The perfect fragrance is now in your hands. You have wanted it for so long, and it truly reflects your personality. What a wonderful feeling! But do you know how to keep it for longer? With it comes the responsibility of looking after your perfume for as long as possible and extending its life. Although perfumes officially have no expiry date, with improper care they can lose their charm and the integrity of their scent over time.

Here are our tips and recommendations for preserving the scent and quality of your perfume:

• Keep your perfume away from direct light (especially sunlight) - we know bottles are designed to look very tempting, but you will have to resist the urge to put a beautiful bottle on display, because exposure to direct light degrades the quality of the perfume. Perfumes housed in a more coloured bottle are not as prone to light damage as those in a lighter, plainer one. Even so, the risk is not worth it. You do not want your favourite perfume to lose its scent faster because of improper care, do you? The best option is to keep your perfumes in a drawer (or cupboard), which will help them keep their qualities for longer.
• Store your perfume at a constant temperature. Heat breaks down the chemical bonds of a perfume and worsens its characteristics. Do not assume that because heat is bad for perfume, keeping it in the fridge will solve the problem. Taking the perfume out of the fridge to use it and putting it back means you are changing the temperature it is stored at, which also worsens its characteristics. Draughts and changes in temperature can also damage the ingredients of the scent. So avoid places near windows or doors as well. The rule: room temperature is best!
• Keep your perfume away from humidity - this means the bathroom is not a suitable place to store your favourite scents (the same goes for make-up). The same applies to the kitchen, by the way. The kitchen can get much warmer when, for example, you cook or use the stove or hob for a longer time, and as we said, temperature changes do not do the components of a scent any good. The safest place to store your perfume remains the bedroom.
• Another option that can become a "home" for your favourite fragrances is a simple box. If you cannot or do not want to keep your perfumes in a drawer, cupboard or other place out of direct light and temperature changes, you can put them in a box of your choice. They will still catch the eye, but at the same time they will be protected. (Of course, the best option is a box kept inside a drawer or cupboard, but that is not always convenient.)
• Do not shake your perfume before use - the idea that shaking helps mix its ingredients better is a myth. It is simply not true. Perfumes are very sensitive to oxygen, which gets into the bottle after the first use, because it mixes with the perfume itself. That is why our advice is not to shake your perfume before use.
• If you want your perfume with you everywhere, don't worry, we completely understand. Carrying your perfume around, however, is not the best idea. Besides the fact that it won't feel good in your handbag, it won't be comfortable for you either. The bottle is heavy, takes up space and can easily spill. The solution is simple - it is best to buy a larger bottle to keep in a safe place at home, and take a smaller bottle with you, or spray a cotton bud or two with your favourite scent and put them in a small bag to keep in your handbag, in case you need your perfume on the go. That way you won't have to worry about losing your favourite fragrance either.
• Whenever possible, keep your perfumes in their original packaging - remember that it is specially designed to protect them in the best possible way. Travelling is one of the few occasions when you can make an exception.
• Always close your perfume properly - never leave it without its cap or with the cap on incorrectly. The more you limit its contact with air, the longer it will last. This also applies to frequently removing and replacing the cap for short periods of time.

What if the perfume goes off?

If you don't look after your perfume properly, you risk it going off. If it is not stored correctly, a perfume changes its chemical balance. This change can lead to skin irritation and allergic reactions.

The good news is that there are signs that the process has begun.

• The first sign is a change in colour. Sometimes the perfume darkens, and sometimes the liquid becomes milky (or a milky layer forms).
• Another obvious way to tell that a perfume is no longer good is a change in its scent. Some perfumes start to smell of alcohol or simply lose their strength. In any case, you will know when your perfume smells different!

Unfortunately, if you find that your perfume has gone off, there is nothing you can do about it. So we recommend looking after your perfumes well, so that you can enjoy their high quality for years to come! We wish you wonderful, fragrant moments!