Probably asked a billion times, but....does after shave 'go bad'?

[nycalling]

I really wanted to put 'Break Bad' but that seemed too obvious. I picked up a couple of cheap Avon aftershaves at a antique store. Well, one Avon and one 'Fuller Brush' sample thing that smells pretty bad. The Avon one is Ok though, it's a 'Spicy' scent apparently. Anyway, is there a time limit on aftershave? (If it's been opened already)

 

[Oblique Human]

Yes, AS does go bad but not due to the amount of time stored but as to how it was stored. Exposure to excessive heat and light turn any fragrance bad.

 

[kingfisher]

Balms can go bad, but splashes generally do not. Although Oblique Human is right that the scents can go off.

 

[michiganlover]

I have owned a lot of Vintage Avon Aftershave from the 1970's. That which came with the box, tends to be perfect, and the scent still amazing. An unboxed piece that may have been exposed to constant sun (like the decorative looking car decanters) most assuredly has gone off, and the contents can be quite horrific!!

By the way, "Spicy" was Avon's clone of Old Spice. While Wild Country is super similar to Clubman, and Canoe.

 

[Deacon Frank]

I have some Pinaud Clubman I haven't used since the weather got warm. I noticed the other day that a cloudy layer has formed at the bottom of the bottle. If I shake it, the cloudy material breaks up into little pieces but does not dissolve. Could this be a bacterial culture forming?

 

[Dave_D]

What Oblique said, heat and or sunlight can deteriorate the strength over time and in some cases make the scent go off. If they are stored correctly Aftershaves can be good for decades though.

 

[mistercitizen]

I just got a couple small (75 ml) bottles of Floid Vigoroso that appear and smell "off". I ordered it from overseas and it took a good 1-1/2 weeks to arrive so I'm wondering if the hot weather during shipping affected it. It appears cloudy compared to the other bottles of Floid I have and it smells a bit "off". Not terrible..... and it's still useable.... but something just doesn't seem right about it. The funny thing is I also got a couple other AS lotions with it and they seem fine. It's just the two bottles of Floid that seem bad. I never thought about this hot weather possibly affecting the contents of a shipment until I saw another thread about it recently suggesting that the heat could be a factor. Maybe it was in this case..... I don't know.

Ben