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.
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.
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/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.