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Which Perfume Brands Have Expiration Dates

post #1 of 12
11/13/08 at 5:11am
Thread Starter 
So, I know that Le Labo has expiration dates on their bottles.

Are there other perfumes that do this? I have read on the forums that Creed bottles have "dates," but are they dates of manufacture, or dates of expiry?
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post #2 of 12
11/13/08 at 8:03am
I think they are manufacturing dates for Creed
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post #3 of 12
11/13/08 at 8:20am
If they do, it's only to get you to buy more stuff from them...as long as perfume is stored properly, it has no definite expiration date.
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post #4 of 12
11/13/08 at 9:55am
I think many frags have a "shelf life" specified by the designer, after which retailers are supposed to pull the product from the shelf and send it back to be destroyed (although it probably gets recycled to discounters instead). However, this is probably more to protect their image than to recall deteriorated product. As many of us know, perfumes can last years if properly cared for.

I have had Chanel tell me directly (from their consumer relations dept., not a retail SA) that a bottle of Egoiste I purchased was past its "shelf life" and should not have been sold to me.
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post #5 of 12
11/13/08 at 10:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadScientist View Post

I think many frags have a "shelf life" specified by the designer, after which retailers are supposed to pull the product from the shelf and send it back to be destroyed (although it probably gets recycled to discounters instead). However, this is probably more to protect their image than to recall deteriorated product. As many of us know, perfumes can last years if properly cared for.

I have had Chanel tell me directly (from their marketing dept., not a retail SA) that a bottle of Egoiste I purchased was past its "shelf life" and should not have been sold to me.

That's interesting about Chanel.

Most of the Guerlain counters in my city have tons of old stock still for sale (in the gold striped boxes), so I guess they're less picky about it.
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post #6 of 12
11/13/08 at 12:12pm
I think most often the SAs simply have no clue how to read the batch numbers, and thus do not even know when something has past the "expiration date".
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post #7 of 12
10/10/09 at 1:40pm
I have bottles by D.R. Harris and also Etat Libre d'Orange and they have expiry dates on the boxes.

There is also a label on the Harris and a printed date on the bottles of ELDO.
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post #8 of 12
10/11/09 at 4:12pm
My bottle of Vanille Noir du Mexique (La Maison de la Vanille) was supposed to expire last September according to the bottle, which is probably why they were selling them for $10 at Sephora when I bought it last May. Still smells lovely though!
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post #9 of 12
10/12/09 at 2:51am
I have a bottle of Horizon by Guy Laroche from the mid 90's and, while it should be ages behind the expiry date, it is still completely usable.
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post #10 of 12
10/12/09 at 8:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

Most of the Guerlain counters in my city have tons of old stock still for sale (in the gold striped boxes), so I guess they're less picky about it.

Those old boxes may actually be selling well. They're vintage, y'know. : )
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post #11 of 12
10/13/09 at 9:01pm
From Chemistry I know that all molecules have half-lives that begin to break down and decompose over time. I would imagine that some ingredients also fade out over a long enough time. It could be argued that vintage bottles smell differently not due to reformulation but because of this half-life.

WHen I was 18, or so, a SA at Macy's told me that frags have a tendency to dissipate to sd alcohol that could be harmful to your skin. I think she was trying deperately to get me to buy a new bottle.
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post #12 of 12
10/15/09 at 7:42am
Just saw this text on the Penhaligon's website:

All our spray fragrances can last up to 3 years if they are kept in their boxes away from direct sunlight or heat.

On all our other products you will see a small jar like symbol on the outer packaging, this is known as a period after opening symbol or a “PAO”. This PAO has a number followed by the letter “M” marked within the symbol. This indicates the number of months after opening that the formulation remains usable. So for example a product marked with “18M” is usable for eighteen months after opening.
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