Wendy Rose Gould is a freelance lifestyle reporter based in Phoenix, Arizona. For the last 10 years, she's covered beauty, health, wellness, and travel for leading lifestyle outlets, including NBC, The Zoe Report, Bustle, Glam, TripSavvy, and others.
You spritz on your favorite perfume, head out the door, and an hour or two later realize the scent's completely worn off. For how much you paid for that bottle, it's understandable to feel a little miffed. Before throwing your hands up and accepting the fact that you'll just need to reapply all day long, we suggest adopting the old-school beauty hack to make your perfume last longer by adding a little smear of Vaseline pre-spritz.
While minimal research is available on the topic, the method of using Vaseline (or any petroleum jelly) to make perfume last longer has been around for decades and there's tons of anecdotal evidence to support it.
"The concept behind this is that Vaseline is an occlusive, meaning it forms a moisture-sealing barrier on the skin," explains Alexandra Bowles, MD, DO, a board-certified dermatologist at MONA Dermatology. When applied under perfume, it is believed to slow down the rate at which your skin absorbs the perfume, helping the fragrance molecules stay on the skin's surface for a longer period."
To further understand how this hack works, it's helpful to know what goes into making a perfume in the first place. Most perfumes have about 15% to 25% fragrance oil in a base of alcohol and water, says Darryl Do, a senior perfumer in New York City. Once the alcohol and water evaporate off -- which happens pretty quickly -- it leaves a layer of fragrance oil on your skin, hair, or clothes.
"Since you cannot increase the strength or concentration of the fragrance oil, the only option is to delay the evaporation from your skin," he says. "If you do mix your perfume with some Vaseline, it will definitely slow down the speed at which it wears off from your skin. This also causes a waterproof barrier and may last longer as you will not sweat it off."
Using Vaseline with your perfume can help it last anywhere from an hour to several hours longer than it would otherwise.
"Apply a very thin layer of Vaseline to pulse points such as your wrists, neck, and inner elbows -- areas where the warmth of your skin will help diffuse the scent," says Dr. Bowles. "Note that Vaseline is an occlusive, and as a result, will not absorb into skin, so you can apply the fragrance immediately after Vaseline. A minimal amount should stay on the skin without noticeable transfer or greasiness."
If you don't like the slick of Vaseline, or are worried about staining your clothes, regular lotion works as a substitute. However, Dr. Bowles says Vaseline works better because of its occlusive properties, providing a thicker, more stable barrier that better slows down fragrance evaporation and absorption.
Given how easy and cheap this hack is, it's definitely worth experimenting with it to see what works best for you!