I love perfume. The scents transform you. They can take you all the way from a floral garden to a sexy night out with your lover. I love how the notes change as time goes by. One minute you’ll be wrapped up in top notes and as the fragrance dries down you’ll get hints of the middle and base notes. Perfumes can be expensive depending on the size and the brand, however if stored properly you can protect your investment. I learned this the hard way.
Believe it or not, perfumes can go bad. Above is a picture of two of my favorite fragrances Viktor Rolf Flowerbomb and Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto. This is their normal coloring. Below is the picture of these same fragrances after going bad. Notice the change in color has changed. This is especially noted in the Yves Saint Laurent Manifesto. The reason these fragrances went bad is that they were left in very hot temperatures for two weeks unknowingly by my husband. Another sign that your perfumes have gone bad is that the scent starts to disappear. They may even begin to smell rancid. While I’m left trying to figure out how to replace them, you can learn from mine er my husband’s mistakes. Here are four ways to properly store your perfume.
- Keep your perfumes away from extreme temperatures. This includes both heat and cold. You definitely don’t want to store them in the bathroom as the changes in temperature from showering can cause your perfumes to go bad quickly. The optimal temperature for storing perfume is around 55-60 degrees or in a room that has more of a stable temperature.
- Keep your perfumes away from direct sunlight. Light exposure degrades molecules especially those in fragrances.
- Don’t leave the tops off. Air and perfume don’t mix. Most perfumes are alcohol based so they have a tendency to evaporate more readily
- Don’t take the perfumes out of their original packing. It may be tempting to decant perfumes in a beautiful crystal decanter for display but this can also expose perfume to air.
