The simple TikTok-approved trick to prolong the last drops of your signature perfume

Running low on your favorite perfume? This simple trick could help it last longer

Glass bottle of perfume product, beauty product, cosmetic product on white background/ in a pastel gradient template
(Image credit: Getty Images/ Iqbal Nuril Anwar)

Want to use up every last drop of your best perfumes? This simple TikTok-approved trick could help all of your signature scents last longer—both on your skin and in the bottle—but do the experts approve?

While we're clued in on where to spray our perfumes to boost their dreamy perfume notes and why we shouldn't rub our wrists together, there's another simple method making the rounds online that could help you get the max out of fragrances.

After all, there's nothing more heartbreaking than running low on one of your fave vanilla perfumes and floral perfumes, especially if they're on the pricier side. According to TikTok though, simply mixing your smellies with an unscented lotion, body oil or moisturizer can make all the difference.

But while this perfume hack seems like a sweet-smelling dream come true, is it actually safe to mix perfume with lotion and moisturizers?

Can you mix perfume with lotion?

As mentioned, TikTok users have sung the praises of this trick for helping them smell good from head to toe, while simultaneously hydrating their skin. The plethora of videos show many TikTokers dolloping some lotion onto their hands before spritzing their perfume into it. Exhibit A...

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Of course, this sounds like an ingenious trick to not only douse and envelope your body in your fave perfume but also to make the most of every drop—but what do the experts say?

Well, Ada Ooi, Skincare Expert, Celebrity Facialist & Founder of 001 Skincare, reassures us that as long as you don't have sensitive skin or any allergies to any specific chemical components in the fragrance, it's safe. 

Ooi adds: "Most countries including the UK, EU and US have regulations to limit the percentage of fragrance used across all cosmetic products, this limitation means that allergens in the fragrance within these product formulas are at a minimal level so it should not affect the skin or the body system. If you are healthy and are not allergic to any specific chemical components in the fragrance, even if you mix perfume with other toiletries that are all scented, you will be fine."

As for whether the trick actually works, Ooi reminds us that applying perfume on wet skin or well-moisturized skin can indeed boost your perfume's staying power. She says: "If you apply your favorite body cream, lotion, or oil and then spritz on perfume, the skin will be more hydrated which will allow the perfume to last longer. If you want to keep your perfume's native scent, you can consider using unscented body moisturizers.

"But if you want to play around, mix and match or layer scents you can experiment with different scents e.g. a coconut-scented body moisturizer with a sweet gourmand perfume, or a soft powdery body lotion with a light citrus perfume spray."

If you are more sensitive to fragrances, Ooi recommends sticking to unscented moisturizers or one that you know doesn't irritate your skin already, adding: "Keep the perfume light in scent and also avoid EDP as Eau De Parfum has the highest concentration of fragrance."

If you don't want to part with even a drop of your favorite perfume—or compromise its perfume notes—Vicken Arslanian, Re-Founder of perfume brand Commodity advises you to just apply an unscented moisturizer to your skin before then spritzing your perfume as, "moisturized skin has been proven to lock in a scent, while it’ll fade quicker on dry skin."

Alternatively, you can also snag a few of your favorite perfumes in body lotion form, which are perfect for layering with the eau de parfum or eau de toilette.

Naomi Jamieson
Lifestyle News Writer

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Women's Lifestyle team, where she covers everything from entertainment to fashion and beauty, as well as TikTok trends for Woman&Home, after previously writing for My Imperfect Life and GoodTo. Interestingly though, Naomi actually has a background in design, having studied illustration at Plymouth University but lept into the media world in 2020, after always having a passion for writing and earned her Gold Standard diploma in Journalism with the NCTJ.


Before working for Future Publishing’s Lifestyle News team, she worked in the Ad production team. Here she wrote and designed adverts on all sorts of things, which then went into print magazines across all genres. Now, when she isn’t writing articles on celebs, fashion trends, or the newest shows on Netflix, you can find her drinking copious cups of coffee, drawing and probably online shopping.