Tips and Tricks for Making Your Perfume Last All Day

Indulging in perfumes can get pricey over time. Make the most out of your favorite fragrances by following these tips to making scents last.

Know What You're Wearing

When it comes to fragrances, be the best chemist you can be. There are a few details to know about fragrance chemistries when you're trying to make the most out of a perfume's scent.

Primarily, there are countless names for fragrances that you've probably heard of. The name of a fragrance will tell you the concentration of each. For example, a body splash contains a concentration of 1 percent  fragrance, and the rest is water. Meanwhile, an eau de toilette is 5-15 percent fragrance and a perfume is 20-30 percent. That being said, the spray with the highest concentration will last the longest.

Another thing to consider with fragrances is the notes, or the chemical makeup of each scent. It's not as tricky as you think -- there are top notes, middle notes, and base notes. Top notes are the smallest molecules of a certain scent, middle notes are a little bigger than those, and base notes are the aroma that is sure to last the longest. When shopping for perfumes, pay attention to the notes as the base notes are what you'll be stuck with for the long run (the long run being all day). Not sure how to tell? Before you purchase, spray a sample card in the store. Carry it around with you and notice how it changes as the day goes on.

Store Correctly

Store fragrances in a cool and dry place, because humidity does a great job of interacting with essential oils and making your perfume go stale more quickly. Also, make sure that the cap is tightly sealed on your bottle at all times. Leaving the cap off your perfume or taking it off too frequently can lead to the oxidation of your fragrance, which will either dull the scent or create an unpleasant aroma.

Apply After Showering

The ideal time to put on perfume is when you're done showering and moisturizing and your skin is dry. This is important because perfume won't hold on to a perspiring body. Also, it's best to do this before you get dressed so your scent doesn't get lost in the fabric of your clothes.

Non-Spray Fragrances Work Wonders

Spray Your Hairbrush

Get a whiff with every hair flip by lightly spritzing your hairbrush with perfume before brushing your hair in the morning. Here's a hint: If you're using a blow-dryer, this trick will work even better because the heat from the dryer will diffuse into your hair faster. Just make sure you don't apply the spray directly to hair -- if the perfume is alcohol-based, you run the risk of drying your hair out.

Layer, Layer, Layer

This is key to the longevity of your scent throughout the day. Using a soap, lotion, and perfume of the same scent will boost the aroma for your skin to flaunt. Not only that, but moisturizing your skin before applying a perfume will help lock in the scent. Just keep in mind that moderation is key -- instead of spraying perfume directly onto your skin, hold the bottle about ten inches away and spray for a perfect intensity of scent.

Bring Your Scent with You

Freshen up your perfume during the day without having to lug the whole bottle in your purse. Spray a couple of cotton swabs with your scent and stick them in a resealable baggie in your purse. When you feel like you need a "spritz", simply take a swab and rub it behind your ears and on the inside of your wrists.

30 Old Wives Tales About Food in Your Kitchen that Might Actually Work

I found a bunch of Old wives tales that I put together. I think a lot of them are great, and I can't wait to try some of them. But keep in mind, they are tales, so some of them might not work out.

Enjoy these tips. I think they are a fun read.

1. Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

2. If you are making gravy and accidentally burn it, just pour it into a clean pan and continue cooking it. Add sugar a little at a time, tasting as you go to avoid over-sugaring it. The sugar will cancel out the burned taste.

3. Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

4. When boiling eggs, add a pinch of salt to keep the shells from cracking.

5. Burned a pot of rice? Just place a piece of white bread on top of the rice for 5-10 minutes to draw out the burned flavor. Be careful not to scrape the burned pieces off of the bottom of the pan when serving the rice.

6. Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

7. Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

8. To make scrambled eggs or omelets taste really rich, add a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream; then beat together.

9. Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste, or at the end of the recipe if you want a stronger taste.

10. Never put citrus fruits or tomatoes in the fridge. The low temperatures degrade the aroma and flavor of these persnickety fruits.

