Can an EdT go "bad"? (Grey Flannel)

After reading so many of the recent posts about lavender frags, and seeing Grey Flannel included in some of the posts as having a touch of lavender, I decided to pick up a bottle at TJMaxx. I couldn't make out any of the attributes I've read in the threads or in the Reviews here. No lavender, violet, powderyness - I can't even describe what I smelled, but it did remind me of some of the attributes that I didn't like from some of the other 80's scents - very dark and artificial.

Is it possible that this bottle had gone bad? (It's gone into the trash, now) Or is it possible I just encountered a frag that doesn's suit my tastes, which I didn't think were that different or unusual?

More likely that you didn't care for it. There are those who believe an EdT can only last a year, or less depending on the ingredients. My experience doesn't lead me to agree with that idea. I have a 10 year old bottle of Blenheim Bouquet which smells just like the bottle, less than a year old, I was given as a gift. Perhaps not as strong, but essentialy the same.

jakespoppy said:

After reading so many of the recent posts about lavender frags, and seeing Grey Flannel included in some of the posts as having a touch of lavender, I decided to pick up a bottle at TJMaxx. I couldn't make out any of the attributes I've read in the threads or in the Reviews here. No lavender, violet, powderyness - I can't even describe what I smelled, but it did remind me of some of the attributes that I didn't like from some of the other 80's scents - very dark and artificial.

Is it possible that this bottle had gone bad? (It's gone into the trash, now) Or is it possible I just encountered a frag that doesn's suit my tastes, which I didn't think were that different or unusual?

Click to expand...

Both, actually.

I recently obtained a vintage bottle of Floris Sandalwood. Judging by the container, this particular bottle was made in the '80s.

I have a sample of Floris Sandalwood. It's a wonderful fragrance. I was psyched that I finally scored an actual bottle of the stuff (albeit one 3/4 full). But when the bottle showed up, it smelled nothing like my sample. It actually smelled kind of ... bad. As if it had turned. I wound up throwing it out.

It's possible that the particular bottle you bought was part of a bad batch or just hadn't been stored correctly. People's reactions to the same scent can also vary wildly, as you know. If at all possible, it's always best to try out a sample of whatever scent you're interested in before going whole hog on a bottle. I've learned that the hard way.

According to Luca Turin most fragrances should last indefinitely if stored away from light and heat. He says that some old fragrances will develop a nail varnish like smell (I guess a chemical type smell) but he says that it disappears after a minutes. I guess if one comes into an old bottle of juice and it doesn't smell good right out of the bottle let it settle for a few minutes on the skin and it should be good to go.

dwnwrdishvnwrd said:

AI guess if one comes into an old bottle of juice and it doesn't smell good right out of the bottle let it settle for a few minutes on the skin and it should be good to go.

Click to expand...

That was most definitely not the case with my old bottle of Floris Sandalwood. Believe me, I tried. I thought the same thing -- give it a little while on my skin & it should open up & mellow out. Alas, it didn't work that way.

I let this stuff settle on my skin for a couple of hours, more than enough time for it to develop into it's full potential. I even sprayed a little into the bottle cap and let it sit open for a while. Nothing helped. I'm satisfied believing Grey Flannel just isn't for me. But I appreciate your comments. It's good to know that fragrances generally shouldn't "go bad".

For the little the anecdotal experience of a nasally challenged person is worth...

Don't know about EDT, but I have a 25 year old bottle of grey flannel ASB that seems fine. Lavender, violet, powdery, dark... seems about right. Artificial? Maybe, but it is from the 80s. I don't have a good nose for these things. Also don't care much for florals, which is why my 25 year old bottle is still 80% full, but I do like this one and have started using it again occassionally since joining B&B. It does a good job as a balm when a milky cream is more than I need, but straight AS isn't enough. It also doesn't sour my coffee, which is something a lot of fragrances do, and why I mostly stay away from them. I've noticed it doesn't have a strong fragrance in the bottle--and never did--but it does open up when used.

The 15 year of bottle of paco rabanne AS.... well, that never agreed with me, but it seems much weaker and less fresh, and, while it definitely ruined this morning's coffee, it may have done that when it was new, which is why it's still 98% full, and will stay that way.

The paco rabanne is in a clear bottle, and the grey flannel is in a green bottle. Don't know if that matters, since they both spent all their time in a dark medicine cabinet, but maybe I left the door open once in a while, and maybe it was hot in there. Also, the balm is much thicker, which may help protect delicate botanicals.

I have on Gray Flannel even as we speak; complements the Trumper violet cream I used this morning. I find no lavender. Gray Flannel is strong violet leaf, perhaps strong enough to suggest chemical. And basenotes does not list lavender in the notes. Eau de Gray Flannel, according to basenotes, does have lavender in the mid notes. I do not have nor have I tested Eau de Gray Flannel; have read that it is a different animal entirely.

john parker said:

I have on Gray Flannel even as we speak; complements the Trumper violet cream I used this morning. I find no lavender. Gray Flannel is strong violet leaf, perhaps strong enough to suggest chemical. And basenotes does not list lavender in the notes. Eau de Gray Flannel, according to basenotes, does have lavender in the mid notes. I do not have nor have I tested Eau de Gray Flannel; have read that it is a different animal entirely.

Click to expand...

I'm nowhere near the level of sniffer genius that it takes to be a basenotes egghead, but I can discern what I would call lavender from regular Grey Flannel. It may be rose, it may be violet, I don't know. Smells lavender on me. Conversely, on the Eau De Grey Flannel, I don't detect any lavender notes.

And who says an EdT only lasts one year? I've got a small truckload of EdT's that begs to differ.

jakespoppy said:

I let this stuff settle on my skin for a couple of hours, more than enough time for it to develop into it's full potential. I even sprayed a little into the bottle cap and let it sit open for a while. Nothing helped. I'm satisfied believing Grey Flannel just isn't for me. But I appreciate your comments. It's good to know that fragrances generally shouldn't "go bad".

Click to expand...

GF isn't for everyone, that's for sure.

I really like it, yet I only wear it maybe 2 or 3 times a month.