Being new to eBay, no one told me that vintage splash perfume bottles can become seriously jammed!
I first learned of this with a 1/2 oz Shalimar bottle from the 90s,when the small blue fan stopper refused to budge.
Without consulting online, I tried a scientific method: soak the bottle below the label in almost boiling water(to minimise possibility of cracking), hold ice to the stopper & keep trying at intervals to see if it'll come lose.
Within 5 minutes, air pockets appeared in the space between the neck & the stopper & I pried the stopper lose, thinking myself a genius.
Next, about 3 weeks later, a small Lalique disc bottle of L'Air du temps arrived, and again the tiny spherical stopper was jammed.
This proved more delicate than the last time, as I had to keep the bottle in the hot water bowl for about 30 minutes before any sign of progress, and eventually,which felt like a long time, the stopper unglued & came loose,after a last almighty twist.
Now, I have my biggest challenge yet: a large 2 oz Baccarat glass bottle of L'Heure Bleue. I started about 2 hours ago with the same method:keeping the bottle half-submerged in near boiling water & replenishing it while I kept ice on the stopper.
Half-an-hour passed, and the stopper was as frozen as when I started!
Then my mum suggested running very hot water from the heater onto the neck, which I did, while also putting ice against the stopper. I tilted the bottle as close to vertical as possible because the bottle is 95% full of the wonderful juice and it would splash out if the stopper shot out.
Kept going at it for another half-hour before I called it a day, as the neck showed no signs whatsover of wanting to release the stopper.Better safe than sorry, as they say!
Well, there's an upside to this:
Now I can smell the heavenly unmistakably hearbreakingly beautiful scent of LHB from the neck due to the escape of the scent molecules during this ordeal!
[Also, I gain some insight into why the seller accepted my offer of $95 for this bottle & box, PLUS throwing in another 5" tall empty bottle of LHB(coincidentally also stuck) for free!]
I first learned of this with a 1/2 oz Shalimar bottle from the 90s,when the small blue fan stopper refused to budge.
Without consulting online, I tried a scientific method: soak the bottle below the label in almost boiling water(to minimise possibility of cracking), hold ice to the stopper & keep trying at intervals to see if it'll come lose.
Within 5 minutes, air pockets appeared in the space between the neck & the stopper & I pried the stopper lose, thinking myself a genius.
Next, about 3 weeks later, a small Lalique disc bottle of L'Air du temps arrived, and again the tiny spherical stopper was jammed.
This proved more delicate than the last time, as I had to keep the bottle in the hot water bowl for about 30 minutes before any sign of progress, and eventually,which felt like a long time, the stopper unglued & came loose,after a last almighty twist.
Now, I have my biggest challenge yet: a large 2 oz Baccarat glass bottle of L'Heure Bleue. I started about 2 hours ago with the same method:keeping the bottle half-submerged in near boiling water & replenishing it while I kept ice on the stopper.
Half-an-hour passed, and the stopper was as frozen as when I started!
Then my mum suggested running very hot water from the heater onto the neck, which I did, while also putting ice against the stopper. I tilted the bottle as close to vertical as possible because the bottle is 95% full of the wonderful juice and it would splash out if the stopper shot out.
Kept going at it for another half-hour before I called it a day, as the neck showed no signs whatsover of wanting to release the stopper.Better safe than sorry, as they say!
Well, there's an upside to this:
Now I can smell the heavenly unmistakably hearbreakingly beautiful scent of LHB from the neck due to the escape of the scent molecules during this ordeal!
[Also, I gain some insight into why the seller accepted my offer of $95 for this bottle & box, PLUS throwing in another 5" tall empty bottle of LHB(coincidentally also stuck) for free!]
