This list is built from wearer votes. Every perfume page on ScentVerdict carries a longevity rating drawn from thousands of wearers reporting how long a fragrance lasted on them, and the picks below are the ones where the largest share said long-lasting or better, with a floor of 800 votes so a handful of fans cannot carry a bottle onto the list.
How you apply a perfume makes a difference too, and our guide to making perfume last longer covers what works: moisturised skin and clothing hold fragrance oil far better than dry skin. But technique only stretches what the bottle gives you, which is why the choice of bottle matters more.
There are six picks for women, six for men and six to share, from designer, niche and Arabian houses.
Long-lasting perfumes for women
Black Orchid - Eau de Parfum
Truffle and gardenia open over dark orchid and lotus, settling on patchouli and dark chocolate. Composed by Pierre Negrin and David Apel for Tom Ford in 2006.
Our verdict calls this a legendary statement scent, and more than three in four of the 14,000-odd wearers who voted rate it long-lasting or better. Dark, gourmand and heavy on chocolate and incense, it suits autumn and winter far more than a summer garden party.
Alien - Eau de Parfum
Jasmine sits over cashmeran, on an amber base that does most of the work. Dominique Ropion and Laurent Bruyère composed it for Mugler in 2005 from just three notes.
The amber base does the lasting. Our verdict calls it magnetic and unmistakable, and close to three in four of nearly 15,000 wearers rate it long-lasting.
Opium - Eau de Parfum
Mandarin and bergamot over myrrh and jasmine, on opoponax and amber. Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud composed this 2009 Eau de Parfum for Yves Saint Laurent, a different formula from the 1977 original.
Resin and vanilla smoulder together in a proper amber oriental, and the resin-heavy base is what keeps it going after lighter fragrances have faded. It is not one for warm weather.
Poison - Eau de Toilette
Plum and red fruits over tuberose, incense and honey, on vanilla, amber and sandalwood. Edouard Fléchier built it for Dior in 1985, and it still divides opinion.
Tuberose and incense are a combination built to project, and it wears as bold as that suggests. Note that this pick is the Eau de Toilette, and wearers still rate it long-lasting.
Portrait of a Lady - Eau de Parfum
Clove, raspberry and blackcurrant over rose, patchouli and incense, on musk, amber and benzoin. Dominique Ropion composed it for Frédéric Malle in 2010.
A regal rose wrapped in spicy incense and patchouli, in the words of our verdict, and commanding rather than pretty. Close to four in five wearers rate it long-lasting.
Khamrah Qahwa - Eau de Parfum
Cinnamon and cardamom over praline, candied fruits and jasmine, on coffee, vanilla and tonka bean. Jordi Fernández composed it for Lattafa in 2023.
This coffee-forward flanker of Khamrah is the sweetest thing in this section, and four in five of the 10,000-plus wearers who voted rate it long-lasting or better. Keep it for cold weather.
Long-lasting perfumes for men
Sauvage Elixir - Parfum
Nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom over lavender, on licorice, sandalwood and amber. François Demachy built it for Dior in 2021, taking the Sauvage line into much richer territory than the original Eau de Toilette.
More than nine in ten of over 14,000 wearers rate it long-lasting or better. Our verdict calls it thunderous and spicy-woody, built to exude authority rather than freshness.
Le Male Elixir - Parfum
Lavender and mint over vanilla and benzoin, on honey, tonka bean and tobacco. Quentin Bisch composed it for Jean Paul Gaultier in 2023.
It reads as a charismatic modern gourmand with real seductive depth, syrupy and warm rather than fresh. More wearers have voted on this one than on anything else here, over 18,000, and four in five of them rate it long-lasting.
Interlude Man - Eau de Parfum
Oregano, bergamot and pepper over incense, amber, labdanum and opoponax in roughly equal measure. Pierre Negrin composed it for Amouage in 2012.
Our verdict treats it as a benchmark for opulent incense, dense and uncompromising rather than easy to wear. Nine in ten wearers rate it long-lasting, which puts it near the top of this list.
Black Aoud - Eau de Parfum
Mandarin and oud over rose and patchouli, on labdanum and musk. Pierre Montale built it for Montale in 2006.
