We rely on them to smell great as an extension of our sartorial choices or even our personalities. But when perfumes expire, the opposite can soon become true. Sadly, just as skincare and make-up expire, so too does perfume, meaning it’s important to keep tabs on when you bought and opened a bottle of your beloved signature scent.
Regardless of whether you’re dedicated to the best Diptyque perfumes or still can’t get enough of Baccarat Rouge, even the longest-lasting perfumes can’t last forever. So how do you know when a fragrance is past its best—and how do you prevent it from happening prematurely? I spoke to an expert for this need-to-know guide.
How to tell if perfume has expired
What are the key signs?
The first thing to take note of is, unsurprisingly, the scent itself. “Your nose is a great tool and will tell you if the perfume smells a bit off,” says perfumer Pia Long, Head Perfumer at Olfiction and author of Demo Accords. “Usually, the top note goes first and can start to smell soured, acidic, minty or a bit like bug spray. There can be other signs, but smell is your most reliable indicator.”
Sabah Karimi, founder of VEXA Beauty, agrees that a ‘metallic’ or ‘vinegar-like sharpness’ is the biggest early sign your fragrance has oxidised and is on its way out. “Residues often accumulate inside the cap, where they smell harsher than the initial spray,” she explains. “Healthy top notes bloom while oxidised ones remain flat and prickly. Wafted through the air, fresh citrus feels effervescent, whereas oxidised scents resemble stale lemonade or solvents. Citrus- and aldehyde-heavy fragrances deteriorate fastest because their monoterpenes and unsaturated aldehydes are prone to oxidation.” Vinegar sharpness or a tingling nose indicate a fragrance shouldn’t be sprayed on skin and should probably be disposed of, she says, adding that flat, dull scents that smell musty or like “old make-up” are also big indicators that a fragrance has degraded. Lastly, a scent that is noticeably weaker or that disappears quicker than usual is also a sign it’s deteriorated.
However, there are times when a significant change in colour and clarity tell you that your perfume has turned. “Colour changes beyond gentle ambering indicate chemical breakdown,” says Sabah. “Darkening, from straw to tea-brown, murky olive casts or sudden orange hues, suggest oxidation of naturals like limonene and linalool or degradation of colour-sensitive aromatics. Slight deepening over time in vanilla- or amber-rich scents can be harmless if the odour remains true, but pronounced darkening combined with an ‘off’ scent indicates the bottle should be retired.”
As well as colour, a persistent cloudiness, separation or sediment floating around in your fragrance suggests it’s expired. “A harmless haze from cold temperatures clears with warming, but a lingering haze, flakes or oil-and-water layering are warning signs,” says Sabah. “Natural-heavy blends may have a slight haze but remain usable, but when cloudiness appears with ‘off’ odours, oxidation or degradation is likely.”
What is the shelf life of fragrance?
Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. “It depends on the type of fragrance because fragrance compositions are so varied,” Pia stresses. “It’s not possible to give a generic answer to the question, no more than it would be to set a generic expiry date on food. Professionally created and legally manufactured fragrances go through a cosmetic stability test, which indicates to both the safety assessor and the product manufacturer what the likely expiry date will be in normal use, and some brands choose to communicate this to their customers.
However, “If correctly stored, most perfumes should last at least 12 months, but many can stay perfectly fine far beyond that. There are some rules of thumb you can apply. Anything light and top-note balanced is best used as soon as you can. Citrus fragrances tend to expire faster than something based around resins and musk.” Some perfumes will have an expiration date on the outer packaging, while the batch code can help you find out how old it is.
How to store perfume to stop it expiring early
Sitting your perfume rotation on your window sill or a bathroom shelf might look nice, but they aren’t the best option for their longevity. “The worst enemies of fragrance are: light, heat and oxygen,” Pia stressed. “If at all possible, do not throw away the box your perfume came in and keep the box itself in an area that isn’t your bathroom, windowsill or a dressing table right next to a radiator. The air on top of a partly-used perfume also starts to accelerate the ageing of the remaining liquid, so there are two solutions: either decant into a travel spray or use it up faster.”
Sabah echoes this: “Only 16% of people store fragrances correctly, with many keeping them in bathrooms or on sunny dressers, where heat and UV accelerate pigment and aroma breakdown. Older gift sets should be checked visually before use.”
Is it dangerous to wear expired perfume?
It’s not the best idea. “Once the fragrance starts to oxidise, it can begin to irritate your skin or even cause dermatitis,” Pia warns. However, you may be able to get a bit more use out of it if it’s only just turned. “If you have a fragrance that smells mostly wearable, with a bit of a wonky top note and you want to use it up, spray it on a scarf or on your clothing [and] avoid contact with skin.” Sabah also suggests using an ‘only just expired’ fragrance as a room spray. Very obviously expired fragrances, however, should be disposed of safely.