The perfume I bought lasts less than an hour. Did I purchase a FAKE perfume? Not necessarilly. The truth is, longevity of perfumes cannot be used as a basis for authenticity. In fact, if you purchased a perfume directly from the perfumery section of reputable malls such as SM, Robinsons or Rustan's you would notice that different perfumes have different longevity -- some last long while some don't. Also, using the same perfume, longevity varies from person to person. So do these malls sell FAKE perfumes? Definitely not. But why do they have differing longevity? Intensity and longevity of a perfume is based on 3 main factors:
- The concentration of the perfume. Eau De Cologne, Eau De Toilette or Eau De Parfum.
- Intensity and longevity of the aromatic compounds, or perfume oils, used. As the percentage of aromatic compounds increases, so does the intensity and longevity of the scent.
- The person who will wear the perfume. Aromatic oils react differently to different people. This is due to the fact that each and every person have different body chemistry. The only way to know how long a perfume will last on you, is when you actually try it out for yourself. Please note that even if you have been using the same perfume for quite some time, you may notice that the longevity suddenly changes -- it now either lasts longer or shorter. This may be due to the changes in the weather (hotter, colder, more humid, less humid, etc.) This may also be due to changes in your physical body chemistry. A woman, for example, may have recently become pregnant or given birth. A man, on the other hand, may have had a change in his skin PH balance due to a new soap or body wash that he recently started using.
In summary, longevity is affected by a lot of factors but authenticity is not one of them and because of this, you cannot conclude a perfume's authenticity based on longevity.