11. Re-heat leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove; set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the Food Network and it really works.

12. If you happen to over-salt a pot of soup, just drop in a peeled potato. The potato will absorb the excess salt.

13. To make really easy deviled eggs with easy clean-up. Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly. Cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg white. Just throw bag away when done.

14. To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place a cup of water with them in a microwave. The moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

15. Place a slice of bread into a bag of hard brown sugar. Within a couple of days it will be soft again. A piece of an orange peel will also work wonders.

16. For cleaning smelly hands after chopping onions or garlic, just rub them on a stainless steel spoon. The steel is supposed to absorb the odor. Rubbing your hands with coffee beans or lemon works well too.

17. Before making popcorn on the stove or in an air popper, soak the kernels in water for 10 minutes. Drain the water, then pop as normal. The additional moisture helps the popcorn pop up quicker and fluffier with fewer duds.

18. To keep potatoes from budding in the bag, put an apple in with them.

19. If you have over spiced your food, add in some lime juice while tasting it until it is the flavor you like.

20. After boiling pasta or potatoes, cool the water and use it to water your house plants. The water contains nutrients that your plants will love.

21. If you happen to have some leftover wine at the end of the evening, (and don't plan to drink it the next night,) freeze it in ice cube trays for easy addition to soups and sauces in the future.

22. Don’t store your bananas in a bunch or in a fruit bowl with other fruits. Separate your bananas and place each in a different location. Bananas release gases which cause fruits (including other bananas) to ripen quickly. Separating them will keep them fresh longer.

23. If you are not sure how fresh your eggs are, place them in about four inches of water. Eggs that stay on the bottom are fresh. If only one end tips up, the egg is less fresh and should be used soon. If it floats, it’s past the fresh stage.

24. The substance in onions that causes your eyes to water is located in the root cluster of the onion. Cut this part out in a cone shape, with the largest part of the cone around the exterior root section. Or, another good tip, chew gum while cutting.

25. If your salt is clumping up, put a few grains of rice in with it to absorb excess moisture.

26. To clean fruit stains off of your fingers, rub them with a fresh, peeled potato. White vinegar can also do the trick.

27. Keep iceberg lettuce fresh and crisp in the fridge by wrapping it in a clean, dry paper towel and storing lettuce and paper towel in a sealed baggie in the fridge.

28. If your loaf of bread is starting to go stale, just put a piece of fresh celery in the bag and close it back up. For some reason, this restores a fresh taste and texture to the bread.

29. When making a soup, sauce, or casserole that ends up too fatty or greasy, drop in an ice cube. The ice will attract the fat, which you can then scoop out. A piece of bread works great too.

30. Boil water before freezing it into ice cubes to make crystal clear cubes.

Cleaning House Naturally

Cleaning house naturally is not any more difficult that cleaning it with harsh chemicals. It improves indoor air quality and is much safer, especially for children. We’ve switched entirely to natural cleaning products and our house is just as clean (or cleaner) and I don’t have to worry about the kids getting sick if they lick the floors (what, your kids don’t do that?) The other great thing about natural cleaning recipes is that it is safe for kids to start helping with cleaning jobs at an earlier age. I’ve found that 2-4 years is a great age to get them to really start doing regular chores as they naturally want to help at this age!
Here are a few easy and inexpensive natural cleaning recipes to use around the house:

1) Tile Grout Cleaner-

• Mix 1 part water and 3 parts baking soda mixed into a paste. Apply to grout and let sit, scrub with toothbrush, remove with sponge.

2) Cookware-

• Use sea salt or course salt mixed with a little lemon juice and scrub. Also, try baking soda and water made into a paste.

3) Fabric Softener-

• Mix 1 part baking soda, 1 part vinegar, and 2 parts water together. Use 1/4 to 1/3 cup during the final rinse cycle.

4) Toilet Cleaner-

• Use undiluted white vinegar, pour around the top of the toilet bowl, scrub until clean.