So the question is, when does your favorite cologne expire? Well, the answer's easy.
Three years, two days, nine hours, and fifty-three seconds after you buy it, it has expired.
Seriously. Doesn't matter how much you paid for that stuff, you need to throw it out. Actually,
you need to send it to me, my address, down in the prescription of today's video.
But seriously, gents. It's a good question and one that unfortunately is a little
bit hard to answer because it depends on three things. The first factor is
chemical composition. As you can see from the chart right here, certain accords,
certain notes are going to go bad sooner than others. Next up, we've got exposure to ox oxygen.
Yes, oxidation is a real thing. And when it comes to fragrances, believe it or not,
the alcohol content has a huge effect on how long a fragrance lasts. And on a side note,
I think a lot of you guys are gonna be surprised as to which fragrance
type actually last the longest. Eau Fraiche, Eau de Toilette, Eau de Parfum, Parfums.
Make sure you stick around for the answer. And the third factor affecting longevity is
how you store the fragrance, which I'll talk about at the end of this video. How to pack,
how to store your fragrances so that they last longer than average. Now, some of
you guys watching me say, well, isn't this simple?
Don't fragrances have an expiration date on 'em? And the answer is yes and no. So some fragrances
will have a PAO number, and that stands for a period after opening. And in general, a fragrance
on average is gonna last about 30 months after opening, and you're gonna find this on a variety
of beauty products sold to both men and women, but not every product out there has a PAO number.
Now, a more accurate way is to actually look at the bottom of the box and to grab
the batch number. Then you're gonna have to take this batch number and look it up. You
can either go to the manufacturer's website, there are certain websites
that they have little calculators here. You're gonna need to choose the brand.
You're gonna enter that batch number and they will. When it was manufactured. Now the problem
with this system is it doesn't take into account the three factors I talked about at the beginning,
which again is gonna be chemical composition, exposure to oxygen and how you store it. I mean,
cuz imagine these scenarios, when I look at the batch codes, both of these say they
should last three months, but one of these you kept in cold storage, never opened up.
It was something that it's a darker, deeper. Heavier fragrance versus this one was really
lightweight. You actually used a lot of it. So it opened up a lot of room in the
bottle for oxygen to get in there and you stored it on a shelf exposing it to
light. It's safe to say that although, you know, each should have a three, you know,
30 month lifespan, uh, there, this one's probably gonna last a lot longer.
Now, today's video, I'm not gonna break into chemical composition, but in general, we're gonna
find that fragrances that. Really delicate top notes, and by delicate I mean they're volatile.
They're projecting off. They don't usually last that long, so we're talking citruses. It's
gonna be fresh fragrances, aromatic fragrances, floral fragrances, green fragrances in general.
These are not going to last as long. Next up, we've got spicy fragrances. Fruity fragrances
and some aromatic fragrances are gonna have decent longevity. All factors being the same.
They are gonna last longer than a lot of the other fragrances I just talked about. Next up,
we're starting to get into the deeper, heavier, richer fragrances.
These are gonna be sweet. They're gonna have vanilla, they're gonna have amber. These
fragrances are going to last a lot longer than any of the afor. And finally we've got our leather,
earthy fragrances, fragrances that have tobacco. These are gonna be the longest
lasting fragrances. In fact, if you take care of these, you can easily get 10 years.
And let's not forget wood fragrances. Now,
wood fragrances come in a wide variety. There's. Agarwood, there is sandalwood, but in general,
wood fragrances are gonna have good longevity as well. Now, I know some of you guys are thinking,
why Antonio? I looked up the batch code and this fragrance has an expiration date.
Then why are people buying vintage fragrances? So you do need to be careful when you're buying
vintage fragrances, especially ones again, that have the very. Top notes,
but again, if it is stored in a cool area, if it's not exposed to light, if
it's not opened, then all of a sudden you actually can get really good longevity.
