How to Store Your Perfume

The question everyone is asking: how do I keep my perfumes from aging? Perfume storage is something we might not give a lot of thought to, but looked after properly, your scents can last for many years, retaining their high quality, longevity and character. Here are our anti-aging secrets to help you get the most out of your fragrance, whether you are a single signature scent devotee or a multi-bottle fragrance collector.

Do

• Do store fragrance in a cool, dark place. Heat and light can start to break down the fragrance's delicate composition. Choose somewhere like a drawer, a wardrobe, or even a dedicated cupboard - just make sure it doesn't have glass doors. If you want to do a little extra, consider investing in a dedicated wine cooler to protect your scents - they're less cold and humid than a domestic fridge.
• Do use the original box. Shifts in temperature can damage fragrances, so keeping them in their original boxes will not only protect from light, but help keep the temperature steady too.
• Do store scents upright. Not only will they take up less room that way, storing them upright helps prevent leakage and protect the internal mechanism of the atomiser.
• Do spritz your favourite scent freely. Whilst it's tempting to save things you love for best, once your fragrance bottle has oxygen in it, it can start to degrade. So spritz away, knowing you are getting the best from your scent and smelling fabulous at the same time.

Don't

• Don't keep scents in places that are prone to significant temperature shifts, for example in the door pocket of your car or the bathroom. Heat and humidity can degrade scents quickly.
• Don't keep fragrances on windowsills or dressers. Bright light and radiant warmth can damage scents.
• Don't worry if your scents darken with age. Some natural materials such as vanilla can become darker over time. It isn't necessarily a sign that the scent is going off, just that the materials within it are aging beautifully, but check them frequently to make sure.
• Don't shake the bottle. Air can break down fragrances and contribute to them ageing, shaking the bottle will introduce air bubbles which could accelerate that process.
• Don't decant unless necessary. Decanting perfume into atomisers introduces light and air into both the original bottle and the decanted sample. Whilst this is ok for a scent that you are going to use up quickly, for example on holiday, you wouldn't want to do this for a fragrance you intend to have around for a while.

Taking a little care with how you store your fragrance will ensure every drop stays smelling as full of character and charm as the day it was bottled. And taking care of old favourites frees you up to add new loves to your collection when they come along!