I just found a bottle of clubman pinaud in a drugstore unopened. Brought it home used it and it smells horrible. Very strong and it smells horrible, my guestion is does this stuff have a shelf life un opened?
Aftershave shelflife
- Thread starter Charlie NJ
- Start date
Fragrances, whether aftershaves or colognes, have a huge shelf life unopened and when unsealed. The thing is you have to be very careful with storage i.e. keep it away from light and excessive heat and any decent quality fragrance should last you several good years. The one you bought probably spent a long time in that store.
+1! I've bought a handful of vintage aftershaves -- at least 15 years old and some twice that -- and each of them was perfect in scent and performance. On the other hand, my barber keeps a few bottles of aftershave in a glass case that is exposed to direct sunlight every day that the sun comes up. I love his haircuts, but I wouldn't use those aftershaves (old school Pinaud and Stephan's) if he paid me.
I bet vintage aftershaves in brown glass bottles will last longer. The darker glass bottles will reduce light exposure which should help preserve the liquid longer. This is why good beers are served in brown bottles; clear glass bottles of beer, like Corona, will deteriorate over time due to light degrading the hops.
Deterioration from light is also the reason it's a good idea to keep your colognes and aftershaves in their boxes if the size of your rotation means it will take a while to use up a bottle.
I have some old bottles, one of Stetson and one of Chanel for men, sampler bottles that were to be discarded when I worked in a drug store about 30 years ago and they are still fine. They have been stored in airconditioned house in a bathroom that is dark most of the time.
I have used many aftershaves that dated to the 1970's, they were still perfect in ever way. I have also had a few bottles of Aqua Velva, and Skin Bracer from the 1970's that had obviously turned, and smelled nothing like they were supposed to. Storage conditions, and exposure to constant sunlight can quite easily destroy a fragrance.
I have a bottle of Amway Silver Surf from 1964 I believe, it still smells fantastic
Plastic bottles will make AS's smell differently then in glass.
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