Have you ever recollect how your mom used to make efforts to change her look before going out? It would always be a small, beautifully crafted glass vial from her handbag, a quick flick and the room was filled with the most soft, divine aroma. That small vial wasn’t just any perfume bottle – it was a perfume ampule or as some would refer to it as perfume nips. These little glass gems were the glamour item of the women of the ‘50s, the ‘60s and the ‘70s and a way of smelling good and looking elegant with a fragrance that would only last for the day.
Perfume ampoules were long and thin glass containers containing just sufficient amount of perfume to be used one or twice. As they were sealed at both ends they were to be easily transportable and compact, ideal for carrying in one’s purse for a specific event or a touch up. It would be as simple as the user snapping the colored glass tip and releasing the fragrance and applying it instantly. Most of the women who used perfume ampules especially those who regularly went out to parties, parties and other events found these ampules very suitable for their needs.
But they served a purpose, and that was where they excelled, but they were not plain at all. Ampules also had various wax seals or colored glass tips and looked beautiful as if they were tiny art pieces. The beauty of these ampules was not only in the fragrance it held, but in the elegance of its use.
During the post-war years, as women started to get independence and freedom they sought after the products that would fit their new lifestyle. Perfume ampules met the demands of women with active lifestyles to the advantage. It was different from the large sized perfume bottles that were placed on the vanity, these small containers were portable as they could be carried around by a woman to help her spray some fragrance at her workplace, while having lunch or even in the evening.