i dabbed a little on my wrist with the wand (very carefully because i too was worried about dumping it everywhere), smelled it, waved my wrist around to dry it, smelled it again, and went on about my day and completely forgot to check in an hour or so to see how the scent changed. >.< i just did one wrist in case i didn't like the scent or it was really strong, so i could wash it off. i think it's totally up to you where you put it and how long you wait to smell it.