by Abhishek Agarwal
Perfume bottles often sell the perfume. As much effort is put into designing a perfume bottle as into the perfume itself. Those glittering little bottles in their brightly lit display cases are what first attracts us to the product.
They say something about what feeling the perfume is meant to create. This one tells us the perfume is fresh, innocent scent. That one that the perfume is dark, dangerous and seductive. The slim rectangular bottle of Chanel No 5 speaks of cool, classic sophistication and a woman who knows her own mind.
We reach for the bottle depending whether we see ourselves as a doe-eyed ingenue or a wicked temptress. Or someone buys it for us because that is how they imagine us to be. Perfume bottles are about image, our image and the image of the product.
A new kind of woman with deep-rooted values is changing the way we live. Market researchers call it “neo-traditionalism.” To us it’s a woman who has found her identity in herself, her home, her family.... She is part of an extraordinary social movement that is profoundly changing the way Americans look at living—and the way products are marketed. The home is again the center of American life, oatmeal is back on the breakfast table, families are vacationing together, watching movies at home, playing Monopoly again. Even the perfume ads are suddenly glorifying commitment.
—Advertisement for Good Housekeeping, in New York Times (Nov. 17, 1988)
A great perfume in a plain bottle would not sell. We are half way to buying the perfume before we even smell it. Many of us have bought a perfume purely on the basis of how the bottle looks. Many presents are certainly bought that way.
With so much skill and design effort perfume bottles have become collector's items. The bottle often costs more than what it contains. That alone is a reason to collect them.
Perfume bottles are worth keeping when you've finished the perfume. They make great ornaments for the dressing table. They can also be recycled. This is useful if you make your own perfume.
A bottle with a mister is always worth keeping. You can refill it and reuse it many times. The same perfume in a bottle with a mister is always more expensive than perfume in a bottle with a stopper. You may be able to pick up a mister bottle secondhand.
You like orchids?... Nasty things. Their flesh is too much like the flesh of men, their perfume has the rotten sweetness of corruption.
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)
Antique perfume bottles are a good buy. They make pretty ornaments in their own right and can be reused. They often have glass stoppers which are more attractive than many modern ones. You can often pick up perfume bottles cheaply at car boot sales, garage sales and flea markets.
If you make your own perfume you may even want to make your own perfume bottles. All you need is a small, plain bottle. You can decorate it with glass paints or by sticking beads or ceramic pieces to it. An art noveau effect is very attractive and easy to do. Coloured tissue makes a lovely stained glass effect.
The advantage of covering the glass is that it keeps light from getting to the perfume and causing it to deteriorate. You can achieve the same effect by making a decorative label for your own home made perfumes.
You could even take a glass blowing course and learn to make your own bottles. Mouth blown glass bottles are unique creations. No two are exactly alike. They will make your own perfumes a truely luxurious product. Abhishek is a Perfume Making expert and he has got some great Perfume Making Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 91 Pages Ebook, "Perfumes! Understanding, Buying And Making Perfumes" from his website http://www. Fun-Galore.com/155/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.