Comments on: Perfume for Life: How Long Will Your Fragrance Collection Last?

By: FrenchTeacher

FrenchTeacher — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 03:17:12 +0000

First time commenter here. I only started collecting about five months ago and have accumulated some 120 bottles. Many are minis, but a lot of them are 30-100ml (though not too many 100ml’s).

After reading this article, which started to give me a bit of a panic attack, I realize that (at age 60) I will likely die long before I’ve used up even a third of what I have ?. I went rather berserk with collecting (nearly all vintage) and really had no business doing so. Looks like it’s time to call it quits on perfume buying.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Thu, 13 May 2021 04:03:37 +0000

In reply to lucia.

Lucia: if you dare, get a dropper that measures mls exactly. You’ll be surprised at how many “1 ml samples” are far, far less than that amount (especially decanted samples sold by perfume stores).

Lots of things affect the number of sprays you get from a bottle: the size of the plastic tube in the spray bottle, the fine or forceful mist you get from a nozzle, etc. I just checked 1 ml of liquid in a 1-inch tall/2.5 ml spray bottle and in a 2.5-inch tall/30 ml spray bottle: I got 15 sprays from the 30 ml bottle…and over 22 sprays from the smaller bottle. My calculations are approximations but I feel they are pretty accurate; I’m glad you brought me back to this article from long, long ago for a re-check…and just as I was about to buy two more bottles of perfume! HA!

By: lucia

lucia — Tue, 11 May 2021 10:11:16 +0000

I don’t think it’s correct 735 sprays for a 50 ml bottle. If it were true, then a sample of 1-1,5 ml would last 2- 3 days with 10 sprays a day and I think you know and said in this article that one sample lasts 1 day if you spray more than 1-2 sprays.
But still, it’s a good idea to see how much time would take to finish certain perfumes. First time when I heard someone said they had enough perfume for the rest of their lives, I was surprised. Now I understand 🙂

By: l.

l. — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 18:04:03 +0000

Hi!
Do you have any information on how long a splash bottle of extrait will take to use? How many dabs one gets out of the bottle?
Thanks for your hard work, it is very illuminating!

By: littleengine

littleengine — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 06:58:25 +0000

In reply to Anonymous. It would make a good story! Now I want to do this, but I'm so new to perfume collecting that I don't have much to share yet. Patiently building my stash...

By: Sfumato

Sfumato — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 11:27:33 +0000

I knew I’d accumulated quite a decent collection over the last couple years, but never sat down to calculate just how much. This article forced me to sit down and do some math. I’ve got 75 fragrances in my haul, and approximately 2 bottles of each. I did my math on the basis of how much is currently in each bottle and it looks like I’ve currently got about 19,780 ml. Assuming that I’m using 5ml/week, I should have enough for the next 27,692 days (or approximately 75 years and 10 months.) I’ll long since be dead, so maybe I should slow down a bit on additional purchases. I doubt that I will though. As long as the extra bottles remain in their original unopened packaging, they’ll probably be worth a bit in another 50 years. Time will tell.

By: Pinnacos

Pinnacos — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 06:14:51 +0000

This thread prompted me to do some math myself. It was helpful to have you provide your spray-per-bottle numbers. I’ve got a collection of 60 different fragrances, most of which are the largest bottles I could get for any one fragrance. I knew I had enough cologne to last me well into my next life, but I was too was amazed at how long I can keep spraying. Based upon the assumption that I will go through 5ml/week, I have enough for 2,089 weeks (14,623 days) which at the age of 49 will last me until just shy of my 90th birthday. That’s nuts. It’s good to know though. I also calculated that I’ve got 2.76 gallons of fragrance which just made me laugh at its absurdity.

I think it’s time to stop buying.

Pinnacos

By: calsycat

calsycat — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 12:09:29 +0000

I’m more interested in how long I might expect my fragrances to last in terms of quality…before they “turn”. I know people buy vintage bottles on Ebay that are 20 years old. Can perfume actually last that long and still smell good?and after a fragrance is opened I assumed that it would start to degrade, at least it’s top notes. Am I wrong, or will perfume, properly stored, last indefinately? this would be a revalation to me.

By: jjrichard83

jjrichard83 — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 08:05:28 +0000

Decants are a HUGE bargain… I have no idea what this person is talking about… For anyone who has a large collection, 20ml will last 1-2 years even in rotation. If they are happy with it after that, then they can grab a bottle. Many of us buy bottles only to regret it later, so I say, go for decants in the online fragrance communities (Facebook and base notes are good places to start).

By: olorunjobi

olorunjobi — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:48:14 +0000

I want to know names of perfumes which can last for more than three months when used onced