A: In general, the more natural a perfume is, the less well it lasts so your questions are close to my heart as ours are 100% natural. A brilliant way to make any perfume last is to apply it immediately over a lotion, cream or better still a balm or body oil. I'm not saying this because we specialise in balms, it's just that natural balms are made from oils & waxes and they are absorbed very efficiently by the skin where as some creams & lotions contain minerals which make them sit on the surface a bit. The reason the balm/oil thing works so well is because perfumes are extremely volatile due to the alcohol and essential oils in them (that's all that is in ours!) Balms and oils literally draw the scent into your pores rather than allowing it to escape into the air and your skin will actually exude the scent of your perfume as a natural function throughout the day. The very best way to do this is to apply balm or oil whilst naked and spray your perfume sparingly over your entire body. Then when you put your clothes on, the scent will be very enigmatic. A fragrance free balm or oils can be used or ones with a scent to complement your perfume.

As for actually preserving the life of your perfume in the bottle, a cool dark place is ideal though not really practical especially as perfumes look so nice out on show. Out of direct sunlight and no extreme heat is my best advice. I do know some people who keep their perfumes in the original boxes which is ideal but not everyone would want to do this. I love just spritzing our Mandarin Single Note Eau de Parfum on any time of day for a quick 'pick me up' and couldn't be bothered with having to get it out of a box! I use it too quickly to worry about it going off! It's worth noting that the more natural a perfume and the higher note i.e. citrusy, lemony scents, the more fragile it will be. Heavy duty 'Poison' type fragrances are very robust - on a natural front low notes like Ylang Ylang or Patchouli based perfumes last longest both on the body and in the bottle.