The problem is that all of the stuff that used to make perfumes persistent are all gone.

I received a really nice French cologne as a birthday gift back in the 80's--women loved it. It was low grade enough that only people very next to you would notice, and it would last days ... even after showers. This made for some interesting interactions with women at the office ... "Oh, looks like someone had a good weekend ..."

At some point, they had to change out the binder/fixer/whatever (presumably it's either horribly toxic or horribly cruel to skunks), and colognes haven't been the same since.

Now, in order to get a cologne to last even a couple of hours, they create things that are horrifically strong at start, and you still almost can't smell them several hours later.

(I actually had the misfortune to test this. My mother used Chanel No 5 Eau de Cologne that I would buy for her as a gift when she ran out or it went bad. The last one I bought smelled wrong as soon as I opened it--they reformulated it and discontinued it soon after. I wound up kicked through Chanel customer service to get some of the last "real" stock they had--they knew that the updated one was wrong and had kept a small amount for customer complaints (and presumably very rich patrons).)

I'm not old enough to know how cologne and perfume "used" to be, but it certainly works better (and longer) when it binds to oils.

Try using an oil-based soap, using a dab of unscented baby oil on your skin or not showering for a day before using perfumes.

AFAIK this is also in part because there is a difference between "perfume", "cologne", "eau de cologne", "eau de perfume"--some of these are probably the same, I forget the exact details. Someone once explained me there's three different types of smell-good liquids, and they mainly differ in how long they last. Often you have the same fragrance at various prices.

Hrm... "Fixative" appears to be the term. Ambergris is one of several used, and the one I've heard of.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixative_(perfumery)

What I don’t understand is how people wear half a dozen unrelated fragrances at once. Laundry detergent, dryer sheets, cologne, deodorant, shampoo, and sometimes people still add “air freshener” on top of that.

It's possible to get unscented versions of most personal hygiene products- and generally you shouldn't be using so much shampoo that you smell it for hours after using it.

Most shampoo fragrance fades fairly fast, compared to scents meant to last all day like deodorant. But I think you are underestimating the strength of the fragrances in shampoo.

I do know of the fragrance-free options, of course, but I’ve suffered comfort issues from being near other people’s fragrances for over a decade. I have to try to find fragrance-free and natural versions of everything for my girlfriend.

It isn’t a problem for my own use, as I use very few personal care products, but it would be great if the general public understood the things you say.