What is Perfume Sillage? (How To Improve It?)
Have you ever had someone walk by and then smelled their perfume from a foot or two away?
Perhaps, when that person leaves the room, the trace of their perfume or scent remains.
That, right there, defines perfume sillage.
It’s an essential feature to consider in a perfume.
After all, it’s among the main reasons why you’re wearing perfume.
Choosing a perfume with good sillage preserves the scent’s derma coverage, thus helping it last longer.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that a fragrance with the strongest sillage is necessarily the best perfume.
Overly strong sillage can be overkill, especially if you’re enclosed in tight spots like a restaurant booth, car, or a small meeting room.
What is Perfume Sillage?
The French word sillage, pronounced “see yahzh,” originally means the trail left by a boat as it splits the waves in the water.
In perfumery, this word means the scent trail that lingers or the sensual imprint left behind by the wearer.
It isn’t mainly related to how strong perfume or cologne is or its longevity.
There are plenty of spicy, strong perfume smells and long-lasting scents with light sillage.
Sillage, in perfumery, is all about diffusion.
Perfumes with a stronger sillage will diffuse widely into the air, but those with a weak sillage, like some types of musk, often stay close to the skin, diffusing less widely.
In short, weaker sillage means you wear a subtle and more introverted perfume, mainly worn to please the wearer.
Meanwhile, perfumes with a good, strong sillage aim to please the entire subway.
What Affects the Sillage of a Perfume?
There are a couple of things that affect perfume sillage strength.
- Body Chemistry – if the fragrance oils interact well with your skin chemistry.
- Perfume – the base notes, as well as the top and middle notes of the fragrance, and the number of sprays you applied. For instance, Dior’s Hypnotic Poison perfume has strong vanilla notes, making it a prominent scent.
- Surface – where you applied the perfume. Ideally, spritzing fragrances in fabric like your clothes will make the aroma stand out more than if used solely on the skin.
How Do You Test a Perfume’s Sillage?
Testing perfume sillage is simple.
- Find a clean and empty room with windows closed and place a clean shirt or fabric inside.
- Spray the fragrance into the fabric, then close the door.
- After 10 minutes or so, open the door and take a good whiff. The first thing you smell is the fragrance trail of the perfume you used.
This quick sniff test is how you will know if the scent will leave your body and mingle in the air around the elevator even after you leave it.
Does Eau de Parfum Have Better Sillage than Eau de Toilette?
Because perfume sillage is primarily a product of evaporation, spritzes of eau de toilette will leave a wider trail because of its higher alcohol content.
Perhaps, the subtlest and lightest concentration in terms of sillage would be pure perfume (extrait de parfum).
Its middle notes and base note will often cling to you instead of evaporating.
However, diffusive traits will primarily depend on the note instead of the concentration, as some notes will evaporate more quickly than others.
For instance, a grapefruit middle or top note will hit you in the nose quicker than, say, vanilla top notes.
How Do You Improve Sillage in Perfume?
Knowing where to spritz your perfume will help heighten sillage.
Ideally, you want it on your pulse points or on your clothing and accessories.
Applying a perfume blend on well-moisturized instead of dry skin will also help it diffuse more.
Knowing how to choose fragrances with good sillage will also come in handy.
You can check out terms like dark, intense, heady, powerful, and bold when buying perfumes, as it usually means the fragrance will have an excellent perfume trail.
Choosing scents with woody, amber, and oriental notes will also guarantee a fragrance that spreads more widely than floral and musk base notes, heart notes, or top notes like jasmine.
Ultimately, it will depend on choosing the perfect perfume sillage to fit the occasion or make the desired impression.
Light-sillage fragrances are better suited for formal evenings and intimate occasions, where you want to smell subtle and seductive.
Meanwhile, stronger ones are perfect if you’re going to draw people into your space.
In this case, applying perfume to your wrist and neck is a great idea.
The Bottom Line
Understanding perfume sillage will come in handy to help you create or find a signature smell and, ultimately, a fragrance that can entice everyone into your orbit without being inadvertently monstrous.
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