On a whim recently, I broke down and got a mini version of Jean-Paul Gaultier's perfume Fragile (1999). I had no idea what kind of perfume was inside, and I didn't care: the bottle is in the shape of a snow globe that encases a tiny woman in a black evening gown, her arms akimbo, surrounded by glittery confetti.
Fragile's whimsical bottle departed from a decades-long marginalization of unusal bottles in favor of a focus on the scent or on the perfume's invisible attributes as dreamed up by its marketers. (Niki de Saint Phalle's snake-bottle [1982] and Salvador Dali's lips bottle [1983] come to mind as other exceptions, and it's no surprise that both Saint Phalle and Dali were visual artists.)
I've come across many a "figural" perfume bottle while trawling the Internet for vintage perfume. Whether they're Avon owls or Lucien Lelong castles whose columns are individual perfumes, there's something both silly and wonderful about these perfume presentations. They don't take themselves too seriously and they get their audience inducted visually — before they've even smelled the scent — into the perfume's fantasy world.
So without further ado, here are a few of the wildest and most charming vintage perfume bottles I've come across. (Most of them seem to be from Lucien Lelong):
Lucien Lelong's Orgeuil mechanical automaton. Wind it up and a nice-smelling couple dance through perfume eternity. (I think Fragile was inspired by this bottle.)
Lucien Lelong again, this time, for Tailspin.The perfume is housed in (why not?) a plastic case shaped as a stack of poker chips.
I've seen children's play sets that seem better constructed than this perfume castle from Lucien Lelong, but I give its creators points for trying.
There are correspondences between perfume and music: both are composed of notes (musical and olfactory), a series of which can create chords/accords, their compositions unfold through time, have registers, pitches, and moods, and it's very hard to explain the elusive but powerful effect they have on how we feel. Here's a crude figural perfume bottle that pays homage to the music/perfume association:
Shock value often comes in the form of perfume names and brands, nowadays.Take the perfume brand, Juliette Has a Gun. Cool name, but all its perfumes have pretty boring bottles. Not boring: Avon Wild Country Cologne in the shape of a Derringer gun.
Did you see the handcuff bottle for KONVICT? Hilarious!
http://www.nstperfume.com/2010/03/12/akon-konvict-new-fragrances/
Posted by: Kristy Victoria | March 13, 2010 at 11:04 AM
Wow, Kristy. I'm still waiting to hear that this was a joke from the Onion!
Posted by: Perfumaniac | March 13, 2010 at 11:32 AM
O god, I love the guns!
Posted by: Lucy | March 13, 2010 at 12:10 PM
My grandmother had that Avon cologne in the gun bottle: she gave it to her nephew, and when he'd worn most of it, he gave her the bottle back and she kept it with her "interesting bottle" collection. When she died the collection numbered 61 bottles of all different shapes/sizes/purposes.
(Yeeaaah, she really was that nuts. I mean, she was great, but she was nuts.)
Posted by: Mals86 | March 13, 2010 at 02:27 PM
I hope you inherited that collection, Mals86. And clearly some of her nutty love for perfume rubbed off on you!
Posted by: Perfumaniac | March 13, 2010 at 03:06 PM
Love that Fragile bottle...and I'm not even sure I understand why! ;)
Posted by: Mary | March 17, 2010 at 05:41 AM
I'm a bit confused, how does that work? Is it a spray type or something? But its coating protective is so great that it still in good condition till now.
Posted by: Alex Galletti | March 02, 2011 at 10:20 PM
Hello
I was hoping you could help us with some information. There is a perfume bottle that is for sale and is titled 1924 Lalique Andre Jollivet Jean de Parys Vague d'Or perfume bottle. We put the link below. It is in a auction and we were wondering if you had any information about this piece? The price is already out of our price range but do love it. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank You
Jasmen Caralos
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1924-Lalique-Andre-Jollivet-Jean-de-Parys-Vague-d-Or-Perfume-Flacon-Bottle-/351846206980?ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT
Posted by: jasmen caralos | September 28, 2016 at 06:53 PM