Optical Scentsibilities: Genie Blue with Stopper Red, Hooved it Twice and Then it Bled

Sometimes a genius idea is the result of a coup de foudre; a lighting crashes and you get that little bulb light over your head, like Benjamin Franklin. Sometimes a genius idea is the result of knowing where to "steal" from; all creative people are magpies, amassing an inordinate amount of data, processing it in the brain, sometimes even losing track of the reference as the idea matures and gains wings. The bottle of Cacharel Loulou, a potent 1980s fragrance, quite the success in its day, is a magnificent case in point.

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The extrait de parfum bottle was designed by artist designer Annegret Beier. According to lore "she wanted it to look like Aladdin's magic lamp and chose 2 totally unexpected colors for bottle and cap", to make it more eye-catching. (Yes, it is.)

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Behold nevertheless the original inspiration behind that magical elixir Loulou bottle from our younger days (both memorable and a little kitschy fabulous), Le Debut Bleu by Richard Hudnut, a perfume from the 1920s, discontinued and very rare today, but which managed to surface on Australian Ebay all the same a while ago. The similarities are more than apparent, maybe a case of tacenda.

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I suppose this post is reprising the Optical Scentsibilities articles, a PerfumeShrine.com feature exploring art history and the images of perfumes as well as that of perfume design, that I had started back in November 2007 (wow! I just now realize how long this was an obsession with me) and which can be viewed in the link linked (If you're having trouble going back to the second page with older posts, after scrolling the first, visit this link and the third page of even older results can be found here)

Optical Scentsibilities: The Imaginative Vintage Perfume Presentation

The enrobing of a perfume in a glass mantle is analogous to the draping of fabric around a beautifully formed body. The outer presentation should complement the interior magnificence. It was just a few years ago that only the lower end of the fragrance market had flamboyant and over-gilded bottles to balance the cheap impression left by the low price asked and the less luxurious smelling experience. The chic stuff circulated in architectural bottles with relatively sparse lines, like with Chanel. But then niche perfumery boomed aiming at a more discerning customer.

Captivating not only the aficionado, who dreams in perfume and can have their beloved elixir dispensed even in a milk carton for all it's worth, but also the loaded purchaser, who views perfume as a precious fashion accessory that completes their luxurious lifestyle or as a gift to be given with the desire to please the eye as much as the nose. Ergo fancier bottle styles have become desirable and coveted again, ranging from the extravagant, like the crystal creations by Agonist or the Swarovski crystal containing Hedonist by Viktoria Minya, to the artistically hand-made such as the Martine Micallef bottles or the glamor of the 1001 Nights of Amouage. But back in time, the imagination of the fragrance bottle designers run into patterns which remind us more of Limoges and Lladro porcelain figures (or in the case of drugstore items of Barbie playthings) than of perfume bottles.
Everyone recalls the model dummy for Schiaparelli's Shocking, reprised by Jean Paul Gaultier in the 1990s. But I have unearthed a few more vintage examples on Ebay to share with you on a rainy day. Here they are.

                   

                 Vintage Novelty Windmill for "Devon Violets" Perfume by Delavelle

                         

                        Vintage Novelty Harp "Heavenscent" Perfume by Nikki de Paris.

             "The Perfume for Heavenly Times" as tagged on the box, depicting a taking aim cupid.

               Vintage Spray Perfume "Malibu Musk" Bottle Palm Tree 1980s

Do you know of any fanciful shaped vintage perfume bottles you'd like to add? Feel free to share in the comments.

The Importance of Perfume Bottle Design

"I bought Daisy because I liked the bottle. Is that bad?"Lauren Wilkey, a 25-year-old style blogger from Old Bridge, N.J. wrote on her blog. "You want the bottle to be so beautiful and unique that somebody wants to keep it out in the open. Then they are more likely to use it," says Kecia Coby, founder of KCR Consulting who worked with the Kardashians on their fragrances.



 Just two quotes from a longer article on the Wall Street Journal on the current commercial importance of perfume bottle design. As the number state: "The faster cycle is driving U.S. sales of fragrances, which neared $5.8 billion last year, up 7.6% from 2010, according to Euromonitor International. Sales of so-called premium fragrances (defined by price, retail outlet and other factors) topped $4.8 billion, up 11%. Celebrity fragrances get a lot of buzz, especially among younger shoppers, but they make up less than 5% of sales, says Karen Grant, global beauty industry analyst at NPD Group". "Maybe before, when not every celebrity wanted a fragrance, when not every designer wanted a fragrance, you could focus maybe a little less" on the bottle design, Mr. Lekach said. "It's become incredibly important—certainly as important as the actual fragrance."
photo via makeupandbeautyblog.com