Pefume Storage

July 17, 2010 9:30 AM

How to keep good perfume from going bad..............My favorite scent (Kate Spade) is being discontinued. I bought two large bottles yesterday, but I use perfume sparingly and very slowly. I want to know how to store the second bottle so it can be just as good as new when I go to use it....maybe even several years from now. It has not been opened, still in the box. I have heard about storing in the refrigerator but I don't know if that is the best way to store it. Or is it possible that perfume just won't keep fresh for years no matter what (meaning I should give it away as a gift or even return it)?
posted by Lylo to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

cool, dry, DARK place - nothing will ruin it faster than leaving it exposed to light. People shouldn't leave their perfumes out unless they wear them regularly, because they can degrade within months if left in a bright room.
posted by lizbunny at 9:37 AM on July 17, 2010

From the little I know, perfume is such a complex blend of ingredients, there really is no way to know how it will change over time. That said, the talk boards at Base Notes will probably have some good advice on how to handle your perfume. They might also have some good ideas for a new perfume for you, that hits some of the same chords that Kate Spade does.
posted by pickypicky at 9:38 AM on July 17, 2010

My mother had an empty cut glass bottle whose stopper she would occasionally remove to let us smell the scent worn by her mother, decades dead. So at least some perfumes will keep well for lengthy periods. Write to the manufacturer; probably they'll be glad to give advice.
posted by wjm at 9:41 AM on July 17, 2010 [1 favorite]

Am totally not a perfume-wearer here, but my mother used to say that about five years is the shelf life if you don't open it, so she would buy small amounts of perfume and keep all of them sealed until needed. Maybe you can return the large bottle and buy two smaller ones, so that when you open one bottle, there isn't enough perfume to 'go bad' before you use it all?
posted by zennish at 10:17 AM on July 17, 2010

I used to collect perfume. Keeping it in a cool, dry, dark place like lizbunny recommends is the best way to extend its shelf life. In my experience, most fragrances will last at least four or five years without special handling - on the other hand, there's no telling what will turn, or when. (I bought a set of two different fragrances by the same brand a few years ago, and only one of them is still good. And Creed perfumes always seem to go bad super-quickly. Bleah.)

As I recall, Kate Spade is a quite gardenia-heavy fragrance, and the good news is that there are always gardenia fragrances available, so you might find a good replacement down the line. (For example, you might like Marc Jacobs, which is also a gardenia scent.) If you develop a nose for the notes you like, it'll get easier to find new fragrances.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:19 AM on July 17, 2010

My father once found a bottle of vintage Sortilege in an antique store that was almost 90% filled. According to my mother the smell was exactly right; the bottle was easily a couple of decades old.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:51 AM on July 17, 2010

Civil_Disobedient is correct. Some perfumes can last many, many decades, if kept in the cool dark. I just invested in a huge bottle of my favorite, and fully expect it to take me into my retirement years.
posted by stranger danger at 12:46 PM on July 17, 2010

Avoid light exposure and keep them capped well when not in use - they'll keep a long time, though if there are any natural materials they will age a la wine. Usually good but sometimes not.
posted by medea42 at 2:04 PM on July 17, 2010