A little perfume? Good. A lot of perfume? Not so good.
December 18, 2013 7:47 AM Subscribe
Following this post I finally came across a perfume that is exactly what I was looking for. The only problem is that it is quite strong and the sprayer sprays out too much so the perfume is applied too heavily. How can I moderate that?
Yeah, so Cabotine Perfume is exactly what I was looking for. Fresh, sharp, gingery, clean smelling. I love it. I still wear Alfred Sung Paradise because my husband really loves it on me, and since it is the only perfume I have worn since knowing him he strongly associates me to that scent and vice versa. Nice to have some variation, though, so I have this to be able to mix it up a bit. I don't like to feel totally saturated in scent, though. The fact that it is almost 6 hours since I put it on and I can still smell it quite distinctly when I move/floof my shirt makes me worry it is or is going to be offensive to other people. I like my perfume to be for me to smell without bothering others, and for my husband to smell when he is close and giving me da smoochez.
Problem #1: I bought the eau de parfum instead of the eau de toilette. Oopsie.
Problem #2: the spray on the bottle seems to spray out a LOT. A lot more than I am used to from my Alfred Sung bottle.
Problem #3: spraying in the air and walking through it isn't a good option because on occasion my perfume will trigger my husband's allergies. I can get the majority of it off my skin if I just spray it in one area (between my boobs usually), but if it is all over and in my hair and on my clothes I would basically have to shower and change.
So... how do I solve this?
Yeah, so Cabotine Perfume is exactly what I was looking for. Fresh, sharp, gingery, clean smelling. I love it. I still wear Alfred Sung Paradise because my husband really loves it on me, and since it is the only perfume I have worn since knowing him he strongly associates me to that scent and vice versa. Nice to have some variation, though, so I have this to be able to mix it up a bit. I don't like to feel totally saturated in scent, though. The fact that it is almost 6 hours since I put it on and I can still smell it quite distinctly when I move/floof my shirt makes me worry it is or is going to be offensive to other people. I like my perfume to be for me to smell without bothering others, and for my husband to smell when he is close and giving me da smoochez.
Problem #1: I bought the eau de parfum instead of the eau de toilette. Oopsie.
Problem #2: the spray on the bottle seems to spray out a LOT. A lot more than I am used to from my Alfred Sung bottle.
Problem #3: spraying in the air and walking through it isn't a good option because on occasion my perfume will trigger my husband's allergies. I can get the majority of it off my skin if I just spray it in one area (between my boobs usually), but if it is all over and in my hair and on my clothes I would basically have to shower and change.
So... how do I solve this?
Give your inner wrist a quick spritz, then touch it to your other wrist, between your boobs and the back of your neck.
See if that helps.
You can wipe off perfume with alcohol.
But I find that it will dissipate in the air all on its own.
I LIKE smelling my perfume later in the day.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:53 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
See if that helps.
You can wipe off perfume with alcohol.
But I find that it will dissipate in the air all on its own.
I LIKE smelling my perfume later in the day.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 7:53 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Find a nice little art glass perfume bottle (the kind with the applicator wand) and decant the spray bottle's contents into it. Using the wand, you'll use just a tiny drop at a time.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:03 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 8:03 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Another option, if you decant into a smaller spray bottle, is to dilute with alcohol. (The alcohol evaporates quickly, so you shouldn't smell boozy.) The perfume-makers I've seen recommend high-proof, food-grade ethanol like vodka or Everclear.
posted by catalytics at 8:10 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by catalytics at 8:10 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also, you notice this scent more because it is still new to you. Chances are you have applied a similar amount as you would of the old scent. But because you are used to the old scent you no longer perceive it after applying. So don't assume you've doused yourself in the stuff because you probably haven't.
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:13 AM on December 18, 2013
posted by koahiatamadl at 8:13 AM on December 18, 2013
Problem #1 isn't as much of a problem as you think! Eau de parfum's got less alcohol than eau de toilette and that means it doesn't project the scent off your skin as much. If you really want you and husband to be the only people smelling it, parfum concentration is probably the way to go, though it may also last longer. (Projection and duration often, not always, are inversely related. Incidentally I would say that six hours is on the low end of average for a decent perfume to last.)
