Interesting question.
I'm no molecular scientist and did not sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night but it stands to reason that the more one contains fragrance molecules once out of the bottle, the slower its regular development. If this were not so, decanting would be a flop.
So, as a general rule, I'd expect a spray into the air to diffuse at a molecular rate much quicker than say a spray onto one's hairy chest under a t-shirt under another shirt. Likewise, much quicker from a metal table top than from a cotton shirt sleeve; quicker from a pulsepoint than that shirt sleeve, and so on.
HOWEVER, I am aware of (but don't really understand) polarity issues that may effect molecules in ways that may seem counter-intuitive to simple minds like mine. Perhaps larger molecules (e.g. sandalwood, some musks) stick to some fabrics (e.g. cotton terry cloth, wool) kinda like velcro and are more fleeting on others (e.g. polyester, nylon)? Perhaps polarity issues will effectively trap some scent molecules moreso if one sprays on fabric rather than skin so that the arm's length effect is a discernable difference in development? Perhaps. Also along these lines, it very well might matter if the carrier is alcohol v. something like water. Creating a different kind of 'tug a war' in diffusion v. polarity.
Dunno. I can think of less productive things to think about for a little while though.
