Have you ever purchased a perfume just for its packaging?
I hate to admit this, but I have. These days I rarely buy full-size bottles. But, there was a time I’d buy a bottle of perfume just because I liked the bottle. Those days are long gone but here’s what I remember buying just for the bottle:
Van Cleef & Arpels Féerie – I don’t even like faeries but for some reason I wanted this bottle…also the fact that it lists violets as a note, I just had to have it. It was a blind-buy and it was well worth it. It smells as twee as it looks and I love it for that. Review here.
Jean Paul Gaultier Classique – Back in the day I bought this for the vintage inspired packaging. Luckily, I loved the vintage-inspired fragrance. I drained the bottle…burning myself out on the scent. After years of blogging, their PR sent me a limited edition bottle (review here). Their limited edition bottles are still some of my favorites.
Jean Paul Gaultier Fragile – I no longer have this because I used it all, but I bought it for the packaging and have no regrets. I loved this HUGE tuberose. I included it in my “Saddest Perfume Names” post.
Mugler Womanity – When I saw the promos for this one, I was going to buy a bottle unsniffed. Before I could, their PR sent me a bottle. This Metropolis meets H.R. Giger bottle is still one of my favorites. Review here.
Other temptations that I didn’t buy but was tempted by because of the packaging: Cartier Panthère (Cartier always has good packaging), all the Salvador Dalis (tacky yet tacky “art”), Moschino Fresh (pop art fabulous) and Moschino Toy (teddy bear bottle).
Fess up. This is a judge-free zone. 😉
*Erin O’Connor in JPG ad circa early 00’s from Fragrantica. Sephora contains an affiliate link.
Years ago my local Marshall’s had at least half a dozen of those Van Cleef & Arpels Feerie full bottles on sale for like $25.00. I didn’t buy one, and I wish I had. The bottle is just delightful and I have a soft spot for over the top sugared violets. Now I keep waffling on ordering it from a discount site, but I haven’t done it.
Boring maybe, but I’ve considered buying Miu Miu Miu Miu for the bottle. I like, but don’t love, the scent, but that faceted baby blue bottle with the cherry red button on top of the cap really speaks to me for some reason.
The thing about that bottle too is that it doesn’t look cheap in person either. It’s actually really pretty. Plus, it’s sweet, fruity violets!
I love that bottle so much. That’s one of my favorite color combos. I also like the perfume so there’s that 🙂
Haven’t bought it yet–but there’s a bottle sitting on my Amazon wish list this minute that is gorgeous. It’s a perfume oil called Arba Wardat (Four Flowers) by Rasasi. The perfume notes sound promising, but no matter how it smells, that bottle will look great on my vanity! 8-D
In almost every other case, though, I’ve bought perfume for its own sake. If it happened to be in a really beautiful bottle, that was icing on the cake.
Dare I look this perfume bottle up?
OK, I had to. That is really pretty! That’s one of those that’s worth it just for the looks 🙂
Luckily in all of my cases, I bought it and then actually really liked what was inside. I’m not going to push my luck though.
I bought Panthere on a blind buy, and I like both the bottle and the scent. Years ago I bought Lolita Lempicka L because it reminds me of sea glass.
I was soo close but waited. Luckily, I really like what is inside too! I really just need to go ahead and buy it.
That bottle is so cute! It’s iconic and I think it really goes with the actual fragrance too.
Ditto on both. Now you can get a whole set of panther “cubs” also. But my favorite was the one that was $225,000.00. I think they only made one. I’m sure someone bought it, but it wan’t me. Lol!
Oh, that’s all? 😉
A discount site has Soir on sale right now and the bottle, not as glamorous as the $225k one, is still really pretty.
I’ll admit it. I got KvD’s Sinner just for that gorgeous bottle, even though I’m pretty sure I own two scents that smell just like it (Narciso Rodriguez and SJP Lovely, maybe?) When I was just getting into fragrance I remember reading a review on Makeupalley by a user called brooklyntbone (who turned out to be the lady who wrote the books with Luca Turin I think?) of L’Heure Bleue which utterly sold me on the scent before I’d even sniffed it. I went out and bottle a full bottle and I didn’t just didn’t get it for several years…until all of a sudden, I did. At any rate, I kept the bottle all that time because I thought–and still do think–it’s one of the most beautiful bottles I have ever seen.
Those are pretty bottles but I was disappointed by the KvD perfumes. It wasn’t because they were “bad”, it was that they were redundant. I already have stuff like them.
Oh, how cool?! All the classic Guerlains are in the prettiest packaging. They just scream FANCY PERFUME. Plus, they all have a story behind them. I love Vol de Nuit for that.
It’s absurd: I sometimes buy something because I love the bottle. And then I keep all the bottles safely tucked way in their boxes. Mostly what I appreciate is a bottle that feels good in the hand, with the right weight, a good cap (oh, those satisfyingly heavy magnetic clunks on some) that I can. There are some that are so poorly designed I can barely hold and spray them one-handed.
(p.s. that JPG tattoo-style bottle is SO DAMN PRETTY)
This is me. I store my bottles in the box and inside a cabinet. Why do I care about bottles? 😉
You nailed why. I love a bottle that has some heft to it. I love a bottle with a magnetic cap (and a lipstick too). Those feel “worth” it. They feel like I’m holding a luxury item. It’s about the experience.
Isn’t it?! I actually pulled this one out of the stash and have it out to view on the dresser 🙂
I was lucky enough to find three different Guerlain tester bottles of PdT from the 80s, of Nahema, L’Heure Bleue, and Chamade for ridiculously low prices. All three were gorgeous and in perfect condition. The problem: they don’t even have caps! They’re nice for tester bottles, but nothing compared to classic Guerlain bottles. So when a friend offered an 80s bottle of Nahema PdT in that beautiful round bottle, I snapped it up. Eventually I inherited a lovely 80s L’Heure Bleue extrait bottle but I still “need” a real Chamade bottle. I guess I’m not really buying these just for the bottle but since I don’t really need more of the perfume, it really is about the bottles.
I don’t think I’ve ever been tempted to buy a bottle that contained a fragrance I didn’t like but it’s pretty sad when something you do like is in an ugly bottle.
Classic Guerlains are so pretty. They’re the sort of perfume bottles that are the icons of perfume. Even people that aren’t into perfume see something like L’Heure Bleue and know that’s fancy French perfume.
I know people that are into perfume but still collect vintage/antique bottles of Guerlain. I totally understand the appeal. They’re gorgeous bottles.
I agree. That’s another flip. I’m trying to think if there is something I loved that I didn’t buy because of the bottle. I feel like there is, but I can’t think of it right now. I feel like I remember putting a tester down and being like “Nope, this feels cheap and flimsy (like it would break)”.
The bottles I have a really hard time with are the ones from Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier, with the giant super tacky fake diamond on the top. It’s really good perfume in a high quality bottle that functions well, but is so hideous I just avoid that line entirely.
I only have a MPG from a friend that was moving and also downsizing. I had only seen testers in person and really was surprised by how light and “cheap” the caps feel once I had a “final product” in my hand. MPG has some good perfumes but I agree the bottles aren’t great.
I have a friend that doesn’t buy Annick Goutal because they think the bottles look cheap. And I buy them (because I like the scents) and I like the bottles. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