The Best Travel Perfume

Buying Guide

A good fragrance can be hard to find, particularly if you travel frequently. You may choose to switch up scents to match your mood or stick to one fragrance that becomes your signature. Either way, when it’s time to take your perfume on the road, you’ll need to have it in a format that travels well.

First, it’s important to consider whether you’re flying. For carry-on baggage, you can only take up to 3.4 ounces of liquids through security. The Transportation Security Administration will require you to check any liquids in excess of that before letting you past the security checkpoint.

As an alternative, you can check your perfume, but there are restrictions there, as well. The TSA limits liquids in checked baggage to 17 fluid ounces. If you’re carrying multiple liquids on the plane with you, your total can’t exceed 70 ounces, no matter how small your individual vials and tubes are.

But no matter how you’re traveling to your destination, there’s an art to taking your favorite perfume along. Glass bottles can break, so you’ll need to pack them carefully to avoid a mess. For extra security, consider storing your perfumes in a leakproof zipper bag. You can also purchase perfume in a travel-friendly format. Even if you have a favorite you wear every day, chances are there’s a more compact version you can set aside just for travel. If you aren’t a regular traveler, a sample size might be enough to get you through one trip.

Travel friendliness isn’t the only consideration when you’re traveling with perfume. Be conscious of where you’re wearing it and how much you’re using. When traveling in close quarters, such as on an airplane or bus, consider some people are sensitive and even allergic to certain scents. You might want to skip applying your scent while in transit and break it out once you arrive.

• In recent years, the trend has shifted toward lighter, more subtle scents rather than the stronger fragrances that were popular in previous decades. It helps that today’s manufacturers know how to create a lightweight scent that lasts.
• If you’re using stronger perfume in a spray bottle, it sometimes helps to spray it in the air and walk through it versus applying it directly.
• Roll-on perfumes can be more travel friendly. They’re less prone to leaking. Some are so compact, you can even store them in a pocket or inside your purse when you aren’t traveling for easy access throughout the day.
• If you like to switch up your fragrance from one day to the next, you can find sets that include multiple small vials of perfume. With the right case to tote them around in, you’ll be ready to take your stash on the go.
• Multisets of smaller fragrance vials can also be a great gift. You can even find some that come in appealing packaging that’s ready-made for gifting.
• Some perfumes are made from natural oils to give you a fresh scent without chemicals and dyes.
• Perfumes that build in pheromones are designed to work with your body chemistry to create a scent that’s specific to you. This can be a great way to establish a signature scent that sets you apart from the crowd.
• If you’re frustrated with how your perfume fades over the course of the day, there are things that you can do to extend its life. Moisturizing your skin using unscented lotion can help give you a base that will ensure the fragrance sticks. Also, always make sure you apply your perfume fresh out of the shower, then dry your skin.
• If you’ve been told to apply perfume to your pulse points, there’s a reason. Those areas stay warm throughout the day, allowing your perfume to react to that heat and keep you smelling great.