Yes, it's got an expiration date on it, but so does salt. And salt as far as I know. Last, I mean
pretty much, you know, it's a mineral. It lasts for, uh, forever, pretty much. Now fragrances
aren't gonna last forever, but they have found. Oils in tombs and they found, you know,
these things, some of 'em are hundreds of years old and people still wear some of these things.
Yeah. Crazy as it sounds. So, let's now talk about oxidation. In case you don't
know. The reason that we use alcohol in fragrances is because it does a
great job of keeping oxygen at bay. I think it was the Italians or you know,
the Spice Traders that figured out that if you didn't. That those fragrant oils correctly.
And that was a big trade back in the day. Uh, very valuable. I mean,
you go back and you look at the birth of Christ, what was actually presented, Fraco,
sensee, merr, you know, these type of smells and spices, but transporting these things
in oil was very common. The problem was, is that oils. Could go bad very quickly.
So what they found is if you actually mix them in with alcohol, they're gonna
last a lot longer. And what's interesting is the higher percentage of alcohol to the fragrant oil,
the longer it's gonna last because it's gonna keep basically the oxygen at bay. So that's when I was
talking about the beginning of this video, believe it or not, an Eau Fraiche or an Eau de Toilette is going to,
in theory, last longer than an Eau de Parfum or a Parfum, because even though those.
Stronger, deeper, richer, heavier because they have more fragrant oil
in them. More of it is gonna be exposed to oxygen whenever you start using the
fragrance. And that takes us to the next key point is when you start using the fragrance,
all of a sudden you're pushing this down and more oxygen is gonna make its way in.
To the bottle. Now this fragrance right here, as you can see, it is mostly full. Like
most of the fragrances in my collection, despite me using two every single day,
testing them out, I have, you know, like 500 bottles. So I'm not able to get through them
all. But whenever it starts to go down, you're gonna find that it's that exposure,
more oxygen being in the bottle, that it's going to start the oxidation process.
And so if you've got a favorite fragrance, my advice is to. all
the way down to the bottom. Don't think that, oh, I've got a quarter of it left.
I want to save it. I don't wanna use it. That's a mistake because as you get less
and less of the fragrance in the bottle, it is going to go bad sooner and sooner.
I know it's a horrible thing to think, especially when you've got some of your
favorite bottles out there, you've spent a lot of money on. My advice is just to wear it,
love it, remember it, and enjoy it for what it is. A work of art that
you can wear on your body. So can you make a fragrance last longer?
Opening it, keeping it sealed in the package. I think the answer is yes. I haven't actually
seen any tests that can prove this. It just makes sense though. Um, you know, right here you've got
so many things that are preventing oxygen from getting in there. A lot of times when they're
manufactured, even small manufacturers, they've got a way basically to suck out the oxygen.
I, at least I've heard, um, again, even, you know, it's one of those manufacturing secrets a lot of
companies keep under wraps. But in general, the big thing, you need to worry. Is as it goes down,
more air getting in there. So once you start to use, that's really when the clock starts. But uh,
yeah, a 10 year bottle that hasn't been touched is still sealed.
Would I take a chance on it? I wouldn't pay extra for it. Um, and I know some people love
their vintage fragrances because things like oak Marsh, you can't get anymore in the fragrance,
but to me, I'm perfectly happy with what I have available. There are,
you got tens of thousands of options. Um, but. You gotta be careful with those older fragrances.
Some of 'em, yeah could go bad even if they're sealed. Cuz let's just face it after 20 years,
you know that air does get in there and there's always probably a small amount
that's in there reacting with the chemicals. Now over the last few years here at Realman,
real styles, many of you guys have noticed we've gone deep into fragrances.
And that's because I kept finding all this research pointing out how you can
condition yourself when you smell certain scents to actually go into a state of mind,
how certain. Would actually affect your memory. They would affect the way you feel,
your emotions and how basically scent had a direct link to the brain.
