Typically, when you purchase a bottle of your favorite cologne, it will come in a spray bottle, making it much easier to apply. However, there are some fragrances that do not make use of an atomizer, meaning that dousing yourself in your signature scent is not quite as simple.
But don’t let that put you off. While a sprayer is a little more common and easy to use, that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy a sensational cologne that comes in an open top flacon. The key is to make sure that you apply the fragrance correctly and in the right places. Let’s find out more.
How To Apply Perfume Without An Atomizer Bottle
According to research by the NPD Group, as many as 37% percent of men do not wear cologne – ever. Perhaps this could be because significantly more men’s fragrances than women’s come without a spray bottle. This may put guys off because it just seems too messy.
But just because a perfume bottle doesn’t have a feature that most people are very used to and take for granted, even, it doesn’t mean that the fragrance cannot be fully appreciated. It just takes a little know-how.
A lot of people worry that cologne with no atomizer will mean one of two results; the perfume will spill everywhere when tipping the bottle, or too little will be applied. Moreover, it’s not uncommon for folk to believe that spraying somehow makes the fragrance stronger. Let me be the one to tell you; that’s far from the truth.
Recently, I purchased a gift set (for myself) of miniature Maison Christian Dior fragrances. I have some of the larger bottles but with a high price tag, I wanted to sample the others before buying any more full-sized fragrances.
You get eight 7.5ml colognes in a beautiful box but one thing that stopped me right in my tracks when I opened them was that there was no sprayer. ‘Panic not!’ I thought and took this as an opportunity to learn some new skills.
Hitting The Right Spot
When you apply a scent with a sprayer, it’s easy to douse yourself in fragrance, but you can’t do this with an open top bottle. You need to make sure that you hit the right spots so that your perfume projects immaculately.
Most of you will be familiar with the obvious areas like the wrists, but do you know why this is an important place to put cologne? It’s a pulse point.
Aiming for pulse points means that the fragrance will react to the slightly higher body temperature in these areas. Cologne reacts with your body heat and chemistry anyway but giving it that additional boost will mean that you only need to apply a few drops to be surrounded by fragrance all day.
The best areas to apply are:
- The mid-centre point of the throat
- Behind the ears
- The wrists
- Behind the knees
- The sides of the neck
- Inside the elbows
For ladies, you could try applying a few dabs in the cleavage. The natural warmth in this area of the body will help to boost your fragrance. What’s more, you’ll notice how your scent dries down differently on each part of the body, giving your cologne much more diversity.
Use The Right Application Method
As I have mentioned, using a spray bottle is easy; simply take off the lid and press the atomizer. So when you’re standing in front of the bathroom mirror with an open top bottle, you’re bound to feel a little nervous.
It can be incredibly tempting to pout some of the fragrance into your hands and rub it over your pulse points. Some people will also pour a little on their fingertips and apply it to their chosen areas this way. But this isn’t going to do you any favors in terms of longevity.
You see, rubbing the fragrance into the skin can speed up the dry down process. If this is something that you aren’t familiar with, allow me to explain.
Perfume is made up from three layers; top notes, middle notes, and base notes. When you initially spray the fragrance, you are smelling the top notes and these last around half an hour. After this, as the fragrance settles, the middle notes come through and last for up to four hours. The final stage happens after this when the fragrance has had time to work with your body chemistry and the deep, lingering base notes emerge.
However, by rubbing the perfume into the skin, you encourage the top notes to dissipate much more quickly. The result? The longevity of your fragrance is significantly reduced. Some people may also use a cotton ball to apply the fragrance but in this case, much of the scent will be absorbed into the material, leaving less of it on your skin.
The best thing to do is place the opening of the bottle onto the area you wish to apply the perfume and turn it upside down. This will allow just a small amount of the liquid onto the skin, avoiding a spillage. Once on the skin, you can very gently dab it to stop it from dripping onto other areas.
That said, it is possible to use the fingertips without rubbing. The idea here is to tip the bottle up onto the tip of the finger and gently dab the finger onto the pulse point.
Know When To Apply
Most of us get up in the morning, take a shower, and then apply our favorite perfume. It’s true that putting your scent on after your shower is a great option since the skin will be clean and the pores open, allowing the fragrance to better soak in.
That said, if you’ve used a highly fragranced body wash, this could clash with the cologne resulting in an altered scent. Unless you are using a wash that is the same scent as your cologne, you should opt for something unscented.
There may, however, be times when you are not able to shower before applying your scent but that doesn’t mean that you can gain the same benefits as showering. Applying an unscented lotion to your skin before your cologne will give something for the fragrance to adhere to, meaning that it will last longer.
Buy An Atomizer Bottle
If you find that you really don’t get on with an open top cologne, there is nothing stopping you from switching the bottle. Many fragrance stores stock small vials with spray tops for travel. You can simply transfer some of your chosen scent into one of these and spray away as you have always been used to.
Regardless of which type of bottle you are using, it is always important to store the fragrance correctly if you want the scent to last. Since perfume reacts with heat, it makes sense that it will also react whilst in the bottle. To avoid the scent fading, be sure to keep it out of direct sunlight and in a cool place.
Don’t Go Over The Top
It’s really easy to assume that applying cologne in this way, without a spray, would mean that the scent is less prominent. But the way in which you apply a fragrance has very little to do with its projection and longevity. Provided you hit those pulse points I spoke about earlier on, you shouldn’t have too much of an issue.
The problem is that you can go too far in the opposite direction and end up with far too much cologne on your body. If you’ve ever been in a small space with someone who has gone over the top with their fragrance, you’ll know how headache-inducing it can be.
To avoid this, be sure to apply your fragrance only on two or three pulse points. You will still get a very noticeable scent but you won’t end up offending those around you with your potency. Moreover if you carry a small bottle of cologne with you, you can reapply later in the day if you feel as though the scent has worn down a little too much.
In conclusion to applying cologne without spray
Wearing cologne can make you feel confident, not to mention, it is proven that certain smells can be beneficial to your stress levels, mental health, and other psychological elements. But knowing how to apply fragrance is another matter entirely, especially when the bottle does not have a vaporizer.
But fragrance fans shouldn’t feel intimidated by this lesser-used type of bottle. Getting to know how to use it and applying the scent in the right way will leave you smelling just as aromatic as using a spray.
