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Refrigerating your bottles

post #1 of 30
8/17/09 at 12:55pm
Thread Starter 
I know this has been discussed before with varying opinions, etc., but I wanted an update.

My apartment at the moment is HOT...let's say, 30 degrees (86F). I'm scared that my perfumes will be ruined. If you had to pick one of the following, which would it be:

1. Keep perfume in a dark cabinet, probably cooler than the above-mentioned temp, but sitll warm; or

2. Put in (food) fridge where it's obviously much cooler.

I don't have the option of buying a bar fridge to keep them at the optimal 20 degrees celsius (or whatever it is)...I'm curious what everyone thinks will cause more damage, too hot, or too cold.

Thoughts?
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post #2 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:16pm
i have read/watched Mr. Turin and Malle, both advocating storage of scents in fridge for better life.
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post #3 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:17pm
I've always kept my fragrances in the fridge and they keep beautifully, year after year. Everything (?) stays fresher in the cold compared to heat.
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post #4 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tott View Post

I've always kept my fragrances in the fridge and they keep beautifully, year after year. Everything (?) stays fresher in the cold compared to heat.


do you actually have summers in Sweden? visit India in April mate
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post #5 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:22pm
Thread Starter 
I too have heard that it's better in the fridge, but I was concerned about it being *too* cold...I don't want to set the temperature higher if I'm also using it for food, etc.
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post #6 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:27pm
How about a wine cooler (fridge). They can be adjusted to 50*-60* and are the size of a mini fridge.
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post #7 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jenson View Post

do you actually have summers in Sweden? visit India in April mate

Well, it's all relative...

I did live in Milan for a couple of years and that was challenging at times. My first summer in Italy happened to be one of the hottest ever in Europe.
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post #8 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

I don't have the option of buying a bar fridge to keep them at the optimal 20 degrees celsius (or whatever it is)...

Quote:
Originally Posted by DarwinHoel View Post

How about a wine cooler (fridge). They can be adjusted to 50*-60* and are the size of a mini fridge.

I'm poor at the moment.
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post #9 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

I too have heard that it's better in the fridge, but I was concerned about it being *too* cold...I don't want to set the temperature higher if I'm also using it for food, etc.

Regular fridge temperature is fine in my experience. I keep mine very cold.
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post #10 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:37pm
OK, this is a subject with which I have some expertise. Watch sales at discount stores for the small 1.7 cu. ft. refrigerators. I have purchased them for as low as $59.00. Set them on the lowest setting and change temperature ajustment using a thermometer until you get to approximately 50 to 60 degrees F. Problem solved. Food temperature is a too cold for fragrances. Safe zone is 32 to 40 degrees F. for food. Depending on the unit you buy, annual cost is approximately $27 to $38 per year. You would usually spend more than the price of a small refrigerator on one bottle of fragrance. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." I have four fragrance friges so I have some experience to base my opinions upon.
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post #11 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:43pm
Mine have been in a dedicated fridge for years with no problems at all. I've never had anything go off nor any other issues.
It's set at the highest temp. it will function at and yes, N_Tesla is right on; it'll cost you similar to one bottle of niche or bigger $ designer juice and it's very cheap to run. :-)
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post #12 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:45pm
I does not get that hot inside, but it can get into low 80s upstairs on especially hot days without AC, so I took my full bottles to the office (always 74 F). I only have about a dozen bottles so it was easy to move them.
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post #13 of 30
8/17/09 at 1:52pm
I usually keep them in my cupboard, well below 25 degrees. I've never really considered storing frags in the fridge.
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post #14 of 30
8/17/09 at 2:27pm
  • MFJ
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It gets pretty warm in my room and since I do not turn on the AC much, i chose to get a wine cooler to play safe. I have considered using my (food) fridge, but just was not comfortable with the idea of my frags stored beside sauces, packed foods etc, could get a little messy.
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post #15 of 30
8/17/09 at 2:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by N_Tesla View Post

OK, this is a subject with which I have some expertise. Watch sales at discount stores for the small 1.7 cu. ft. refrigerators. I have purchased them for as low as $59.00. Set them on the lowest setting and change temperature ajustment using a thermometer until you get to approximately 50 to 60 degrees F. Problem solved. Food temperature is a too cold for fragrances. Safe zone is 32 to 40 degrees F. for food. Depending on the unit you buy, annual cost is approximately $27 to $38 per year. You would usually spend more than the price of a small refrigerator on one bottle of fragrance. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." I have four fragrance friges so I have some experience to base my opinions upon.

It's good advice, but I just don't have the capacity to get a wine fridge right now...and if I did get one, it'd have to be pretty large...I have around 60 or so bottles.

I guess that's my only option though...hopefully I'll find a good sale!
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post #16 of 30
8/17/09 at 4:01pm
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I keep the bulk of mine in a dedicated refrigerated wine cellar and the rest in an easily accessible refrigerator, both at about 55 F. No problem in 3 years with any fragrances going bad.
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post #17 of 30
8/17/09 at 4:16pm
IMO, keep them in the fridge.
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post #18 of 30
8/17/09 at 4:35pm
You might check the yard sales in your town. Sometimes perfectly good older refrigerators are available cheap because the owner needs to be rid of it. Also check used appliance stores. I bought a frost free upright freezer once (not for fragrances) for $80.00. The seller wanted $150.00 so I left her my card with the $80.00 offer and she called me the same day. Don't be afraid to negotiate.


Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

It's good advice, but I just don't have the capacity to get a wine fridge right now...and if I did get one, it'd have to be pretty large...I have around 60 or so bottles.

I guess that's my only option though...hopefully I'll find a good sale!
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post #19 of 30
8/17/09 at 6:05pm
I just have them in a frosted glass cabinet in a generally dim room of the house that stays around 74 degrees. I used to have them in the closet (darker, but probably a degree or two warmer), but moved them to a more friendly-to-look-at place. I'm planning on lining the frosted glass parts of the cabinet with dark fabric, but haven't gotten to it. Maybe a window unit AC in that room to keep it a few degrees cooler could be in order - it's my office though, so I'd need pajamas and a sweatshirt to work from home. :P
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post #20 of 30
8/17/09 at 6:23pm
I use an old fridge at 40 degrees F. For my main collection, and rotate them out as desired. I agree with N_Tesla - a big old fridge is the bomb. Use a colder temp if it's an archive, or higher if you use them directly. The nice thing about old fridges is the presence of multiple gadgets and compartments to moderate the cooling for some frags and step it up for others.
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post #21 of 30
8/17/09 at 8:05pm
Last summer the temperature in parts of Melbourne's suburbs hit 47º Celsius, and inside my house got to near 40º C. And every summer, the inside of my house hits 30º quite frequently.

No scents that I have on top of cupboards have ever gone off (though I keep many others inside drawers where they wouldn't have gotten as hot), and I haven't noticed any other Melbourne Basenoters complaining about ruined scents.

So I wouldn't worry about standard designer scents at the temperature of your apartment. I'm not sure about niche scents, because I keep them in a drawer. The only one I've always had out which took the full blast of heat is Etro Vetiver, and that survived fine as well.

I also keep a scent or two in the car, which often hits 50º C when parked out in the summer sun. Never had a scent ruined there either.
Renato
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post #22 of 30
8/17/09 at 8:46pm
Just make sure if you are storing perfumes long-term, that they are not in a frost-free refrigerator. They may be more dehydrating than a normal room environment, and could evaporate your scents more quickly. If that is the only refrigerator that you have, enclose your scent in a reclosable plastic bag and THEN store in a refrigerator.
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post #23 of 30
8/17/09 at 10:12pm
I think you should be fine with the dark cabinet. It will indeed be slightly cooler in there, and if you can keep that in a closet you'll probably have it cooler still. Also no sunlight will hit any scent.

You should be fine that way.
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post #24 of 30
8/18/09 at 2:18am
Those wine coolers have glass fronts yeah? It gets to suicide-inducing temperatures here (for me anyway, I went to Finland last year in their summer, had to get someone to plead with me not to just stay in the hotel indefinitely, hah!) and I would hate it if my perfumes started to go bad. I had always thought that they'd be cool things that my kids could have when I'm old and cranky. But putting them in the fridge... hmm... the bottles are all so nice looking!
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post #25 of 30
8/18/09 at 5:39am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the opinions...you often hear about heat/light damaging perfumes, but what about the cold??

Will definitely keep my eyes peeled for a cheap little fridge.
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post #26 of 30
8/18/09 at 6:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

Thanks for all the opinions...you often hear about heat/light damaging perfumes, but what about the cold??

Like I said, my fragrances appear to be in excellent condition. I am also curious to find out how low temperatures can/will damage perfumes!

(The only difference I've discovered is that fragrances take slightly longer to develop on skin when I apply them, but that would logically be because they need to heat up a bit...)
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post #27 of 30
8/18/09 at 6:47am
We've been using a regular fridge for our frags for years and have no trouble at all. If in doubt, keep them on the door, which is a bit warmer than the rest of the fridge.
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post #28 of 30
8/18/09 at 6:53am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 30 Roses View Post

We've been using a regular fridge for our frags for years and have no trouble at all. If in doubt, keep them on the door, which is a bit warmer than the rest of the fridge.

Good advice...someone else had mentioned that to me as well.

I think I'm just going to (for the time being) turn the fridge temp up a bit, and throw them all in there. Granted, I read this morning that temperature in Toronto should be cooling down a bit in the coming week, so maybe I won't have to.

I fantasize about one day having my own little Malle-style perfume room with glass fridges and Jean Prouve furniture. I wonder how much Andre Putman charges to decorate...
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post #29 of 30
8/18/09 at 7:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 30 Roses View Post

We've been using a regular fridge for our frags for years and have no trouble at all. If in doubt, keep them on the door, which is a bit warmer than the rest of the fridge.

That's what I was going to suggest. Top of the fridge and door shelves not as cold. Your scents will be fine there.

Anyhow, it won't be for long. As much as I wish it wouldn't, summer will soon be gone
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post #30 of 30
8/18/09 at 8:54am
Get a good cheap fridge for the comfort of your frags.

I have a 25 year old bottle of Aramis and 23 year old Halston Z-14, which i have kept in their boxes in wardrobes in averagely the same temperatures as you have indicated. They are still as good as when i got them. Maybe designer scents are just more stable.
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