Our verdict is blunt: seriously divisive, an imposing rose-and-oud combination some call gothic and opulent and others call synthetic. How long it sits on skin is not in dispute: close to nine in ten wearers rate it long-lasting.
Club de Nuit Intense Man Limited Edition - Parfum
Pineapple and lemon over jasmine and rose, on ambroxan, musk and leather. Armaf released this Parfum-strength edition in 2021.
Our verdict describes a sharp opening that settles into something wearers keep coming back for, and four in five rate it long-lasting.
Kouros - Eau de Toilette
Aldehydes, coriander and clary sage over jasmine, geranium and lavender, on civet, musk, leather and honey. Pierre Bourdon composed it for Yves Saint Laurent in 1981.
Our verdict calls Kouros a divisive legend, animalic and unapologetically masculine. It is an Eau de Toilette, and it still sits level with Le Male Elixir and the Club de Nuit Parfum on the wearer vote.
Long-lasting scents built to share
Oud Satin Mood - Eau de Parfum
Strawberry, rose and violet open the fragrance before it settles into a base of cedar, amber, oud, vanilla and caramel. Francis Kurkdjian composed it for his own house, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, in 2015.
Opulent and enveloping, it drapes the wearer in velvet and gold, built for someone who wants to be noticed rather than blend in. The base is heavy, and more than four in five wearers rate it long-lasting.
Alexandria II - Eau de Parfum
Rosewood, lavender and apple over rose and cedar, on oud, amber and sandalwood. Chris Maurice composed it for Xerjoff in 2012.
Our verdict calls it a benchmark for opulent, brooding woods. It is rich rather than loud, and more than four in five wearers rate it long-lasting.
Guidance - Eau de Parfum
Pear, hazelnut and frankincense over osmanthus, rose and saffron, on sandalwood, vanilla and akigalawood. Quentin Bisch composed it for Amouage in 2023.
Guidance is a love-it-or-hate-it affair, and nobody calls it quiet. Wearers split on the smell but not on the staying power: more than four in five rate it long-lasting.
Red Tobacco - Eau de Parfum
Cinnamon over patchouli and jasmine, on tobacco, vanilla, amber, sandalwood and guaiac wood. Pierre Montale composed it for Mancera in 2017.
Our verdict warns that it polarises like few others: nuclear projection and a potent tobacco-spice blend that some adore and others find an assault on the senses. Nine in ten of the nearly 10,000 wearers who voted rate it long-lasting. Not a blind buy.
Megamare - Parfum
Bergamot and lemon over seaweed, calone and hedione, on musk, ambroxan and cedar. Alessandro Gualtieri composed it for Orto Parisi in 2019.
A salty, marine beast, and the strongest vote on this list: more than nine in ten of 6,000-odd wearers rate it long-lasting or better. Our verdict adds that recent batches are said to be milder than the early ones, so the vote may partly reflect older bottles.
Arabians Tonka - Eau de Parfum
Bergamot and saffron sit over a dense base of musk, amber, oakmoss, tonka bean and sugar cane. Montale released it in 2019.
Our verdict is candid: notorious, divisive, and built to fill a room. Its vote is among the strongest here, which fits a heavy, sweet tonka-and-amber base.
Common questions
What makes a perfume last longer? Concentration matters a great deal: Parfum and Extrait strength hold onto skin longer than Eau de Toilette, because there is more fragrance oil in the bottle. Heavier note families - amber, oud, resins and musk - also outlast citrus and light florals, which is why so many picks above lean on at least one of them. How you apply it still helps, and our guide above covers that.
Is Eau de Cologne the same thing as long-lasting perfume for men? No, the opposite. Eau de Cologne is one of the lightest concentrations, made to fade far sooner than an Eau de Parfum or Parfum. Most of the men's picks above are Eau de Parfum or Parfum, which is the right place to look if longevity is the goal. Kouros, an Eau de Toilette, is the exception.
Do unisex perfumes last as long as fragrances marketed to one gender? Gender marketing has nothing to do with how long a fragrance lasts; concentration and note family decide that. Several of the unisex fragrances above outperform picks in the women's and men's sections on the same wearer vote.
