December 21, 2022
Does perfume expire? Believe it or not, all fragrances do have a shelf life. If you’re anything like us and have been holding onto the same bottles of perfume for years, you might want to listen up, because it’s time to kiss some of your prized collection goodbye. There are a few ways to tell if your favorite fragrance is expiring, from a change in smell to a difference in texture. Ahead, we chatted with two fragrance experts, Matthew Mileo, founder of Milèo New York, and Frances Shoemack, founder of Abel, about what those signs are.
Does Fragrance Expire if Unopened?
As Shoemack pointed out above, the more you spray a bottle of perfume, the more oxygen enters the bottle — the more oxygen enters the bottle, the faster it expires. So you may be able to stretch a few more months (or years) out of an unopened perfume bottle than an open one, provided you choose a bottle with heavy base notes and store the fragrance correctly.
How to Store Perfumes and Fragrances
If you splurged on a luxury fragrance and want to keep it smelling fresh for as long as possible, you’re definitely going to want to follow these tips. As Shoemack and Mileo pointed out, certain fragrances can last as long as five years with the proper storage conditions.
Find a Cool, Dark Storage Spot
“One of the worst places to store perfume is in your bathroom where the temperature fluctuates and there is a lot of humidity,” says Shoemack. Instead, store your fragrance somewhere with a cool, consistent temperature, away from sunlight. (“Might be pretty for the Instagram shelfie but not so much for the perfume's shelf life!” Shoemack says.)
Don’t have a cool, dark spot for your fragrances to live? Shoemack says you can also stash them in the fridge. Unlike your bedroom or bathroom, your fridge will maintain a stable (and cold) temperature.
Hang Onto the Box
It’s a smart idea to keep your fragrance inside its original box to further filter out sunlight. Even if your perfume came in a fully opaque bottle, Shoemack says the fragrance still won’t be protected from heat, temperature fluctuations or humidity. Plus, as Mileo mentioned above, the box your perfume came in may have a PAO number on the bottom, which will help you find the fragrance’s estimated expiration date.
What to Do When Your Perfume or Fragrance Expires
The best way to get rid of an expired fragrance is to pour the contents out of the bottle into a sink, and rinse the drain with hot water and soap to remove oils. “The surfactants in the soap will act as a solvent for the remaining fragrance to easily filter through the septic system,” he says.
Next, recycle it, as fragrances usually come in glass bottles. “The hardest part of disposing of fragrance bottles is taking off all the plastic components first,” notes Mileo. “That means the cap, nozzle and that pesky plastic straw all need to be taken apart before the glass can be recyclable.”
Mileo also says that there are great ways to repurpose perfume bottles to use as vases, candle holders or even as makeup brush containers. “There’s no excuse not to recycle, resell or repurpose fragrance bottles!” he says.
We like to keep our prettiest perfume bottles, like the Valentino Born in Roma For Her Eau de Parfum or the Giorgio Armani Beauty My Way Intense, as eye-catching keepsakes on our vanities long after they’ve expired.
Additional reporting by Alanna Martine Kilkeary. Photographer: Chaunte Vaughn
