Does Rubbing Your Wrists Together Make Perfume Last Longer?

As children, we sat and watched our mothers apply perfume to their wrists, rubbing them together. Now we do it too, almost by nature. That’s what you’re supposed to do, right?

While your perfume should be applied to the pulse points of the body, like the wrists and neck, it’s highly recommended by perfumers and professionals that you actually do not rub your wrists together after spritzing.

When you rub your wrists together, it causes friction and heats up the skin. Armenian perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, who helped create several iconic scents like Christian Dior Eau Noire, told Vogue that the heat produced by rubbing creates natural enzymes that change the entire scent completely.

It can also break down and dull the entire perfume — from the top notes that produce the scent you smell within the first five minutes to the base notes, which last the longest and play a role in how you smell by the end of the day.

It’s best to spritz both wrists, let it sink in, and do absolutely nothing.

Now that you’ve gotten the low-down on applying the perfume, have you started shopping for a fall scent you’ll love? Whether vanilla or sandalwood, make it last by spritzing on the pulse points — and don’t forget the back of the knees!