You Don’t Need More Fragrance; You Need a Stronger Fragrance

Now that I’m 85, I notice that most scents have about a three-minute life on my skin. I’ve especially loved Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien and Bulgari Eau Parfumée au thé Vert, but they don’t last. I thought maybe solid perfume was the way to go, so I tried Do Son from Diptyque — a great scent but also gone in a heartbeat. I can, of course, spray my hair and my clothes instead, but I’d like to know if this is a phenomenon among the elderly. A food-writer friend, who died at 91 last year, took the very odd step of dousing herself in cheap cologne, which made me think it might not be just me who can’t hold a fragrance. Any advice?

There is evidence that people lose some sense of smell after age 80, but I’m a beauty expert, not an ENT doctor, so I’m going to approach your problem from the fragrance angle. Your email reminded me of a story I recently wrote about moisturizers for mature skin. While I was researching that, I learned that aging skin tends to be drier because it produces fewer natural oils. Perfume doesn’t “stick” as well to dry skin, which doesn’t absorb the oils in the fragrance. I think it’s worth it to apply the moisturizer to your neck and wrists and anywhere else you’re wearing fragrance. I’d go for a thick one, like Weleda’s Skin Food, or maybe try a body lotion like the Naturium Bio Lipid Lotion, which is one of the best body moisturizers for dry skin. Apply your fragrance after moisturizing to see if it makes a difference in how long your scent lasts.

I’d also consider switching to a stronger fragrance. Fragrance formats — eau de toilette, eau de parfum, eau de cologne — indicate the ratio of perfume oil to solvents and fixatives. Eau de parfums, or just parfums, have the greatest concentrations of perfume oils and are therefore stronger and last longer. Eau de toilettes and colognes are on the lower end of the concentration spectrum. Cologne concentrations, for example, go up to 4 percent and are meant to last between two and four hours. Your favorites — Goutal Paris Eau d’Hadrien and Bulgari Eau Parfumée au thé Vert — are an eau de toilette and an eau de cologne, respectively, so they’re meant to be fairly light on the nose and designed to fade quickly. So instead of wearing more of it, I’d recommend trying something more intense.

The trick then will be finding a more concentrated version of the scents that you like, or if that’s not available, sniffing out something new. The solid perfume you’re wearing, Diptyque Do Son does come in an eau de parfum. I’d recommend stopping in at a department store (Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s both carry Diptyque) and trying the eau de parfum out and seeing if it lasts longer than your solid. I think it will. An interesting note, though, according to Fragrantica, is that the scents aren’t consistent across concentrations. So the eau de toilette smells fairly different from the eau de parfum and the solid. That’s another reason to test it out in person.

As I look at the other perfumes you mentioned, those aren’t available in stronger concentrations, so I’m taking the opportunity to suggest some similar scents that are more concentrated and should last a bit longer on your skin. One of your favorites, Annick Goutal Eau d’Harian, has bright citrusy notes of lemon, mandarin orange, and ylang ylang. The scent nuts on Fragrantica who love Eau d’Harian say the Acqua Viva Profumum Roma is similar and smells like fresh lemon without that sugary sweetness that sometimes accompanies citrus notes, and it comes in a parfum. As for your second pick, Bulgari Eau Parfumée au thé Vert fans are also into Armani Prive thé Yulong, an eau de toilette. This isn’t a perfect recommendation, since an eau de toilette is on the lower-concentration end. But I happen to use the Dan Sha scent from this collection (and it’s famously part of my go-to fragrance combination that Courteney Cox loved), so I know it’s plenty strong and long-lasting, even with just a spritz or two. I think this combination of moisturizer plus a stronger fragrance (not more fragrance) will keep you well aware of your scent throughout the day.

Are there other products that you want our intrepid team of beauty writers to test, or trends that you want them to fact-check? Send us an email at strategistbeautybrief@nymag.com with your thoughts and questions.