For any lover of fine fragrances, storing perfume so it still smells just as good as the day it was purchased will be a priority. Winter in particular brings temperature fluctuations and environmental conditions that can negatively impact the bouquet of your favourite scents. Thankfully, just a little forethought and care can keep your signature perfumes in immaculate condition throughout the chilly season and beyond. Perfume Direct’s Fragrance Guide gives a concise explanation of the different notes that comprise a perfume; the following storage tips will ensure your scents retain their full aromas all year long.

What Is the Best Way to Store Perfume?

The compounds that make up a perfume are delicate and highly sensitive to the conditions they are kept in. Light, temperature, and humidity can all affect the essential oils and carrier liquids that comprise them. To prevent any loss of fragrance quality, intensity, or freshness, it is important to control the conditions in which you store your perfume.

The optimal environment to keep your scents is in a dry, dark, cool but not cold place, where conditions remain consistent throughout the day. Storing perfume in a bathroom or a room where humidity and temperature fluctuate is not ideal. Instead, keep perfumes upright in their boxes in a room where the heat levels are stable, such as a bedroom. 

Where to Store Perfume in a Bedroom?

A bedroom is a great area to keep your fragrances, as it will rarely be very hot or cold and humidity levels are typically low. A cabinet, drawer, or wardrobe are ideal places to store your perfume, as there is minimal UV light and they offer protection from extremes of temperature. Aim to keep the bottle upright to prevent spillages, and store it in its original packaging for an extra layer of protection.

How Does Winter Affect Fragrances?

Exposure to extremes of environmental conditions can lead to both evaporation and deterioration of chemical bonds in a perfume. Winter comes with very cold temperatures outside, and hot, dry air indoors thanks to central heating. The more frequently a perfume is subject to fluctuations in temperature and increases in heat, the more quickly fragrance molecules degrade. As a result, this season can pose a challenge to maintaining the longevity of your perfumes.

Does Heat Damage a Fragrance?

Hot temperatures are damaging to the carefully balanced bouquet of a fragrance, as they can cause the essential oils to break down. Additionally, many of the compounds in a scent are extremely volatile, from the fragrance oils to the alcohol used as a carrier. Exposure to heat can effectively ‘boil off’ some of these molecules, leading to evaporation and a reduction in fragrance complexity and intensity. 

Top notes in a perfume like light florals and aldehydes are the most delicate and volatile of the fragrance oils. This means they vaporise or evaporate the fastest. As a result, they are the most vulnerable to the effects of heat and will dissipate quickly if the perfume is improperly stored. This can dramatically alter the balance and profile of a scent, leaving it ‘flat’ and lacking in complexity. 

Rising temperatures also accelerate the oxidation of fragrance molecules, whereby they react with oxygen to change their chemical structure. This can result in an ‘off’-smelling, sour tone to your perfumes, especially those with citrus notes which oxidise easily in heat. Once these changes occur it is usually not possible to reverse them, leaving the fragrance profile irrevocably harmed.

How Does Cold Affect a Fragrance?

While cold temperatures won’t cause the breakdown of fragrance molecules, it can cause them to destabilise over time. Moreover, it can cause the oils in a perfume to crystallise or separate. This can radically alter the scent, sometimes permanently, and cause it to become weaker over time. 

Do Fluctuating Temperatures Harm Perfumes?

Indoors, perfumes are mostly protected from the excesses of cold during the winter. The fluctuations in temperature from a room’s central heating going on and off can be even more damaging, however. 

As well as consequences like evaporation and oxidation of fragrance compounds, repeated heating and cooling causes minor expansion and contraction of the bottle. This allows tiny amounts of air to seep in, accelerating oxidation further and potentially introducing contaminants. Make sure to store your perfumes well away from radiators and heaters, and avoid windowsills and rooms like the bathroom where temperature swings are frequent, to protect them from these damaging effects.

How Does Light Affect Perfume?

Ultraviolet (UV) light is one of the worst culprits for harming perfumes. UV light from the sun and artificial sources can degrade fragrance particles through photodegradation, breaking chemical bonds within the molecule. Also responsible for oxidation, UV light can quickly affect the scent profile, complexity, and even colour of your favourite fragrance.

The tinted bottles many perfumes are packaged in can help reduce the harmful effects of light on the fragrance. It is still recommended to store your scents out of direct light and in their boxes or a dark drawer or cupboard to keep them at their best.

Top Tips to Protect Your Perfumes Throughout Winter

UV light can quickly break down fragrance particles, so keeping your perfume away from direct light is essential. A wardrobe, cabinet, or dresser drawer are all good places to store your fragrances to prevent them from being subject to photodegradation. Keep them in their original boxes, too, for an extra layer of protection.

Extremes of temperature and frequent temperature fluctuations can quickly cause the degradation of fragrances. Store your perfumes away from areas where the temperature changes regularly such as windowsills and the bathroom. Instead, opt to keep them somewhere that remains a stable, cool room temperature. 

Dry air can hasten the evaporation of perfumes causing their smell to deteriorate and change. To preserve the integrity and complexity of fragrances, store them well away from vents, radiators, and heaters. 

Preventing air from getting in and causing the scent to oxidise is key to preserving its full bouquet. Preventing evaporation, too, is a priority of perfume storage, and keeping bottles properly sealed is the best way to achieve this. Storing them upright is also helpful in keeping air out of bottles, and avoiding leaks and spills which waste the perfume. 

For the ultimate in perfume storage strategies, use a small, insulated cabinet to keep your scents in optimal, stable air conditions. A dedicated cabinet designed especially for the storage and preservation of fine fragrances is the best way to ensure their longevity and freshness, season after season.

The chilly months of winter bring certain hazards for perfume lovers, but your scents don’t have to suffer. Proper storage and care can ensure they stay as fresh and alluring as the day they were purchased.