Ever fallen head over heels for a scent, only to find it fades faster than a shooting star once it's on your skin? Don't sweat it, you're not alone! In the following lines, we'll uncover the scientific secrets behind this scent mystery and share some savvy tips to make your favourite fragrance last for a blue moon.
Sense of Smell - A Mysterious and Powerful Sense
Sense of smell is perhaps the most powerful and mysterious sense, one of the first senses to develop in humans. A child begins to use their sense of smell even in the womb, and a newborn, although still a helpless little being, already has a very sensitive sense of smell and can distinguish the scent of their mother and her breast milk.
The sense of smell is directly linked to the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain responsible for shaping, organising, and storing memories. So, it's perfectly normal that when you catch a whiff of a certain scent, it triggers memories of childhood, hanging laundry in your grandmother's yard, or the scent of your first love.
What's Going on in Our Brain When We Smell Something
Our sense of smell develops in our early years, becoming a key player in adulthood for distinguishing between heavenly scents and stinkers.
When we smell something, scent molecules enter our olfactory system and kickstart receptors that send signals to the brain, including the region responsible for emotions. Thanks to this link between smell and emotions, scents have the power to sway our mood.
Why Do Scents Seem to Fade Away Over Time?
In our nasal cavities lies the olfactory mucosa, rich in receptors. When a scent molecule reaches them, the information is swiftly relayed to the brain via the olfactory bulb. However, when a scent or odour becomes an everyday occurrence, the brain tunes them out.
Our sensitivity to scents depends on various factors, like pH, skin temperature, and the quality of the perfume. Perception of fragrances also varies throughout the day – our noses are most sensitive in the morning, before being influenced by surrounding scents. Other factors affecting our sense of smell sensitivity include humidity, outdoor temperature, mood, and even hormones.
What to Do to Make Scents Last Longer
Here are a few tips to make your scent last as long as possible.
Apply perfume to your skin right after showering and using body lotion or cream. Hydrated skin holds perfume molecules better.
Apply your perfume to the warmest areas on your body, such as the neck, inner side of wrists, inner side of elbows, behind the ears, and inner side of knees.
After applying perfume, refrain from rubbing your skin; instead, delicately tap your wrists together. Friction breaks down scent molecules, diminishing the top notes of the fragrance.
Unique Puella Products
You can apply scents not only on your skin but also enrich your clothes with them. For this purpose, Puella's laundry perfumes make an excellent alternative to regular fabric softeners. They infuse your clothes with a beautiful, long-lasting scent that will accompany you throughout the day. If you combine laundry perfume with hand cream or bath foam in the same tone, the scent will get even more intense.
Puella offers a selection of six scents ranging from fruity, floral, citrusy, to the aroma of lavender and vanilla, all the way to the ylang-ylang flower scent with delicate herbal undertones and spicy fragrances.
If over time your favourite scent seems less intense, your brain may have grown accustomed to it and stopped recognizing it. It's a chance to discover and use a different or new perfume for a while. When you return to your beloved fragrance, you'll perceive it strongly and intensely again, allowing yourself to be swept away by its beauty as if it were the first time.