What is wrong with my perfume? (lotion, smell, drugstore, scent)

[negativenancy]

I bought a new box of perfume 2 weeks ago- it's the same perfume I have bought for the past 5 years. I know what it's supposed to smell like and how long it typically lasts (and so does my family and coworkers).

So yesterday and today was the first day that I actually used the perfume. I sprayed it in my usual spots and the usual amount, only 10 minutes later I cannot recognize it. In fact, my family asked me why I didn't wear perfume today and yesterday- NO ONE can smell it!

Is there any chance that I just got a bad bottle? I bought it a larger department store and have opened and used it for the past 2 days- do you think they will let me return it?

Is there anyway I could look for an expiration date on a perfume?

[Magnolia Bloom]

Most department stores will return it if you haven't used a lot. Worth a try.

[Sage 80]

Yes, get it exchanged.

If the new one smells "off" too, it could be that it's been reformulated. Reformulations have ruined many a great perfume.

[silibran]

Agree. I've had the experience of a scent changing and not for the better. Return it. Buy a fun new scent.

[Amisi]

If there was no scent at all, it probably expired. While there isn't an "expiration date" on perfume bottles, it does lose its scent after a while.

I would bring it back, explain the problem and exchange it. If you still have the "no scent" problem, the company has probably changed their formula and you should contact them directly.

[phonelady61]

Yep I had a fave from victoria secret and they reformulated it and now it is just awful smelling . Yes alot of the perfumes have been reformulated and as a result they are now ruined for me at least anyways .

[Soda120]

Exchange it for another bottle. If you get the same undesirable results, either your body chemistry has changed or they "watered down" the scent. Maybe the word "reformulated" is a deceptive word for "watered down".

[Kayekaye]

My friend works for a fragrance counter in one of the large department stores. She says yes perfume does go stale. It could be a bottle that is old and got shipped or left in the back of shelves for years. She also said when those perfumes are a year or older the supplier sells them to the perfume kiosks or drugstores.

Do return it and see if the next bottle is the same. They might have an old batch and would appreciate knowing it. They would alert the suppliers.

[Delahanty]

I'd definitely return it, but beware: many perfumes have undergone the dreaded "reformulation." Be prepared, too, for the excuses about how your body chemistry has changed (even if you spray it on a card), and how your sense of smell changes (even if it hasn't changed for anything else). Then do your research, and you'll learn that, yes, your favorite fragrance has been reformulated.

I love fragrances but have drastically simplified these beauty routines, and I use only one in the summer and a couple in the winter. One for the winter, Opium, has definitely been reformulated. I checked it out last year, and almost gagged. Thankfully, I still have about one-third of the 6.6oz body lotion left from at least 1988 (I'm associating the perfume with something from that year) and, no, it hasn't gone stale. I've always used it as a sachet, so that's why it's lasted. When people ask about it, they're disappointed to learn about the reformulation, and I'm disappointed to tell them. Other once-great "blasts from the past" which have suffered reformulation are Estee Lauder's Private Collection and Chanel No. 5. Yuck.

The fragrance industry has bastardized many of our most cherished perfumes.

[negativenancy]

Well I went back to the store today and they kind of acted like I was crazy, like they've never heard of a perfume not smelling. They did exchange my bottle for another... However this new bottle doesn't last either

Could they really have changed a perfume that's been around for years? This is frustrating!