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How do you preserve your perfumes?

post #1 of 10
11/5/05 at 6:58am
Thread Starter 
If any of you read the Perfume of Life boards, you may know that I recently dug out some 20-year-old Laura Ashley perfumes from the recesses of my refrigerator. (See http://perfumeoflife.org/index.php?showtopic=475) Initially, some of them smelled as though they'd gone bad, and I left them on my desk to see if I could sell the bottles on eBay.

After a week or two, I smelled them again, tried them on, and they're wondeful! The top notes on one have gotten a bit shaky, but the others are marvelous. They obviously needed to warm up in order to smell good again.

So I have some questions here.

Is refrigeration the best way to preserve a fragrance? If so, is it OK to take it out for a few days, let it get up to room temperature so that it smells decent again, use it, then put it back in the fridge? Or will the cold/hot/cold/hot temperature changes be worse for it than just leaving it out?

Any thoughts on bottles with glass stoppers vs. spray bottles? My fragrance that weathered the worst is in a bottle with a glass stopper, and I'm wondering if that's part of why it hasn't fared as well.

What about light? I'd read somewhere that light isn't good for perfumes. True? False?

I'd like to preserve these perfumes as long as I can because they're completely discontinued, but I also want to wear them. Suggestions welcome.
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post #2 of 10
11/5/05 at 11:35am
Hi, Twitchly!
I`m really not an expert on this, but thought I`d post a line all the same.
I`m not sure the fridge is the optimal storing place for frags: read somewhere, some time, that the best temperature lies about 10-12 degrees C. Myself, I keep my frags in my rather cold bedroom.

When it comes to light, it can quickly ruin a scent, so you have to keep them away from all kinds of light!!!

Fragrances kept in bottles with glass stroppers fade away more quickly, that`s at least my experience.

[smiley=lolk.gif] Â* Musse
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post #3 of 10
11/6/05 at 3:10pm
I'm keeping mine in their boxes (to protect them from light), in coubard. I think it should be kept definitely in cold, dark places. High temperature and light exposure can damage colour and smell as well. 8-)
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post #4 of 10
11/6/05 at 3:19pm
Most of mine are in their boxes and about half are in three dresser drawers. The others are in a dark spot in my bedroom.
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post #5 of 10
11/6/05 at 7:26pm
I keep mine in a darker room in a cooler part of the house, in their packaging/boxes (if possible), and in their own special dresser.
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post #6 of 10
11/7/05 at 6:05am
I prefer to keep mine in my dresser, where they only see light when I pick out my fragrance for the day.
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post #7 of 10
11/7/05 at 9:32am
I try to keep my boxes and store the bottles in them and in the dark. Â*Light is #1 enemy of perfumes and heat is #2 enemy. Â*A constant temp is better than hot/cold, hot/cold changes- but short of storing them in one of those temperature/humidity controlled wine lockers, I do the best I can do and keep them room-temperature cool. Â*So far, so good.

The glass stopper bottles, no matter how tightly sealed, will eventually evaporate and/or spoil. Â*I keep the glass stopper bottles but decant the perfume into either spray bottles, roll ons, or at least ones with a better cap seal.

Sometimes a really, really old bottle of perfume can be "aired out," strangely enough. Â*If it's a splash container sometimes leaving the cap off overnight can really improve what you may have thought was spoiled. Â*Also, an old spray bottle may have had the juice in the sprayer itself go off, while the rest of the fragrance in the bottle is actually fine. Â*By spraying into the air a few times you can often clear the nozzle to get to the fresher juice.
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post #8 of 10
11/7/05 at 11:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Artisankey

Also, an old spray bottle may have had the juice in the sprayer itself go off, while the rest of the fragrance in the bottle is actually fine. Â*By spraying into the air a few times you can often clear the nozzle to get to the fresher juice.

Thank you! I will remember that, just in case any of my beloveds last long enough to smell off.
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post #9 of 10
11/7/05 at 7:11pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Artisankey

Sometimes a really, really old bottle of perfume can be "aired out," strangely enough. Â*If it's a splash container sometimes leaving the cap off overnight can really improve what you may have thought was spoiled. Â*Also, an old spray bottle may have had the juice in the sprayer itself go off, while the rest of the fragrance in the bottle is actually fine. Â*By spraying into the air a few times you can often clear the nozzle to get to the fresher juice.

You know, I suspect that may be what happened with the splash/stopper container. Just opening it a few times may have done the trick. I couldn't believe the difference a week outside the fridge made, but maybe it was simply opening the bottle a couple of times that got rid of the reek. And spraying the other a couple of times may have cleared it out as well. Most interesting (and encouraging). I've never had a 20-year-old bottle of perfume before, so this is a bit new to me ...
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post #10 of 10
11/9/05 at 3:24pm
I have a related problem - I won some vintage perfume nips on ebay, and plan on using one for Decade Day Nov. 20. I assumed the nips would be fine as they are sealed and airtight, but I'm wondering if they too need airing. They've such small quantities I hate to mess with it after I open it - I'm afraid the contents might evaporate into nothingness.
Has anyone dealt with these glass ampules? I bid on them because I want to try the scents. I want to give these fragrances a chance and not come away with a negative opinion if they only need a good airing to blossom.
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