Does perfume expire?
Perfume does not spoil like food, but it does change. What the open-jar symbol means, why most bottles carry no date and the signs that a scent has turned.
Does perfume expire? Not in the way food does, with a day on which it turns. A perfume is a mixture of volatile materials that slowly changes, and how fast depends on how it is kept. Most bottles carry no expiry date. What they do carry is a batch code and often a small open-jar symbol, and both tell you something. This guide explains them, and the signs that a perfume has changed enough to matter.
Why most bottles show no date
EU cosmetic rules ask for a "best before" date only on products expected to stay good for a shorter time. For longer-lived products, the rule is the open-jar symbol, a drawing of an open tub with a number and the letter M, which shows how many months a product is meant to stay good after it is first opened. Perfume often shows neither, because the maker considers it stable well beyond the limit. We do not give numbers for it: how long a particular perfume stays at its best is not something anyone can promise, and it depends more on how it has been kept than on a date.
The batch code
The batch code, a short string of letters and numbers on the bottle and the box, is how you find out when a bottle was made. Several brands and websites let you check a code. It is a better clue to age than any symbol, though not proof of anything on its own. If you want to know whether a bottle is genuine, see how can you tell if a perfume is real.
What changes a perfume
Three things: heat, light and air. Heat speeds up the changes inside the liquid. Light, especially direct sun, breaks some materials down. Air, every time the bottle is opened and as it empties, lets the lightest parts escape. A bottle in a cool, dark drawer will change much more slowly than one on a sunny windowsill or in a bathroom. The storage advice is in how to store perfume samples.
Which perfumes change first
As a rule of thumb, bright openings of citrus, fresh fruit and herbs tend to dull first, while warm, resinous and woody bases hold up longer. This is a pattern, not a promise. Bujairami Hectic is recorded with citron, Calabrian bergamot and Sicilian orange on top, Nigerian ginger, Ceylon cinnamon and Tunisian neroli in the heart and ambroxan, guaiac wood, olibanum and Chinese black tea in the base. For Velixir Icarus the record reads pear, Calabrian bergamot and mandarin first, then orange blossom, georgywood and ginger, then musk, Ambrofix™, akigalawood and cedar. Both lead with bright materials, which is where a change in old stock is first noticed.
Xerjoff Alexandria II, a Parfum, is recorded with apple, cinnamon, lavender and rosewood on top, cedarwood, lily of the valley and Bulgarian rose in the heart and amber, laotian oud, musk, sandalwood and vanilla in the base. Amouage Guidance 46 is an Extrait de Parfum with a long list that includes frankincense, saffron, sandalwood, ambergris and vanilla. Heavier lists like these are the ones people tend to expect to age slowly, though only your nose can say.
Signs that a perfume has turned
- Colour. A liquid that is clearly darker than when you bought it.
- Opening. A sharp, sour or metallic edge, or a top that smells flat next to what you remember.
- Base. A drydown that smells different from the first time you wore it.
- Clarity. Cloudiness or floating particles.
None of these means the perfume is dangerous, only that it no longer smells as it did. Compare it with the note you made when you first wore it; keeping a log helps, and how to organise perfume samples shows one.
What this means for samples
A sample is small, which helps: you finish it long before it has time to change. As it empties it holds more air, so use half-empty vials first and wear the oldest sample before the newest. Our vials are filled by hand with clean equipment and closed straight away, as How we fill your sample describes. How long a vial lasts in use is covered in how many sprays are in a sample. Browse all samples, and use the FAQ for practical questions.
FAQ
Is there an expiry date on a perfume bottle?
Usually not a date, though many boxes show a batch code and an open-jar symbol. The batch code helps you find out when it was made, and the symbol shows how long a product is meant to stay good once opened.
How can I tell that a perfume has gone off?
Trust your nose and your eyes. A clearly darker liquid, a sour or metallic edge, or a top that smells flat compared with the first time are the usual signs.
Does a sample go off faster than a bottle?
It can, because a small vial has relatively more air in it as it empties. Keep the cap on, store it upright in the dark, and wear the oldest first.
