An extrait should still be a scent at the end of the day, close to the skin, not a cloud that left at lunch.
We wore concentrated perfumes through ordinary days and checked what remained on skin and on a collar after twelve hours. Longevity without a headache was the standard.
Concentration and the drydown
More oil does not automatically mean a louder perfume. It often means a slower one. The top notes leave, and the drydown is what you actually live with. Fabric holds the scent longer than skin and can be the thing people notice on the train home.
- Spray or dab less than you would with an eau de toilette.
- Wait an hour before you decide you hate it. The opening is not the perfume.
- Try it on skin, not only on a paper strip.
- Notice whether it clings to a scarf in a way you still like tomorrow.
The drydown is the perfume. The first ten minutes are advertising.
Wearing it
One or two placements are enough. Wrists, or the base of the throat, not a walk through a mist. If you cannot smell it on yourself by evening, ask someone else before you add more. You go nose-blind first.
Buy the extrait whose late hours you want in the room with you. That is the part that stays.
