I’m a beauty editor, so it’s no surprise that I love fragrances…i.e. Love. I own over 25 perfumes. They’re sitting on my dresser right now, painting the wall behind them in different shades of gold, amber, and rose, depending on the color of the liquid inside. My little perfume apothecary brings me joy and allows me to switch up scents depending on the situation and season.
There’s only one thing I don’t like about fragrances. It’s the fact that some scents don’t last long. Spray it on your pulse points in the morning and it won’t linger until lunch. No matter how sweet, sultry, or intoxicating a perfume may be, if it doesn’t last, it’s not worth it, especially if it has a high price tag attached to it.
So what’s a girl to do? Well, there’s always a fragrance primer. Yes, that’s right. Fragrance primers exist, and like makeup primers, they’re designed to prepare your skin for subsequent products (in this case, your favorite perfume) and provide long-lasting results. The latest to launch promises to lock the scent into your skin for up to 24 hours. Naturally, I had to try it.
future society
Optimal Habitat Fragrance Enhancing Primer
This is the product in question. It’s formulated by Future Society, a fragrance brand known for using the DNA of extinct flowers to create scents. Like the brand’s other products, this fragrance primer is created based on biotechnology. Contains ingredients that moisturize, soothe, and balance your skin’s natural microbiome to create the perfect pH for scent to thrive. The brand promises to extend the longevity of your favorite scents by up to 24 hours. That’s impressive, but is it true?
Ingredients include classic moisturizing and skin-softening ingredients like glycerin and squalane, as well as biotech ingredients. These include:
Aonome: Marine ingredients that hydrate and soothe skin while reducing oxidative stress and supporting the microbiome.
Ceramide NP: An ingredient derived from olive oil that plays an important role in the outer layer of the skin.
Sr-hydrozoan polypeptide-1: A marine collagen-like ingredient that supports the skin’s hydration and antibacterial barrier.
What about high tech? Combining these ingredients not only prepares the skin for scent, but also increases the duration of the scent and intensifies the scent when applied. In other words, your favorite perfume will smell even better, you won’t have to reapply it throughout the day, and you’ll save money in the long run.
I was curious about how this product feels and how it smells. At first glance, I thought it might be a little viscous since it’s milky in color, but when I sprayed it on my wrist, it felt light and disappeared after a few seconds. There was very little residue and it felt more like a moisturizing mist than anything else. As for the smell, there was none at all.
I applied it to my wrists and neck and let it dry for about 30 seconds before applying the perfume.
Experiment #1: Body mist
Pururu
Vanilla skin body & hair mist
Fragrance notes: Pink pepper, pink apple, sugar, lily, jasmine petals, cashmere wood, vanilla, sandalwood, agarwood
I wanted to try this fragrance primer in different scents, so I started with the body mist. This one from Phlur is one of my all-time favorites of his. I’ve been wearing it non-stop for months and know how long it lasts, so I felt it was a good starting point. It usually takes about 4 hours to reapply. When applied over the fragrance primer, it lasted about 6 hours. When I sprayed it on at lunch, my boyfriend asked me at dinner, “Why does it smell so good?” success.
Experiment #2: Eau de toilette
dior
miss dior eau de toilette
Fragrance notes: Grasse rose, lily of the valley, patchouli
Next is eau de toilette. I reached for this classic, traditionally feminine scent. This usually lasts about 4-5 hours before I feel the need to reapply. Similar to the first experiment with the body mist, the wear time was extended by several hours (approximately 6-7 hours). There was a distinct smell on my wrist even after dinner. Once again, success.
Experiment #3: Eau de Parfum
Yves Saint Laurent
Ribble Eau de Parfum
Fragrance notes: Lavender, orange blossom, musk accord
Now for the main event. Eau de parfum usually contains 15-20% fragrance and lasts about 6-8 hours. In my case, it only lasts about 5 times. However, when I sprayed this sultry scent over my fragrance primer, the scent lasted for about 8 hours. That’s because I sprayed it at noon and received compliments on the perfume at 8pm.
Bonus experiment: Cologne
jo malone london
Wood Sage & Sea Salt Cologne
Fragrance notes: ambrette seeds, sea salt, sage
Did you know that colognes typically only have a 2-5% scent concentration and therefore only last for 1-2 hours at a time? I’m totally obsessed with Jo Malone fragrances, but… , they don’t last long for me. Usually when I spray it on my wrists and neck it lasts about 2 hours if I’m lucky. So I wanted to try out my favorite over this fragrance primer.
Spoiler alert: The wear time is longer (approximately 3-4 hours). This wasn’t the 24 hour duration I was expecting him to last, but it was still an improvement.
verdict
(Image credit: @kaitlyn_mclintock)
I can confidently say that this fragrance primer extends the life of my favorite perfumes, but there are no hard and fast rules as to how effective it is. Based on my experience, I feel like it depends on the specific scent you pair it with. Still, I can see how this could be useful. Especially when combined with lighter, fresher, more ephemeral scents.
It is worth noting that some dermatologists claim that petroleum-based products such as Vaseline and Aquaphor act as fragrance primers in that they retain the scent and extend its life. These don’t contain the same moisturizing, soothing, and microbiome-supporting ingredients as the Future Society Fragrance Primer, but they’re cheaper and more readily available. Personally, I’m going to stick with the actual fragrance primer so it doesn’t leave a thick, oily residue on my wrists and neck.
Vaseline
Vaseline 100% pure petrolatum, the original skin protectant
aquafer
healing ointment
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