Fragrance, like other cosmetics, has a shelf life. But unlike most make-up, it can be hard to replace, extremely expensive, and once something happens to it, there’s no putting it back together. Because fragrance is so vulnerable to degradation from a number of factors, smart storage practices are important. Want to know how to keep your favorite fragrances smelling exactly as they should for as long as possible? Here’s what to do.
Keep them away from temperature extremes.
Most of the time, this means heat, but people who attempt to put their scents in the freezer to keep them fresh often also end up destroying the integrity of the fragrances. The best temperature is a good bit colder than a comfortable room. If you want the perfect conditions, try storing your stuff in a cooler.
Don’t put them in your bathroom.
It makes sense to put your favorite perfume on your sink, but it’s actually not a good idea. Bathrooms are hot and humid, which makes them prime areas for breaking down the fragrance’s molecules and introducing bacteria.
Keep your stuff in the dark.
Light exposure degrades lots of molecules, including those in most fragrances. So keeping your scents somewhere with little to no light exposure is best.
Use opaque bottles.
If you have to have your fragrances out on display, transfer them to frosted or wholly opaque bottles, since clear bottles allow light to affect the fragrance ingredients.
Don’t leave the top off.
Scents that are alcohol-based have a rapid rate of evaporation once they’re exposed to air, so forgetting to seal up bottles means that your scent will dry up sooner.
Written by Miriam Lacey, this article originally appeared on BellaSugar.
Image: Romanchuck Dimitry/Shutterstock.com
Other articles you may be interested in:
How to wear perfume
Build your fragrance wardrobe
Shop for perfume
The story of perfume
Your perfume personality
30 Responses
wow never knew that u should put perfume in opaque bottles will def try this tip,thanx
Thank u so much for this advice i am sometimes really a slob when it comes to my perfume to lazy to put them back where they actually should be now i know how to look after them, interesting article.
Did not know about the bathroom tip. Wow! Moving my perfumes ASAP.
interesting….
This is what I needed, once I had my perfume for over a year and the smell just went off.
Thank you for this info, I will definitely be making use of these tips!
I won’t be keeping my perfumes in the bathroom cupboards any more!
Thanks for the info, I’ve definitely learned something new! I store my perfumes in my wardrobe, which is a dark place as I don’t open that wardrobe very often.
I’ve found the culprit!heat,after 6months my perfume smell different.thanks for the great tip
Thanks great tips will definitely try these as I get so sad when my expensive perfumes do this