Quick answer: 2 – 3 sprays for an extrait de parfum, 3 – 5 for an eau de parfum, 4 – 6 for an eau de toilette. Halve those numbers for the office or hot weather, and never exceed what lets someone smell you only at conversation distance — being remembered beats being detected from the corridor.
The dosage table
| Concentration | Everyday | Office / hot day | Evening / occasion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extrait (20 – 40 %) | 2 – 3 sprays | 1 – 2 | 3 – 4 |
| Eau de parfum (15 – 20 %) | 3 – 5 | 2 – 3 | 4 – 6 |
| Eau de toilette (8 – 15 %) | 4 – 6 | 3 – 4 | 5 – 7 |
| Cologne / eau fraîche (3 – 8 %) | 5 – 8 | 4 – 5 | Reapply instead |
Where those sprays should go
- 2 sprays: one on the chest, one on the neck. Body heat diffuses them all day.
- 4 sprays: add the two wrists (don't rub them together — friction crushes the top notes).
- 6 sprays: add behind the ears or one spray on the clothing (20 cm away, sturdy fabrics only).
The scent-strength of a fragrance matters as much as the count: a dense amber at 4 sprays fills a room, a skin scent at 6 stays intimate. Loudness also depends on sillage — explained in what is sillage.
The nose-blindness trap
After 15 – 30 minutes you stop smelling your own perfume — olfactory adaptation, not disappearance. The classic error is respraying to « fix » it, ending up at double dose. Trust the table, not your adapted nose. Reliable test: ask someone at arm's length after an hour; if they smell it clearly, you're calibrated.
Dosage discipline is easier with decants
A practical bonus of wearing from a decant: the smaller atomiser typically delivers a slightly finer mist than heavy bottle sprayers, and tracking your consumption (a 5 ml at 4 sprays/day lasts ~2 weeks) makes your real usage visible — most people discover they spray far more than they think.
FAQ
Do more sprays make perfume last longer?
Barely. Longevity comes from concentration, fragrance family and skin prep — not volume. Six sprays of a 3-hour citrus still die at hour three, just louder.
Should I spray my hair?
From 20 cm or onto the brush, sparingly — alcohol dries hair. Hair holds scent beautifully all day.
Is one spray ever enough?
With big extraits and dense ouds, genuinely yes — one chest spray of a powerhouse reads as elegant rather than shy.