These Antique Perfume Bottles Preserve a Glamorous Piece of the Past

Text by Holly Seng

Whether you’re drawn to sweet floral notes or their warm, exotic counterparts, fragrance has captivated our imaginations and sense of smell for centuries. Carefully crafted and enticing to the eye, antique perfume bottles impart a tangible portrayal of the ephemeral essence they once contained—making them a stunning choice for collectors.

Editorial photo stylist Maghan Armstrong has quite the assemblage, passed down to her by her grandmother who has collected them for over 40 years. Both Maghan’s love of styling and her affinity for antiques, which led to a degree in interior design, can be attributed to the afternoons she spent with her siblings at her grandparents’ antiques store. “We would spend hours playing and rearranging,” Maghan recalls. “We had so much freedom in the space.”

Intricate and distinctive details set each of these pieces apart—from etched glass and cut crystal to gold filigree and vivid colors. Older perfume bottles include a stopper—sometimes larger and more decorative than the bottle itself—which was used by the owner to apply the scent. The invention of atomizers in 1907 allowed fragrance to be applied as a spray.

While some collectors might be drawn to a particular time period or style, for Maghan and her grandmother, it’s simply been about the artistry. “My grandmother has always surrounded herself with beautiful and interesting things,” Maghan says. It was a small bottle with dainty filigree work that initially caught her grandmother’s attention, serving as the first purchase.

As Maghan searches antiques stores and estate sales to build upon the collection her grandmother began, there’s one thing the self-professed lover of details plans to keep in mind: “The more ornate, the better.”