Perfume lasts longest in Indian heat when it is applied to moisturised skin on pulse points, left to dry without rubbing, and chosen with a heavy base of woods, resins or musk and a concentration of 20% or more. Heat and humidity strip the light top notes within minutes; what remains is the base, so buy for the base.
Apply to skin, not clothes
Fragrance is designed to warm on skin. Pulse points, the wrists, the neck, behind the ears and the inner elbows, run warm and diffuse the scent slowly. Clothes hold fragrance too, but they hold the top notes, which are exactly the part heat burns off.
Moisturise first
Dry skin drinks fragrance and releases it fast. An unscented moisturiser or a little plain oil on the pulse points before you spray gives the perfume something to hold onto and can add hours.
Do not rub your wrists
Rubbing crushes the top notes and heats the skin, which pushes the fragrance through its opening in seconds. Spray, and let it dry.
Choose bases that like heat
Sandalwood, oud, vetiver, amber, musk and resins bloom in warmth. Sharp citrus and light aquatic notes vanish. All four AMAVAS fragrances end on woods or musk for this reason: Raat Rani on smoked oud and sandalwood, Khoya on sandalwood, Pehli Baarish on khus vetiver, Pehla Nasha on musk and cedar.
Concentration
Eau de toilette is built for cooler air. In India, eau de parfum at 15 to 20 percent or parfum above 20 percent is the practical minimum for a day's wear. AMAVAS composes at 20%.
Less, placed well, beats more
Two sprays on warm skin outlast six on a shirt. In humidity, a fragrance also carries further than you think; the person opposite you on the metro can smell it.
Storage
Heat and light break fragrance down. Keep the bottle in a drawer or cupboard, not on a sunny shelf or in a car. A bottle stored well lasts years; one left in a hot bathroom fades in a season.
