How long does perfume last if stored correctly?

[MrDarcysMa]

Late 2019 I discovered a perfume that I loved after years of hating most scents. It wasn't cheap and I splashed out as a gift to myself, planning on wearing it only on special occasions. I'm not really a perfume around the house type of person. My lovely mum also bought me a bottle of it for Xmas as she assumed it would run out ( I had a fairly active social life before!)
Then lockdown happened, so 2 bottles have been hardly touched in a year!
They are stored out of sunlight etc.
Are they going to ruin or will they be ok until I can make use of them again?

I've got a bottle of Dune from about 25 years ago I keep deep in a drawer. It is still divine. A few sprays now and then for old times sake, I was given it by a special person at a special time.

So yours should be okay.

But. Why not use the opened one? Smell amazing, go on.

25 years wow amazing !!!
It cost £80 for a tiny bottle so I can't waste it using it whilst sitting around in my joggers 😂

A long time, my bottle of Sicily must be 15+ years old and I admit the scent doesn’t last as long as it did when new but it’s not off.

I once asked Sarah from 4160tuesdays about this and she said indefinitely if stored correctly.

I have a bottle of Arpege from the 1960s. It still smells good, but probably wouldn't pass safety compliance today! Keep it in the dark and out of direct sunlight / heat and it should be fine. Keep it in the box if you can. Avoid bathrooms as the heat and steam is no good for it.

I also have a Jean Patou from 1985. Gorgeous!

@GrimDamnFanjo Sarah is usually right about these things!

I have dupes of my favourited perfumes of which I also have the originals and wear the dupes daily at home.

Ok so I don't need to worry about it being a few years old by the time I use it. Thanks !

@MissBattleaxe completely! You a fan too?

Agree they if stored correctly will last for quite some time.

I wear perfume every day - even if all I'm doing is lounging around at home . I wouldn't just save it for special occasions - I used to do this and then 2 things happened :

1. I Read an article from someone about a friend of theirs who saved all their stuff for best inc perfumes,ex pensive body lotions etc and then died tragically early and didn't hey yo use the stuff
2. My DS knocked one of my "more special" perfumes over and it broke - sadly the bottle wasn't nearly used up it was pretty much full and I hadn't got to use it

Now some days when I'm at jobs I just spritz myself with a favourite scent just because

@GrimDamnFanjo I'm a fan, a friend and a co-author! We've written a book together. It's out in September this year and we're just going through the final edits with the publishers. (yes, this outs me, but I'm out anyway!)

The Perfume Directory by Sarah McCartney and Samantha Scriven www.waterstones.com/book/the-perfume-directory/sarah-mccartney/sam-scriven/9780711242180

@MissBattleaxe oh fab! I made a suggestion for the glossary!
I love Sarah's perfumes I have loads now!

Decades. I have a bottle of Shalimar from the 60s, it's incredible.

I have some from the late 50s which is still perfect.

@MissBattleaxe how fab! I'll be looking out for that book.

This is making me feel better about all the 4160 Tuesdays perfume I bought in lockdown. I hadn't really found any I liked before and now own more than I will finish in a year!

Years! As long as you store it in the dark, away from sources of heat. Also, if perfume contains vanilla, there is a good chance that the colour of the liquid will get darker, which is a natural process - it doesn't change the scent.

I have a lot of perfumes. My oldest bottle is around 15 yo, but I also have some minis from my mum's purse that are 25yo. I do not believe in keeping perfume (or anything) for special occasions. Maybe because my mum died when she was just 48 - life is too short to save things for the later that might never happen, so I enjoy all of my perfumes daily. A spritz of something nice is a great mood lifter for me, even when I'm just sitting at home in my joggers