Average modern perfumes, how long do they keep ? A year, more less ?
They do lose their potency over time… but I would think it would take much longer than a year… assuming the bottle is more or less sealed (otherwise the alcohol will evaporate).
Huh, I always thought they got stronger over time. My mother had a 20 year old bottle of Poison sitting in her medicine cabinet. I opened it one day and man, that stuff was potent. I don’t know anything about evaporation rates though; I just assumed all the water had evaporated leaving behind nothing but scented alcohol.
After about 3 years, most fragrances start to get sort of funky, and not in a good way.
Lotions even less time.
If you keep it in a cool dry place they could last longer.
OK - cool thanks, I have some Flower by Kenzo which I’m getting through very slowly (ie less than half a bottle used in a year) and I don’t want it to go to waste.
I concur.
I used to work at the Body Shop (apparently one of the only straight males ever to do so), and our product guide said that everything had a shelf life of 3 years, mainly due to the volatility of the perfume oils therein.
That would be except the sun creams which need replacing every year tho’ right 
Indeed. Although they always seem to completely revamp their sun-care line every year, so it wasn’t much of an issue as a clerk. 
I don’t know the exact timeframes but I would say 3 years would be on the outside. Evaporation isn’t the only issue; oils become rancid over time. Other chemicals break down. Even if a scent is still “potent” it doesn’t mean it smells like it did on the day it was bottled.
Wouldn’t the alcohol evaporate fastest leaving most of the water behind?