I have a question that somebody with a large collection may be able to answer. Do you find your older colognes get stale? I don't know if this is me or what, but, mostly all of my older frags smell "funny". Maybe as we age our likes change too, but I think some of my old edt's are un-wearable.
Question? Stale cologne...
- Thread starter Harry Snider
- Start date
Welcome to the frag forum, Harry!
It's hard to say whether your colognes have changed or your taste has changed. But I've stored colognes in moderate room temperature and out of the light, with the caps or sprayers intact, and they haven't changed as far as I can tell after five to ten years. My tastes, on the other hand, have changed quite a bit. And I can go back and smell colognes that I haven't even had that long and they smell differently.
It's hard to say whether your colognes have changed or your taste has changed. But I've stored colognes in moderate room temperature and out of the light, with the caps or sprayers intact, and they haven't changed as far as I can tell after five to ten years. My tastes, on the other hand, have changed quite a bit. And I can go back and smell colognes that I haven't even had that long and they smell differently.
With one exception, I've never had any frags that I've stored go south. The one that did was a small bottle of Eternity that I left in my gym locker while I was away for a year. Apparently the gym closed for repairs for a while and the long, hot summer did something to the juice left in the bottle. When I got around to using it again, there was nearly no scent left.
On the other hand, I've picked up a couple of bottles of already opened vintage frags over the years. Almost without exception, the brightness of the top notes has faded and several of them have taken on a kind of murky feeling. They still smell like what they are supposed to be, but there's something else there.
Finally, one of the members here sent me a vintage Lilac Vegetal bottle several years ago. There was about a teaspoon full of juice left in it--the original stuff. It had become incredibly concentrated over the years and had the most amazing fragrance. I was sorry when it was empty, but it's made a good home to the current juice.
On the other hand, I've picked up a couple of bottles of already opened vintage frags over the years. Almost without exception, the brightness of the top notes has faded and several of them have taken on a kind of murky feeling. They still smell like what they are supposed to be, but there's something else there.
Finally, one of the members here sent me a vintage Lilac Vegetal bottle several years ago. There was about a teaspoon full of juice left in it--the original stuff. It had become incredibly concentrated over the years and had the most amazing fragrance. I was sorry when it was empty, but it's made a good home to the current juice.
If kept in strong sunlight by a window, scents can be affected.
I've had a splash bottle of EDT go off on me after 20 years, which can be expected, as it was open to air when I used it.
I have a couple of bottles where the top notes changed a bit - but that wasn't a problem, as after half an hour the unchanged middle and basenotes came into effect as the top notes wore off.
Regards,
Renato
I've had a splash bottle of EDT go off on me after 20 years, which can be expected, as it was open to air when I used it.
I have a couple of bottles where the top notes changed a bit - but that wasn't a problem, as after half an hour the unchanged middle and basenotes came into effect as the top notes wore off.
Regards,
Renato
I've had old Kouros, Fahrenheit, Dunhill for Men and Monsieur de Givenchy from 86-88. They still smell nice today. Topnotes are skewed a bit, but heart and base is still fine.
However niche frags with more natural ingredients may suffer more, which is the reason why I will cut down in my collection - and try to stay with a collection of 10-15 niche & 30 designers for spring & summer and 10-15 niche & 30 designers for fall & winter.
However niche frags with more natural ingredients may suffer more, which is the reason why I will cut down in my collection - and try to stay with a collection of 10-15 niche & 30 designers for spring & summer and 10-15 niche & 30 designers for fall & winter.
Big collection here and I don't perceive any have gone stale.
