A Century of Perfume Bottle Evolution: A Retrospective

What do you care about most when buying perfume? The scent or the bottle design? Today, let's talk about the packaging of perfume. The design of perfume bottle is an art. When you walk past the perfume counter, it feels like you're visiting a small sculpture garden. So many wonderful bottles are displayed there, from hand-painted glass bottles to decorated carved bottles, dazzling the eyes. It's no wonder that collecting perfume bottles has become a popular hobby. For every decade in the past, you can see the transformation of bottle design through each unique perfume bottle. Let's follow the history of perfume bottle design for a century.

Perfume bottles from 1900 to 1910

In the first decade of the 20th century, the Art Nouveau style reached its peak period. The design of perfume bottles mostly appeared in fantastic, fancy, and elegant forms. During this period, the materials used for perfume bottles were usually crystal. Gold-plated letters and brass bottle caps were used for decoration. Corks were usually used as bottle stoppers to prevent the smell from leaking out. When using, perfume was dipped with a stick-like tool and wiped on the wrist and neck.

Perfume bottles from 1907

The first aerosol perfume appeared. The first perfume atomizers were called "perfumizers," which transformed liquid perfume into a fine mist. After the birth of atomizers, a new industry emerged, and manufacturers began to make decorative empty bottles with spray functions. Some discerning ladies were encouraged to store their favorite perfume in these bottles with atomizers so that the perfume could be used for as long as possible. In that era, spray perfume bottles were very expensive.

Perfume bottles from 1930

When the financial crisis came, perfume sales fell unprecedentedly. Many perfume manufacturers around the world were forced to close temporarily, and those exotic perfume bottles disappeared. Complicated handmade containers, which were dominant in the past ten years, were replaced by cheap, uniform, machine-made bottles. Some perfume companies chose mass-produced cheap bottles and made some eye-catching external packaging to attract consumers.

Perfume bottles from 1940

As World War II ended in the mid-1940s, creative perfume bottle designs began to flourish, but the styles became monotonous, which had never been seen in the past ten years. The advent of the war was untimely and ended the glass blowing industry, but people's desire for artistic perfume bottles continued to increase. Perfume manufacturers found a way to satisfy people's demand for perfumes by creating intricate molds to allow these wonderful bottles to be produced in large quantities by machines. It was common at this time to see different companies launch the same wonderful bottle design, using personalized design on the bottles, painting on them, or using metal and plastic products for decoration to distinguish different brands.

Perfume bottles from 1960

In the 1960s, some craft techniques and folk art from ten years ago reappeared, and handmade craftsmen and independent glass blowing studios began to increase. This trend led to the appearance of some highly decorative and characteristic bottles, whose designs were usually inspired by fashion from the past ten years (sharp shapes and bright colors).

Perfume bottles from 1970

Women in the 1970s became strong and independent, and their perfumes were like igniting fuel, which made musk popular in this era. Metal decoration was reintroduced into the design of women's perfumes, which looked more neutral and practical. The bottle stopper was sometimes replaced by a screw cap, allowing the perfume to splash on the body rather than patting it on the desired location. These simple designs allowed modern liberated women to incorporate luxury into their busy lives.

Perfume bottles from 1990

In the mid-1990s, outsourcing of businesses began to rise, and as outsourced labor and packaging became cheaper, perfume prices began to fall. Even luxury perfumes were sold in drugstores, alongside cheap glass and plastic perfume bottles. As times changed, perfume bottles became disposable items.

Modern perfume bottles

Labor and materials are no longer a heavy burden for manufacturers, such as colored coated glass and lightweight plastic, so perfume manufacturers began to maximize the use of these materials to design bottle bodies. You can find abstract glasses, metals, plastics, and even wooden containers, of various shapes and sizes, all holding the imaginary scent. More celebrity and fashion designers participated in the design of perfume bottles in the market, and complex and bold designs are now very common.