The Best Ways To Store Your Fragrances

Knowing how to store your fragrances properly is essential to maintaining their scent, quality, and longevity. Here are some tips to ensure your fragrances last longer.

Keep fragrances in a cool, dark place

Keeping fragrances in a cool, dark place is essential for maintaining their scent, quality, and longevity. Exposure to heat, light, and fluctuating temperatures can degrade the quality of perfumes over time. Therefore, it is recommended to store perfumes in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight, such as a closet, drawer, or cabinet.

The ideal storage location for perfumes is a dark area with a consistent temperature, protected from extreme heat or cold. Avoid placing them on a windowsill or near radiators, stoves, or other heat sources. The bathroom is not suitable due to the high humidity and temperature variations caused by showering or bathing. Instead, opt for a hallway closet or a bedroom drawer.

Additionally, it is important to keep perfumes in their original packaging, as it provides extra protection from light and temperature changes. The boxes also provide cushioning in case of accidental drops, preventing the bottles from shattering.

By following these storage guidelines, you can ensure that your fragrances remain fresh and captivating for an extended period.

Avoid heat sources

Heat is one of the biggest enemies of perfume preservation. When it comes to storing your fragrances, it is important to keep them away from heat sources to prevent damage and preserve their original scent. Here are some detailed tips on how to avoid heat sources when storing your fragrances:

• Avoid Storing in the Bathroom: The bathroom is one of the worst places to store your fragrances due to temperature fluctuations and high humidity. The heat from showers or baths can cause unwanted chemical reactions and alter the structure of the scent. Instead, opt for a cool, dry place outside the bathroom, such as a hallway closet or a bedroom drawer.
• Maintain a Constant Temperature: Keep your fragrances away from heat sources such as heaters, ovens, and windowsills. Aim for a cool, consistent temperature environment, preferably below 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). Store them in a room that is not subject to sudden temperature changes.
• Choose a Cool Storage Location: Basements or cool closets are ideal for storing perfumes. Basements, being below ground, are shielded from direct heat, while interior closets are away from external walls that receive direct sunlight. Avoid areas like kitchens or bathrooms, where heat from cooking or showers can create unstable environments.
• Use a Temperature-Controlled Cabinet: Investing in a temperature-controlled cabinet can be beneficial, especially in hot climates. These cabinets maintain a consistent temperature, usually around 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit (13-15 degrees Celsius), slowing down evaporation and preventing degradation.
• Avoid Direct Sunlight: Direct sunlight can cause the aromatic molecules to degrade, resulting in a weaker scent or an unpleasant odour. Store your fragrances in a shaded area, away from windows, or use UV-protective film on windows to reduce sunlight exposure.

By following these tips, you can effectively avoid heat sources and ensure that your fragrances remain fresh and retain their original scent and quality.

Keep the bottle sealed

Keeping the perfume bottle sealed is one of the most important things to do when storing fragrances. Oxygen is perfume's worst enemy. Leaving the bottle unhinged for even a couple of hours can start to ruin the mixture's balance and catalyse its evaporation. Once the perfume is exposed to oxygen, it becomes oxidised, causing the smell to dilute and fade over time. With more oxygen and less scent in the bottle, it's only natural that the smell will diffuse.

If you open it to test the scent or use it just once, the oxidisation process will begin. After this, you will have two years to use up the perfume before the smell starts to fade. To avoid this, keep the bottle closed until you are ready to use it.

Store in the original packaging

Keeping your fragrances in their original packaging is one of the best ways to store them. Original packaging is designed to protect the perfume from various environmental factors, including light and air exposure. Most perfume bottles are made from thick, tinted glass to shield the perfume from light and air exposure, and the boxes they come in offer further protection from bad light.

Perfume bottles are not just about looks; they are designed to preserve the scent inside. The original packaging, including the box, protects perfumes from various environmental factors. Therefore, it is best to store your perfumes in their original bottles and boxes. This will help to maintain the integrity of the presentation of the brand and preserve the fragrance for longer.

If you want to display your perfumes, choose a shaded area with no direct sunlight or other natural light sources. Sunlight is one of the worst enemies of perfume, as UV rays can deteriorate the delicate chemical composition and cause oxidation, resulting in a loss of fragrance intensity and changes in the composition.

In addition to light, temperature and oxygen are also enemies of perfume. Constant and moderate temperatures are ideal for storing perfume, as fluctuations can cause chemical reactions that alter the properties of the fragrance. Aim for a storage spot that is not susceptible to abrupt temperature changes, between 60°F and 70°F (15°C and 21°C).

Oxidation occurs when the chemical composition of the perfume interacts with oxygen, leading to spoilage. To prevent this, always keep your perfume bottle tightly closed when not in use.

Avoid excessive shaking

Shaking a perfume bottle can compromise the quality of the fragrance inside. While it may seem like a good idea to give the bottle a little shake to mix the ingredients and maximise the scent, this is not the case. Mixing a fragrance can cause oxidation due to the bubbles that will form inside the liquid. This can ruin the chemical bonds and dilute the more delicate notes in the perfume.

Perfumes are made with delicate chemical bonds and intricate mixtures that can be easily broken. Shaking the bottle can disrupt these bonds and introduce air bubbles into the liquid, which accelerates the oxidation process. This can alter the scent and reduce its quality over time.

In addition, shaking a perfume bottle can also affect its physical integrity. The agitation can wear out the spray mechanism, leading to leaks or malfunctions. The glass bottle itself can also become stressed and more susceptible to breaking or cracking.

Instead of shaking, gently swirl or roll the bottle if you feel that the ingredients have separated. However, this is generally unnecessary if the perfume is stored properly.

To summarise, avoid excessive shaking of your perfume bottle to maintain the integrity of the fragrance and the bottle itself.

Frequently asked questions