Last week, I wrote about how to pick out perfume. Assuming I ever buy that L’Instant de Guerlain recommended to me by Sephora’s fragrance finder, I’ll want to preserve its original scent and extend its shelf life by storing it properly.
One reason why my Chanel Chance isn’t doing it for me anymore may be that I’ve apparently been storing it in exactly the wrong place. Nested among a hodgepodge of other cosmetics on my bathroom counter, my perfume basks in the afternoon sunlight, the golden liquid beaming radiantly. What I can’t see, however, are the molecular bonds between fragrance molecules bursting apart in response to the heat and light exposure. According to How Perfume Works, even a week’s worth of sun can permanently alter a scent.
But to protect those delicate top, heart and base notes, you don’t have to treat perfume like a carton of milk and toss it in the fridge as some suggest. The humid environment can also affect the fragrance, and evaporation might leave you with Chanel No. 5-tainted groceries. And speaking of evaporation, don’t store perfume bottles without their caps. Not only will scent compounds escape and tax your precious elixir, interaction with oxygen will also damage the fragrance.
Whenever I bring home my new perfume, I should simply tuck away in a drawer or another cool, dry space. Fragrances generally have shelf lives of a couple of years, but proper storage can evidently extend that lifeline much longer.
Filed under: How-to Stuff Tagged: Chanel, cosmetics, perfume
