Applying fragrance
Some folks have it sort of right, but you do NOT ever RUB cologne anywhere. That will “bruise” the notes. Cologne works based on body heat as has been pointed out, but if you rub your wrists together or rub your wrists to your neck you will heat up the cologne and speed-up/spoil the drydown. The friction will basically burn through the fragrance’s natural progression and what’s the point of that?
So having said that, here’s the RIGHT way you apply cologne, at least to your pulsepoints:
1) Spray once on the inside of your wrist (where you take your pulse)
2) PRESS the insides of your wrists together
3) PRESS the insides of your wrists against your neck
Now, based on the fragrance strength and it’s sillage (how strongly the smell projects out from your body), you can adjust as necessary.
Personally, I find that ONLY spraying on the wrists results in a very short lifespan and requires re-application, so to the wrist/neck routine, add a shot or two to your chest and maybe one to the back of your neck and maybe to the backs of your hands. Again, you can’t do this with every cologne, since some are much stronger than others. A*Men from Thierry Mugler or Knize Ten from Knize are two examples of fragrances that you can easily over-apply, while Mugler’s Cologne or Burberry Weekend will usually benefit from the extra sprays. Also, depending on the weather and what you’re wearing, you may want to spray with a heavier hand. For example, in the wintertime, if you’re wearing a shirt, a sweater and a jacket, you’ll want to spray a little extra to compensate for the extra layers.
Also, folks are generally correct that you shouldn’t spray on your clothes, but that’s not always the case. You definitely don’t ever want to spray any cologne with any sort of tint or color to it (like Gucci Envy or Juicy’s Dirty English) on your clothes, but clear colognes are usually safe. The benefit to this is that the fragrance will “stick” longer since your clothes will trap the fragrance.
Hair will also hold fragrance longer, but be aware that the alcohol in the cologne isn’t always the best for your hair.
via uncrate
