Conserve a perfume in the best conditions is a child’s play… But sometimes, it goes against some daily practices. Thanks to a few simple gestures, you will still be able to enjoy your perfumes in many years! Practical advice that will be useful to collectors and those who change perfume according to their moods or the season!
A complex product to tame
You have chosen this perfume so that it sticks to your skin and becomes the precious ally of your daily life. If you want the alchemy between this essence and your skin lasts, you must take care of it! Why? Because perfume is a complex product that evolves with time and use. To prevent this perfume story from turning sour, you need to understand how the juice of a fragrance behaves. Perfume is usually made up of several types of ingredients: alcohol, water, natural raw materials and synthetic ingredients. While synthetic molecules bring linearity and stability to the formula, naturally derived ingredients evolve, evaporate and change depending on your skin and the conditions in which you wear it.
Does perfume expire?
We often hear that a perfume cannot be kept for more than 3 years. In reality, this fateful figure of 36 months, indicated on cosmetic products and recommended in perfumery, represents above all a legal cover for the manufacturers and the industrialists in case of complaint after this period of time. However, it is true that some fragrances keep better than others. It is the case of woody, leathery or oriental juices, which resist better to the instability of time. Citrusy notes from natural ingredients, on the other hand, will tend to evaporate more quickly.
Like good wine, some compositions become more beautiful with time and always provoke the same emotions, even after several decades! The only judge must therefore remain your nose. In case of doubt, start by applying a little touch of perfume on your wrist. Wait a few moments and inhale: if the fragrance is still the one you liked so much and the smell is pleasant, it means that the magic still works!! If, on the contrary, you smell plastic, vinegar, metallic notes and the olfactory sensation is generally unpleasant, your paths may have to separate…
The 5 golden rules to conserve a perfume
Put it in a safe place
So where do you start to conserve a perfume? Generally speaking, perfumes do not get along well with heat and light. Indeed, the perfume does not support the differences of temperature, even more when they are repeated! And for good reason, because UV rays will cause an alteration of the olfactory molecules. With heat, chemical reactions accelerate. Your perfume changes and degrades more quickly.
The perfume, it’s in the bag box!
The place where your precious bottle will be displayed is therefore essential. We advise you to absolutely avoid a bathroom that is too humid and heated, a windowsill facing sun or next to a pretty vintage cast iron radiator. If the option of a wine cellar, as interesting as it is, seems complex in our daily life, you can always store your fragrances in your room in a rather dark place. To keep the fragrance even better over time, it’s ideal to leave it in its packaging. Because yes, the case is not only there for your eyes’ pleasure! If not, a beauty case will do the trick as well! The bottle will be protected from the sun and heat.
Oxidation does not mean expiry
As you can see, perfume doesn’t like light, and when they are too much exposed, some fragrances can change color drastically. This phenomenon is called oxidation and it is completely natural. But be careful, this does not necessarily mean that its quality degrades. For example, the color of the eau de parfum vanille, which is translucent at the beginning, quickly tends towards an orange tint when it comes into contact with light, but its quality remains intact, we assure you! So before throwing it in the garbage, test it, smell it… and enjoy it again!
Avoid contact with air
Among the enemies of essences, the air also figures prominently. Repeated contact with the air will contribute to the alteration of the fragrance molecules. Therefore, keep the bottle of your fragrance upright. This will allow the minimum possible surface of the fragrance to be in contact with the air, and thus avoid the risk of oxidation. Open the cap of your bottle only to perfume yourself and remember to close it again if you want to conserve a perfume over time. Also, if it’s been a long time since you last used your perfume, don’t hesitate to do a few sprays to purge the dip tube in the bottle that might have become slightly clogged. Usually, perfumes with a spray bottle are more resistant to time than those with a splash application or a pear.
To keep a perfume, the clean skin you will have
Finally, if you take your perfume with your fingers, or if you apply it by rubbing its cap directly on your skin, do it imperatively before you have applied your cream or makeup. Your skin must be clean for the alchemy to work. This avoids introducing impurities or other greasy elements that could penetrate the fragrance and risk changing it.
So, did you already have the right reflexes?
Discover the fragrances mentioned in this article
good article