How long can a quality cologne keep?

I have a larger bottle of Creed Bois du Portugal - Love the stuff but don't use it that often and only use a small amount. Of course it's pricey and I'm concerned it will go off somehow as I've heard that colognes do that. So far it is holding up fine.

Any ideas on this or how to preserve it?

Chris

You can refrigerate it. I know of a gent that keeps his juices in the fridge. Just store it out of direct sunlight and extreme temperatures. It will be fine for years. I keep my colognes in my walk-in closet.

A lot of guys on Basenotes put their extra bottles in the freezer. Some use a wine fridge.

If you're keeping it in the box in a dark, cool place you should be fine...

I'm about to buy a mini wine fridge for this reason exactly.

Fortunately for you, your collection isn't so large that you won't get around to your Bois du Portugal in time. So really, you shouldn't worry about it. Keep the stopper in there as tight as you can without risking getting it so stuck that you'd likely break it pulling it out. Keep it in as dark a place as possible (but that doesn't necessarily mean you've got to hide that beautiful bottle in a drawer or closet). And make sure it stays cool. But if you do keep it in the fridge, keep it in a ziplock and as far away from smelly foods as possible. (I don't really like the idea of doing this with a splash bottle) You don't want garlic or fish or rotten eggs tainting your juice! Freezer is overkill, from what I understand. 55 degrees or so is what most are saying. I might go 50 just to be safe.

Bois du Portugal is a potent and resinous scent, and it should hold up better than something more delicate like a floral or citrus. I wouldn't worry too much about this particular scent. Something like a flacon of GIT, though - poorly kept, you're just asking for those crisp floral topnotes to evaporate. What you're going to be left with is a bottle of the base and mid notes after a few years... unless you take care of it.

Thanks, I don't keep it in the fridge but it is in a dark place (drawer) in a relatively cool location

Though I have never tested this to see what happens, I would not recommend freezing your colognes we do not know whether big changes in temperature (from 30 F to room temperature) are good for the fragrance in the long run. Still, keeping it in a cool place as the gents above have suggested, may keep your fragrances smelling good for a couple of decades.

I remember someone saying that it isn't the cold that's bad, but repeated temperature VARIANCE is what does them in. So don't go warm/cold/warm/cold/etc.

The general philosophy I'm going to go by is to just treat them like wine. Cool, dark, dry.

Yep, cool (not COLD) and dry (ie, not in the fridge or dank basement) and out of sunlight and you should be fine. BdP is hard to kill anyway.

Light and large temperature fluctuations are the killers of cologne. If you would keep it like you do your wine you will be good to go.


Take Care,
Richard

Austin said:

I keep my colognes in my walk-in closet.

Click to expand...

Same here with great longevity.

Dark, cool, stable temps. Its where I keep my humidors, as well.

Oh, I can see Sharper Image selling cologne fridges, now.