So leveraging all that information, we created a set of unique Scent Triggers,
specifically designed to help you reach peak performance. The mission fragrance
set is designed for men that want to get unstuck, that want to be more focused,
that want to use the power of scent to unlock their minds. If you can't tell.
This is a passion project, a really interesting project we've been working on now for over a
year. So, gents, if you wanna learn more down in the description of today's video,
I'm linking over to Mission Fragrances, where you can get more information,
where you can enter your email address and we'll send more information your way on how.
To leverage the science of scent and how to possibly grab your own mission, fragrance,
scent. So now let's talk about storage. And I know a lot of you guys want to keep this
on the shelf. If you want to show, Hey, I've got the money, or I just like the simply the
look of the bottle. But whenever you leave it out in the open, especially if it's in
your bathroom where the temperature goes up, the temperature goes down, that's not a great thing.
It is going to affect the longevity of the fragrance. And the biggest culprit here again,
is gonna be sun. Direct sunlight not a good thing. And in case you're wondering
the best way to store your fragrance, so it doesn't go bad. You give it its best life,
I'm gonna recommend putting it right back in the box and putting it in your refrigerator.
Yes, you heard me right? But, uh, I don't do it. So, you know,
but you hear people that are a little bit, you know, hey, they treat it like
wine. They love their fragrances and their collection. They've maybe got,
I don't have room in my fridge. I mean, I've got 11 people in my house. Um, but in general,
if you keep it under a temperature of about 60 degrees, That's what the companies say in general,
will make sure that it lasts a bit longer, but you're keeping the temperature down.
You're keeping that temperature steady, which I think is really important, and you're not
exposing it to hot temperatures. So storing fragrances in your car,
not a great thing. If you're gonna do that, just get a travel. Atomizer,
um, that right there, all of a sudden, boom, you can carry just enough for that week.
And you yes, cuz your car gets hot, it gets cold. And that's what you don't want to do to
your fragrances. Now gents, if you've enjoyed this video, if you like the infographics,
all the details we go into, you gotta go check out my website, realmanrealstyle.com. Over
on the website, I've got tons of infographics articles, usually when I make these videos.
I create a support article, which goes into more detail down in the description
of today's video. A link over to realmanreal style.com where you can get more information.
If you wanna just learn more about style, you wanna learn more simply about, you know,
sports jackets or fragrances. Now, how to tell if a fragrance has gone bad.
Well, first up, You're gonna notice maybe a change in the top notes. This fragrance right
here with choros, nah, it's not gonna, this stuff is gonna last. This is gonna be more
animalistic. These are heavier, deeper notes, but on lighter fragrances, it is something
you may notice. You know, it just doesn't, I don't get that grapefruit at the top anymore.
Another thing you may notice, especially if it's a clear bottle, you may see a change in color
fragrances when they start to go bad, usually get a little bit darker, more opaque in color.
Sometimes you can also see crystallization in there, and that's not a good. I've also heard
some people say that they know a fragrance has gone bad when it starts to irritate their skin.
I'm not sure exactly why it would do this. If you do know,
let me hear from you down in the comments blow and if you've got something to add to today's video,
like, Antonio, you missed this. Guys, I want to hear from you. I know we've got
chemists out there, scientists that have better explanations than I do.
What? Come on. I read a whole book on this, but, uh, I don't know everything
and I love hearing from you guys Again, wanna hear from you down in the comments,
but if you ever find a fragrance is irritating, you. Do not wear it on the skin. You could
probably actually wear it on the body if you really like it and you know, test it.
But yeah, if it starts to irritate you, some people say that is a sign,
it's gone bad. So what video to watch next? How to make sure your fragrance
lasts all day. Seriously, guys, if you got a weak fragrance, you're like, Antonio,
how do I get this thing to project more? How do I get it to last one day, two days, three days?
Guys, I got you covered in this video right here, it's a. Go check it out.
Just about started my office on fire .