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Cologne "going off"? - Page 2

post #16 of 23
10/24/06 at 6:43pm
heat can definately speed up the natural progression of ingredients decomposing, but light is the true enemy. A friend of mine bought his wife some Chanel 19. She left it in the sunlight for one week, and it was COMPLETELY useless. When fragrances go-off, it is typically first noticeable in the topnotes, as they are the most volatile. Does your Gucci PH still smell like freshly-sharpened pencils for that first bracing 30 seconds?
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post #17 of 23
10/25/06 at 6:49am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joel_Cairo
When fragrances go-off, it is typically first noticeable in the topnotes, as they are the most volatile. Does your Gucci PH still smell like freshly-sharpened pencils for that first bracing 30 seconds?

The topnote just smells like alcohol. Eventually it settles down to a mixture of pencil smell and wet leaves, with a trace of amber.

The white pepper and leather are missing entirely. These were my favourite notes, and according to Basenotes, there's not even a credible alternative (at least not one that doesn't introduce a bunch of green notes).

Tomorrow I'm gonna go in and use every last ounce of charm (which works pretty damn well on the middle-aged women and young gay guys who staff the perfume counter)...
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post #18 of 23
10/25/06 at 11:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by The False Prophet
The topnote just smells like alcohol. Eventually it settles down to a mixture of pencil smell and wet leaves, with a trace of amber.

The white pepper and leather are missing entirely. These were my favourite notes, and according to Basenotes, there's not even a credible alternative (at least not one that doesn't introduce a bunch of green notes).

Tomorrow I'm gonna go in and use every last ounce of charm (which works pretty damn well on the middle-aged women and young gay guys who staff the perfume counter)...
Yeah, that's definatly gone off. Unusual, as it sounds like you were taking good care to keep it as you should (keeping it in the box and out of light). You got it at a brick&mortar store, you say?

But there are definately alternatives: CDG2 Man is very similar, but feels a touch more modern (I can't place the note or notes that account for this, it's just a vague vibe. They really are close. Fraternal, if not identical, twins). You could also look into Azzaro Visit or Gucci Rush.
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post #19 of 23
1/22/07 at 5:04am
I have noticed the same thing with some of my scents. I usually leave my stuff on dresser tops, as one poster mentioned, and if it lasts a year or more, the scent is very weak.

I had read somewhere that 6 months is the average lifespan of cologne, but maybe storage is big issue. Spray lasting longer makes some sense, since there is very little chance of any kind of contamination, compared with splash on.
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post #20 of 23
1/22/07 at 5:10am
found this at answerbag.com: It depends entirely on the amounts of oils and alcohol, and other ingredients in them. The more oils and aromatic ingredients, the longer most will last, since alcohol evaporates much more quickly than oils. Also, the stronger-heavier the scent, the longer the smell will linger in most cases. For example "toilet waters" are less strong and have more alcohol in them than colognes and "eau du parfums." They cost less, but the scent doesn't linger or last as long. It may be talking more about how long the scent lasts once you put it on, but even when you consider "shelf life" it sort of makes sense.
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post #21 of 23
1/22/07 at 2:27pm
My Versace Dreamer smells a bit pungent at the end of the day, and Im not one to perspire easaly or have bodor odor. Has anyone else had this experience? Now I only use it before I go out at night.
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post #22 of 23
1/28/07 at 9:37am
Thread Starter 
I got a replacement in the end, and it was bad straight out of the box. Having by then developed a bit of a distaste for the fragrance in general after smelling so much of it gone bad, I opted for something much lighter, in the shape of Marc Jacobs which I adore.

I can only suppose that either they were from the same bad batch, or that Gucci PH is an especially volatile mix. Certainly the polarised reviews on Basenotes might suggest the latter.

Interestingly, the very helpful chap at the department store tells me that a lot of the discount perfume retailers and online stockists sell product nearing the end of its life cycle, and so this problem can be more frequent.
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post #23 of 23
1/28/07 at 12:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkzzzz
Could it be simply that your cologne is made by a shoe company?

Last time I checked, YSL Beauté hadn't yet strayed into shoe-making territory.

Anyway, I agree with Joel_Cairo about the scent having gone bad. Nevertheless, heat and climate (in addition to body chemistry) also play a part in making a fragrance "work." I've always found Gucci PH to work better in cooler climates, given its darker, woody, leathery character.

Another sort of woody scent that isn't quite so heavy and might work better in warmer weather would be Etro's Mahogany or Sandalo (though the Sandalo is sweeter). I also REALLY like some of the offerings from Comptoir Sud Pacifique, especially L'eau de Governeur and Bois de Filao. If you like Gucci PH, I think you may also like Bois de Filao. These are a little more expensive than the Gucci, but still fairly accessible. For a warm climate, my ultimate recommendation would be something from Creed (Millesime Imperial or Original Vetiver)... but unless you found them from a discounter, they can be way too expensive.
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