We habitually lament perfume reformulation of perfumes. Change in packaging often goes hand-in-hand with the changes in how perfume smells (and almost always it’s not a positive change). But what if we were to look only at bottles themselves leaving aside negative connotations of the whole process of repackaging?
Saturday Question #99:
What Perfume Bottles Got Better After The Re-design?
Can you think of any single perfume or brand’s bottles in general the second (or third) change to which you think was an improvement?
A bonus question: name 1-3 brands/perfumes where you disagree with the change and wish they haven’t done it. Don’t be “greedy”: do not do the whole laundry list of grievances. If you agree with someone else’s choice, add your negative vote to their comment – that will leave you more chances to scold the offending brand that hasn’t been named yet.
My Answer
I’m still lamenting the loss of those beautiful colored flutes of Annick Goutal, and I think that Teo Cabanel‘s glass bottles for their classic line were more attractive than the current “metallic” renditions. But I can think of at least one line whose repackaging increased their appeal to me: Mona di Orio. I know that some perfumistas preferred their champagne-bottle-style cap, but for my personal aesthetics, their second bottles interpretation for the line is much more attractive.
What do you think?
Undina's Looking Glass 
Hety Undina,
Missing the fluted and coloured Goutal bottles here too. We are diametrically opposed on the MdOs though, I loved those champagne bottles and thought they were so different, well thought out and safer to pick up.
When Hermès changed most of their regular range to the same Hermessence bottles, I like that.
Also, the change from 1970s Granny Dressing Table Guerlain bee bottles to the 2021 return to the upside down heart lid flacon is a big win for me.
Gres Cabochard has done a revue on their bottles too. The new one is modern and hefty.
Lastly, Le Galion has done a tremendous job updating their bottle, plus they got rid of the pedestal box that I loathe.
Portia xx
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I agree, the new Cabochard bottles (EDT and EDP) are much better.
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The new Annick Goutal bottles are just a little less precious and a lot more generic. I prefer the old designs.
I have a few of the old Mona di Orio styled square bottles with the caged caps. Even now, I find myself approaching these with caution. They are certainly not finger friendly, where the new versions are smooth and easier to grasp.
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I agree with everyone that the older fluted Annick Goutal bottles were prettier and nicer.
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I remembered that we were opposite on MdO’s bottles.
While I think that Hermes’s current bottles are nice, I don’t like that they switched to unified bottles. I liked their old Rocabar.
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Yes to the Guerlain, although more on a practical level: the bee splash bottles were pretty but needed to be decanted drop by precious drop, and it was great to get a backup bottle of Encens Mythique without that silly bulb atomizer.
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I think those mid sized bee bottles are still around AnnieA. Yes, they are bloody annoying. Grrr!
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My Encens Mythique has an optional bulb that I’ve never used knowing about problems others had with it.
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I never saw the original Nicolaï bottles except in photos, but the newer ones seemed like an improvement. They’re nothing fancy but simpler and more elegant.
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I haven’t seen either old or new bottles IRL, so it’s hard for me to say, but just judging by the pictures, I’ll agree with you.
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I love the newer (though now discontinued) bottles for Jean Patou’s “Collection Heritage” of several classic fragrances, which I think look much better than some of the odd shapes previously used for several of the eaux de toilette, like Eau de Patou.
I’m not crazy about the redesigns of the bottles for Serge Lutens, Annick Goutal, or L’Artisan Parfumeur. I don’t hate the new ones, I just prefer the earlier ones. I do think it’s awful that Estèe Lauder has done away with its beautiful original bottles for fragrances like Beyond Paradise, Azurèe, and several others, and replaced them with those clear, boxy rectangles.
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I agree about Estee Lauder! I was thinking about this line as well. Estee was so much prettier in the original bottle…
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The “generic” EL classics are an abomination! Both bottle & contents.
Otherwise, as I don’t display bottles I’m not particularly bothered, as long as the contents are good.
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Also, Bvlgari has the distinction of having elicited opposite reactions from me, to the contemporaneous bottles of the same fragrances! I really dislike the larger size bottle of the Omnia line, with the two interlocked circles; I think it’s ugly and hard to handle. I really love the 25 ml “Charms”, also the Omnia line, which I find very pretty and streamlined, easy and pleasant to hold in the hand.
