6 Best Celebrity Perfumes You Need To Know

Can it change over time?

“The profile itself does not change, as the notes it was created with will always be in the scent, but the way it smells on your skin often does,” says Sinks. “Some fragrances are linear, meaning they smell the same throughout the entirety of the wear. Most fragrances, though, do evolve on your skin over time.”

Beauty journalist and Smell Ya Later co-host Sable Yong explains that staying power is often dependent on the order of a fragrance's layer composition. “The bottom notes are going to stick around the longest on your skin, while the top notes often are the quickest to fade, and the middle notes—sometimes called heart—tend to influence both.” It's important to note that a fragrance will present itself differently over time when applied directly to the skin rather than spritzed onto clothing. You're more likely to experience the “tiered reveal” of a fragrance if you only apply on the edges of your wrist or collarbone, whereas you'll be able to smell the whole composition for longer if it's also added to fabric, Yong says.