You like the perfume a friend is wearing and decide to try it yourself. Yet, although it is the same perfume, the impression is slightly different. At such a moment, “compatibility with your skin” may come to mind. Does fragrance release actually change when the skin is different?
In June 2025, Elise Hadjiefstathiou and colleagues at Université Le Havre Normandie in France published an instrumental study of fragrance compounds released from the skin of 10 people. The findings point to the need to consider skin characteristics together with the properties of the fragrance molecules.
Examining the Air Above the Skin
Rather than a commercial perfume itself, the study used a mixture of eight fragrance compounds dissolved in ethanol. The total fragrance concentration was 10%, in a formulation intended to represent an eau de toilette. The researchers selected compounds differing in properties such as volatility and affinity for oils, then compared their behavior within a single mixture.
The participants were six women and four men, 10 people in total. The mixture was applied to the forearm, and compounds released into the air above the skin were collected on a fine fiber and separated and measured by gas chromatography. The comparison here concerns the amounts emitted, estimated from instrumental signals. It was not an experiment asking participants to score scent intensity or preference.
The researchers also measured skin hydration, fine surface irregularities, temperature, pH, and sebum levels. One measure was transepidermal water loss (TEWL), which describes the amount of water escaping through the skin. Whereas hydration is an indicator of how moisturized the skin is, TEWL indicates how much water is leaving it; they do not measure the same thing.
Not Every Compound Changes in the Same Way
Even when the same mixture was applied, the total amount of compounds emitted differed between participants. Looking at individual compounds, some varied little between people, whereas others varied considerably. For example, the relatively volatile ethyl butyrate showed comparatively little variation, while hexyl cinnamaldehyde varied substantially.
These differences cannot be captured simply as the whole perfume uniformly becoming stronger or weaker. One compound may vary little between people, while another may be more sensitive to differences in skin. The study compared these compound-specific differences with the skin measurements.
Surface Irregularities and Hydration Relate Differently to Each Compound
In the statistical analysis, a group of relatively volatile compounds tended to show greater emissions as indicators of skin-surface irregularities increased. Limonene and myrcene were among this group. This is an association with fine surface structure detected by instruments, however; it does not mean that how skin feels to the touch alone can predict the way a fragrance develops.
In another group, comprising citronellol, ethyl decanoate, and hexyl cinnamaldehyde, greater emissions were associated with higher TEWL and lower skin hydration. These compounds are comparatively less volatile and have greater affinity for oils. Even the same skin characteristic related differently to different fragrance compounds.
The important point is that these are associations obtained by comparing the skin of 10 people. This was not an experiment that deliberately increased or decreased skin hydration, nor did surface irregularities or hydration alone fully explain the release mechanism. The authors also state that the findings need to be checked in a larger group.
Can We Say That Moisturizing Makes Perfume Last Longer?
Hearing of a relationship between skin hydration and emissions may tempt us to think that applying cream before perfume would make it last longer. However, this study did not compare conditions with and without moisturizer. Its results cannot tell us how many extra hours a particular cream would add.
Nor can a lower amount entering the air be directly reinterpreted as “a pleasant scent lasting longer.” What was measured was compound release. How long people perceive the scent and which way of smelling they prefer need separate investigation.
On average, the participants’ skin hydration fell in the range classified as dry skin, and measurements were limited to the forearm. It is not yet known whether the same results apply to all skin types or to other areas such as the neck. This is not a study for deciding that “this perfume is not for me because I have dry skin.”
A Clue When Trying Perfume on Your Own Skin
If these findings are applied to choosing a perfume, it seems worthwhile to take one extra step: before buying a fragrance that caught your attention through someone else’s impressions or on a blotter, try it on your own skin and check the impression both immediately after application and after some time has passed.
When doing so, noting not only whether it is strong or weak, but also what impression remains and whether you find the changes pleasant, can help guide your choice. For example, can you still enjoy the part you liked at the start, and do you also like the later impression? This is not a perfume-testing procedure whose effectiveness was demonstrated in the paper; it is a practical way to explore your own preferences.
Summary
The same perfume can seem different from one person to another. One concrete clue to that experience is the finding that the amount released from skin varies between individuals, and that the pattern of release also differs from compound to compound. Fragrance properties and skin characteristics are both involved in fragrance release.
That is why, while drawing on what others say about a scent’s appeal, it is worth checking how you enjoy it on your own skin. Rather than treating “compatibility with skin” as a fixed label for your constitution, taking it as a reason to try each perfume in practice can make the choice a little more considered.
References
Authors: Elise Hadjiefstathiou, Géraldine Savary, Catherine Malhiac, Daria Terescenco, Céline Picard
Article title: Exploring the impact of fragrance molecular and skin properties on the evaporation profile of fragrances
Journal: International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 47(6), 981–995
First online publication and version-of-record publication: June 17, 2025 (issue: December 2025)
DOI: 10.1111/ics.13085
Original full text: Publisher’s article page / PMC
Original study license: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. This article is an independently written explanation based on the research facts, not a republished translation of the paper. No figures or tables from the original study have been used.
