hrs or more before becoming almost undetectable at arms length. This limits my olfactory fatigue and gives me an accurate assessment of the scent's projection. By the end of the night, I know 3 things: how long the strong projection lasts, how long the scents itself lasts, and how many sprays I should wear to obtain the strength I desire. I hope this helps...