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I loved the older special editions of Annick Goutal, too. It’s not that the new bottles aren’t nice-they definitely are, and they’re appropriate for the house, and I do like them-but the originals were so special, from the frosted soft green of Ninfio Mio to the perfect blue of Nuit Etoliee (I bought both the mens and women bottles, because the bottles were just so beautiful). I also loved the deeply glamorous bottle for Mon Parfum, Cherie.
I prefer the SL in their original 50 ml size, and I really dislike the black painted label on the new bottles-it feels wrong and I really don’t care for the aesthetic.
I preferred L’artisan’s original packaging. So far i’m answering this question all wrong lol.
I like the new packaging for the Mona di Orio line. And I wonder about the Grandiflora line-my bottle of Michel has a very faulty nozzle. The beautiful box is stained with some lost product. So while the aesthetics of the original bottle appeal to me, I can appreciate that perhaps it didn’t function the way it should have.
Hope everyone’s having a cozy weekend-another snow storm here, but I still have power so i feel very lucky.
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I agree with you on everything but Grandiflora bottles! The new ones have a paper label that gets easily stained and started peeling off several months after I bought it.
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I’m with you about the Annick Goutal bottles; I may have bought one of the last old bottles of Ninfeo Mio (but it’s clear, not green as it was a tester bottle from the NYC boutique). One bottle that I was surprised had improved was Banana Republic Classic, which is now more robust and with a magnetic cap versus a very basic design that I was used to when I wore it all the time many years ago. Conversely, I bought a bottle of CK Contradiction online and was so disappointed that the metal cap had been replaced with a cheap plastic one. I would imagine that overall, the improvements are far fewer than the opposite!
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Since most of the redesigns are made for no other reason but to save a couple of bucks, it’s hard to expect the improvements.
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My biggest bottle beef is companies that keep re-bottling their fragrances in fancy limited edition bottles and charging an arm and a leg for them, like Guerlain and some of the newer Lutens also. My mantra is ‘keep the bottles simple and the juice inside beautiful.”
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Well… I don’t want simple bottles. But I don’t appreciate repackaging for the price hike justification or to save money.
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I liked the olderGoutal bottles and hate the SL skyscraper bottles
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Agree and agree.
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I like the new Tauer better than original one. I miss the old original Escada LEs. They seemed more refined looking.
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I didn’t realize Tauer had different bottles at some point. But I do prefer the current boxes to those pentagons: while they were quite nice looking, it is extremely hard to open and close them.
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I remember being perturbed – perhaps oddly, as the change isn’t so very radical – by the switch of Diptyque from rectangular bottles to ones the shape of Pears soap. ;) I am used to them now. Otherwise I don’t think I am very good at spotting the evolution of bottle design, maybe because I don’t buy the same scent again? I wasn’t aware that the AG bottles had changed, for example, but having looked at them on their website I much prefer the former beribboned variety. Though they have probably been able to let go dozens of ribbon tying operatives as a result of the move, hehe.
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I agree with the older Diptyque bottles having a better design!
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While new Diptyque bottles are quite nice, for whatever reason the rectangular ones were more dear to me.
Annick Goutal had already a couple of bottle changes: first from the colored flutes to see-through flutes with labels in all capital letters. Then the form changed slightly to less symmetrical. And now I see an even further evolution of that bottle. All nice, but I liked the oldest ones more.
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This may be a little hiccup of an answer. I think Chanel did a fabulous job of the LE red bottles for No.5 EDP and L’Eau. I hope they continue this with a few other Chanels!
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If they were to re-release those red bottles, I would have bought one – even thought it’s not “my” scent. And I dread of a green No 19 bottle…
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Yes, I’d love to see the treatment given to No.19 and Poudré. I have envisioned them for ages.
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Joining the chorus of discontent with AG bottles. And as for what Guerlain has done, well colour me unimpressed. Sorry to have answered your question backwards 😉
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Are you referring to their L’Art collection? I haven’t seen the new bottles IRL, so I don’t have an opinion about them, but I can’t say that I loved the old ones.
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