After reading a piece on preservatives in cosmetics, I'm thinking that I may not want something that has been sitting in my drawer for a year. It likened it to fresh food going bad without refrigeration. I'm not sure I want something that has so many chemical preservatives it lasts way beyond its "natural" life.
I see Vitamin E used frequently as a preservative, and there are probably more non-chemical ones, as well.
I wish I could remember where I read it, but I don't. :-(
I think you were wise to rely on the Smell Test. :-)