Yet even with a natural fragrance, the shelf-life has a broad range depending on the notes. “Typically, a more musky or woody type of perfume will last 12 to 15 months,” says chemist and co-founder of NUELE Christine Martey-Ochola, Ph.D. That’s because those scents aren’t as volatile (meaning, they don’t evaporate as quickly). If you have a floral or citrus-based scent, however, those tend to evaporate pretty fast: Martey-Ochola suggests a shelf-life of six to 12 months for those lighter notes. In terms of what causes perfume to expire, consider these three main events: oxidation, UV exposure, and temperature. When your perfume interacts with air, heat, and sunlight, it has the potential to turn rancid, assuming there aren’t too many stabilizers in the formula to keep it fresh. That said, if a fragrance marketed as natural boasts a shelf-life of five or some years, you might want to take a closer look: “There could be a whole lot of stabilizers and other chemicals in there,” says Martey-Ochola.
