How To Store Perfume So You Don’t Ruin Your Favorite Scent
Many people leave perfume bottles right next to the bathroom sink where they can easily be grabbed for a quick spritz. The bathroom might seem like a convenient place to store perfume, but this hot and steamy environment makes fragrances fade quickly. Perfume normally lasts three to five years after you open it, but bright light, heat, and humidity can degrade scent molecules and essential oils within a few months. If you'd like to store your perfume to keep it fresh for as long as possible, here are a few rules to keep in mind.
Avoid Extreme Temperatures
Ideally, you should store perfume bottles in a room with a stable temperature between 55 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The more heat perfume is exposed to, the faster the scent fades. According to fragrance company Goldfield & Banks, an 18-degree increase in temperature degrades perfume twice as fast. For this reason, sunny windows and steamy bathrooms are not good places to keep perfume.
Some people believe that storing perfume in the refrigerator will help keep it fresh, but cosmetics company Lancôme says this is equally bad. Extreme cold will break down and alter the character of a fragrance . The only time you should put perfume in the fridge is when your home is subjected to a heatwave. If you store perfume in an unheated space like a basement, keep a thermometer in the room so you can monitor the temperature.
Stay Out Of The Sunlight
Leaving perfume bottles in the sun is harmful for reasons beyond heat alone. The UV rays from sunlight can easily penetrate clear glass. UV light darkens perfume and dulls the scent. Goldfield & Banks reports that just two to three weeks of sun exposure can noticeably change the color and scent of perfume.
Keep Bottles Sealed
Fragrance fades every time you open the bottle, but air exposure also oxidizes perfume. Oxidation alters scent molecules and degrades the quality of your perfume.
Sometimes the spray mechanism allows a little air to seep in with every squirt. If you want perfume to last , bottles must be tightly sealed. To reduce air exposure, transfer half-used perfumes to smaller bottles or use a perfume atomizer.
The Best Place To Store Perfume
To keep your perfume fresh, store it in a dark cabinet or drawer, preferably in a cooler room than the bathroom. If you really want to leave a bottle on your vanity, transfer the perfume to a bottle with dark glass or leave it inside the box. When you're traveling, bring a small atomizer filled with perfume instead of the full bottle. By keeping the original bottle safely at home in a cabinet, you can enjoy its captivating scent for years.
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