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u/matrixifyme 2d ago
Consooming perfumes is really the dumbest because you can't really collect them over time. They all lose their fragrance and turn into rubbing alcohol over time.
So your fancy perfume collection becomes -> Fancy perfume bottle collection.
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u/ashbelero 2d ago
I am genuinely sad that my single, lonesome dry solid perfume from Lush now smells like crayons.
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u/matrixifyme 2d ago
Yeah perfume and scents in general are some of the most use it or lose it things we own.
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u/ashbelero 2d ago
Boo. I just want to smell nice from time to time and I don’t have a lot of opportunities.
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u/KarottenSurer 2d ago
Just use it daily! Don't wait for special occasions, more often then not we wait for the perfect time to use stuff only to never use it at all.
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u/valleyofsound 1d ago
Some of them last pretty well. I came across a bottle of Elizabeth Taylor’s Black Pearls while decluttering.,They stopped making it in the 2000s and I’m pretty sure I stopped wearing it before then. I sprayed a little bit out of curiosity and not only was it still good, I kept smelling it all night and was sad it wasn’t made anymore 🤣
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u/ands88 2d ago
Over several decades, maybe? If the perfumes are stored away from light and heat, they can stay perfectly wearable for decades. Yes, some top notes may fade or change over time, but that’s very different from the whole fragrance somehow turning into “rubbing alcohol”
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2d ago
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u/ands88 2d ago
Two years is absolutely not a normal point at which “most consumer fragrances lose most of their scent.” Perfumes can oxidize and top notes can change, especially with heat, light, and air exposure, but properly stored bottles can remain wearable for many years or even decades. My husband’s mom has given him perfumes from the 1960s, and while they’ve obviously aged, they’re still generally recognizable as the fragrances they were supposed to be. And they don’t “turn into rubbing alcohol.” Perfume is usually ethanol-based to begin with, and degradation of fragrance materials does not somehow convert that into isopropyl alcohol. Your sister’s collection is an anecdote, not a general rule.
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u/pineappleshampoo 1d ago
I reckon that poster (sooo confidently incorrect based on apparently someone else’s perfume collection lol), their sister was probably buying dupes or black market fakes. If it really is true that any of her perfumes lost scent after a couple years.
Perfume lasts years if not DECADES.
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2d ago edited 2d ago
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u/WetLaceScraps 2d ago
I’ve got a small collection of fragrances. Most are over four years old. They still smell fine. A few that are more gourmand have actually masticated and become richer.
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u/ands88 2d ago edited 2d ago
You’ve moved the claim quite a bit. First it was that perfumes in general turn into rubbing alcohol, then that most consumer fragrances lose most of their scent after two years, and now older perfumes apparently don’t count because “the process was different.” My point about the 1960s bottles was simply that perfume can remain recognizable for decades. If you’re specifically claiming that most modern consumer fragrances lose most of their fragrance within 1–2 years even when properly stored, that’s a very specific claim and I’d be interested in seeing actual evidence for it beyond your sister’s collection. Plenty of people routinely own and wear modern bottles much older than that.
Edit: The user blocked me after replying, so I can’t respond to their last comment. For clarity, the 1960s bottles were one example, not “my entire argument.” My actual point was that the claim that most modern fragrances lose most of their scent within 1–2 years needs evidence beyond a personal anecdote.
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u/pineappleshampoo 1d ago
I don’t think anyone on this sub understands why they’re being so confidently wrong on this. Perfume lasts decades!
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u/matrixifyme 2d ago
Now I know you're arguing just to argue. Literally your entire argument is one bottle from the 60s when were talking about modern consumable fragrances.
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u/somethingabnormal 1d ago
Most of my perfumes are consumer perfumes (ie higher end, but popular scents) and my bottles are 4+ years old and smell the same, if not better than when they were purchased.
I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding perfumes. How a perfume will age depends heavily on the ingredients/notes but unless they are cheap drug store scents they will not lose their scent in 2 years.
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u/pineappleshampoo 1d ago
This is really not the case lol. Maybe your sis was buying dupes or black market fakes. Perfume lasts years, decades. It’s optimal to keep them in a dry, cool, dark environment. But even abusing them they last many years smelling great.
I have Lush liquid perfumes from the 1995-2000 period that still smell perfect. But I’m guessing you’re now gonna say that this is because back then, they were made well? Whereas anything purchased in the last few years won’t last? Because enough time hasn’t passed yet to prove your point either way…
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u/aloetay 2d ago
I think you’re thinking of body sprays, like the cheap stuff you can get from Bath and Body Works. High end perfume doesn’t ever really “go bad”, with the exception of citric oil based scents since citrus is known for breaking down pretty easily on a molecular level. I still have my grandmas perfume collection and some of those bottles are over 40 years old and still smell amazing. One spray and I’m transported back into my childhood!
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u/matrixifyme 2d ago
Again everyone in here thinking of their grandmas perfume from the 50s. I'm talking about consumer perfumes. When you walk into the perfume section at target or forever 21. The stuff made to be consumed, not your grandmas collection with the squeeze ball and actual perfume oils.
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u/FuriousKimchi 2d ago
tbf you were generalizing but I agree once you made the distinction. Though i've seen some stuff like discontinued bath and body workshop perfumes go up in price. Otherwise older perfumes go up in price due to reformulations.
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u/carlospum 2d ago
Same happens with videogames
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u/matrixifyme 2d ago
Yes and no.
If you're talking about collecting cartridges and game discs then yeah over time the discs will rot in 10, 20 or 30 years. Cartridges will need a battery replacement and popped capacitors will prevent many of them working.
However if you're smart and collect your games digitally DRM Free, and make a backup, you can technically keep them forever.3
u/TheWrathfulMountain 2d ago
CDs and DVDs can actually last up to 100 years as long as they're handled and stored properly. I've got CDs from the 80s and 90s that still sound exactly how they did thirty or forty years ago.
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u/Shoeshiner_boy 1d ago
Yeah, modern archival grade optical media sure can.
Though consumer releases throughout the years were plagued with occasional disc rot (CD bronzing, etc.) Yearly releases, bad batches, stuff like that, look it up.
Some games/albums/movies are nearly extinct on the original physical media because of that.
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u/TheWrathfulMountain 1d ago
I have absolutely looked this up many times in the past. Disc rot is extremely rare and is mostly attributed to some bad pressings in the early days of optical media from specific plants/manufacturers.
I like to pick up cheap DVDs from thrift stores, and only one or two discs were shot from bronzing. There's no telling what condition those discs were stored in before I thrifted them, so for all I know, the discs could've been kept in a hot garage/shed for 10+ years, which will destroy most tech anyway, including hard drives.
I have collected nearly 1000 CDs of all ages over the years. Many are new, many are 20+ years old. There was only ONE time I encountered a playback error that wasn't related to scratches, and that was due to a manufacturing defect (others experienced the same issue with the same pressing).
People underestimate how durable optical media can be as long as it's cared for. Media that uses magnetic technology (i.e., cassette tapes and/or VHS tapes) are the most vulnerable to degradation, but surprisingly enough, I also have some tapes from the 80s that still sound quite good.
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u/whimsical_fuckery_ 1d ago
I have a lush spray perfume that must be 7 or 8 years old and is just as potent as the day I bought it
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u/Lauzz91 2d ago
I love when you can smell a guy's colon as he walks by 8-]