Ruthless Bunny's application method is a good one, it's about what I do with the strong stuff.
posted by clavicle at 8:14 AM on December 18, 2013
Ruthless Bunny's application method is a good one, it's about what I do with the strong stuff.
posted by clavicle at 8:14 AM on December 18, 2013
Can you do a 'half spray' by carefully pushing the spritzer down lightly? I do this with Aromatics Elixir as I find a whole spray is too strong.
posted by mippy at 8:45 AM on December 18, 2013
posted by mippy at 8:45 AM on December 18, 2013
Press a cotton ball against the sprayer and spray into the cotton ball. Then dab the cotton ball against your skin.
posted by windykites at 8:59 AM on December 18, 2013
posted by windykites at 8:59 AM on December 18, 2013
Response by poster: I will try the cotton ball method for now. I'm not super happy with it because it feels like I'll be wasting a lot of perfume. I like the idea of getting a little glass bottle with a wandy thing, but until I find one I'm going to go cotton ball.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 10:29 AM on December 18, 2013
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 10:29 AM on December 18, 2013
The way I was told to apply heavy perfumes was to spray it into the air and walk through the mist so it wouldn't be too heavy. . This could just be some weird thing my mother did though.
posted by wwax at 11:18 AM on December 18, 2013 [6 favorites]
posted by wwax at 11:18 AM on December 18, 2013 [6 favorites]
I am something of a perfume junkie and here's what I suggest --
1. Use the lightest of touches on your sprayer. Basically you want to learn the feel of pressing for barely a nanosecond, by instantly relieving the pressure as soon as you start to apply it.
2. Apply ONLY behind your ears and on your wrists and on your breastbone.
Alternately, you can use a qtip dipped into your perfume, applied to the same few spots. Use the same q-tip. Old q-tips can go into your underwear drawer.
posted by bearwife at 11:51 AM on December 18, 2013
1. Use the lightest of touches on your sprayer. Basically you want to learn the feel of pressing for barely a nanosecond, by instantly relieving the pressure as soon as you start to apply it.
2. Apply ONLY behind your ears and on your wrists and on your breastbone.
Alternately, you can use a qtip dipped into your perfume, applied to the same few spots. Use the same q-tip. Old q-tips can go into your underwear drawer.
posted by bearwife at 11:51 AM on December 18, 2013
The way I was told to apply heavy perfumes was to spray it into the air and walk through the mist so it wouldn't be too heavy. . This could just be some weird thing my mother did though.
Not specific to your mom - my aunt told me the very same thing. Mist the air and walk through it. I've also used the cotton ball method.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:15 PM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Not specific to your mom - my aunt told me the very same thing. Mist the air and walk through it. I've also used the cotton ball method.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 12:15 PM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Tuck the perfumey cotton balls into your drawers and cupboards, purses, and bras (while you wear the bra), or toss them into your bath.
Alternatively, saturate the cotton balls in water, then squeeze out the excess, before perfuming them. Seal in a small plastic bag after perfuming and continue using it until you find it disgusting. You're not really losing that much perfume though.
posted by windykites at 5:10 PM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Alternatively, saturate the cotton balls in water, then squeeze out the excess, before perfuming them. Seal in a small plastic bag after perfuming and continue using it until you find it disgusting. You're not really losing that much perfume though.
posted by windykites at 5:10 PM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Again, can't do the mist and walk through thing because on occasion my perfume will trigger my husband's allergies. I need to know exactly where the perfume is that I can remove it if I need to. (See Problem #3) Before my relationship with my husband I used to do that, and sort of flip my hair in it too, so that when I floofed my hair I could smell it a little bit. I just can't do it anymore. Boo-urns.
This morning I tried squirting my perfume in to a q-tip and placing it strategically. I can't smell it AT ALL so I think is too moderate. I will try to cotton ball method tomorrow in the hopes it gives me better results. I really like the idea of using the perfumed cotton balls for added scenty bits.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 4:45 AM on December 19, 2013
This morning I tried squirting my perfume in to a q-tip and placing it strategically. I can't smell it AT ALL so I think is too moderate. I will try to cotton ball method tomorrow in the hopes it gives me better results. I really like the idea of using the perfumed cotton balls for added scenty bits.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 4:45 AM on December 19, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
Alternately, you can buy empty glass vials and decant some into that for application with a q-tip. It'll probably last a whole lot longer if you do that.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:52 AM on December 18, 2013 [5 favorites]