There is a very funny slide show over at Bellasugar: Eau No: The 33 Worst Perfume Bottles. I must protest the inclusion of the Annick Goutal Petite Cherie 10th Anniversary bottle, which they describe as "a butterfly, embracing cherubs, and script seemingly lifted from a seventh-grader's secret love notes" — all of that is spot on but I still say that bottle is cute as the dickens. Of course, the phrase "cute as the dickens" marks me as someone who'd think "script seemingly lifted from a seventh-grader's secret love notes" was lovely, doesn't it? Anyway, check out the slide show.
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Who compiled that slide show? Seems like whoever did is the Mies van der Rohe of the perfume counter! Everything that isn't plain, plain, plain, plain, plain, minimalist, and plain is subject to ridicule. They even sneer at dear little Lolita Lempicka!
That said, there were a few ridiculous bottles in the bunch, like the Susan Lucci mating-slugs one. The Michael Jackson one was just funny. 🙂
LOL at “Mies van der Rohe of the perfume counter”, good one! I enjoyed reading it even if I didn't agree w/ all of the choices. And quite sure that there are WAY uglier bottles, but can't think of any til I've had a few more cups of tea.
Hilarious, and mostly right-on, but I *must* protest Lolita Lempicka, and Angel, which, if I remember correctly, have even won awards for their packaging. And I agree about the Petite Cherie- not exactly my style, but still adorable in its way. I also happen to love the Alien bottle for its strange, futuristic look, though I'm sure I'm in the minority on that one!
No, I liked Alien too. Angel, not quite so much. Lolita Lempicka I don't adore, but not the worst. But that is what is fun about these kinds of lists: arguing with them!
Who cares if one agrees with the list? It's brilliantly funny. Thanks for directing us to this smile-maker.
All so subjective! But very fun to view. 🙂 I've been a bit freaked out by the Moschino I Love Love bottle, but I've always admired the Donna Karan original one. As always, to each their own; I care more about the juice, so my collection's mostly decants, anyway.
So agree!
Can't decide on the DK bottle, but at least it was unusual!
I would like to ad the very ugly bottles of Trussardi Inside, Bruno Banani all his bottles, Nina Ricci Premier Jour and Paul Smith Rose.
I do like the butterfly bottle of Annick Goutal, and the bottles of Angel, and JLo.
I saw the slideshow the other day… What a crock. Who can say what's ugly to some is beautiful to others. They had several bottles wrong and people actually did speak up on comments and say that they loved certain ones. I have no idea who these women are that blog for Team sugar. They only show cartoon icons to represent each blog.
The Moschino and Betsey Johnson bottles fit their design aesthetic. The My Queen bottle is quite nice in person. Although I will say, I always thought that DK bottle might have a secret battery compartment…. *ahem*.
I think they might be horrified to know that I've just had a look for some of those scents based purely on the kitsch bottles.
I've gotta have some of those. Though I draw the line at having Michael Jackson's face on anything in my bedroom.
Well, in regards to Animal, they got the grandma's lanai in Boca Raton dead on. Ahh. memories, some of those bottles bring me back to H.S….. 🙂
I don't see why it is a crock — I mean, if I post a “top 10” list, not everybody is going to agree w/ my choices, right? It goes without saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Agree on Moschino & Betsey Johnson, and the MyQueen bottle doesn't offend me in the least. There are way uglier…
I adored the Betsey Johnson on those very grounds until I saw it in person. They should have used better quality materials for that cap — it didn't look as fun/kitsch in person as it did “cheap”. Just my humble opinion, obviously — I do know lots of people who loved that bottle.
omg! Okay some of them really agree with lol. That prince matchabelli one was pretty fugly. And… slug lambada? o__0
But the Alien one? That one is genuis!
And I love L's bottle too! And the DKNY one…
Awww… I wanna bottle of Cuban Jungle Snake! (pouts)
Who doesn't? LOL!
Thanks for a great link! I laughed until my sides ached! What….they didn't have room for Bijan Nude?
I think they would be delighted. The slideshow seemed to be done with a great sense of humor! I know I would love to check out some of those bottles in the,er,flesh? Plastic?
Gotta wonder what that Michael J juice smells like….wait – that didn't come out right…well, you know what I mean:-)
Some of them really are HIDEOUS!
Me too, me too!
OK, there are sooo many uglier bottles than the ones listed in the slideshow. I kept trying to find them online because I've seen them before and I about died laughing. Have you seen those made for the discount market perfumes that are made to look like cell phones or light bulbs (Watt is the name of those)? And all of Revlon's are horrible. And for men, thank goodness Donald Trump's is dead. That bottle was miserable and will never forget its clunkiness and gold plastic that looked like 24K spray paint.
I didn't think it was fair to include bottles that aren't made anymore. Of course they will be dated and “ugly”. At one time Exclamation looked modern and carefree.
I did disagree however and agreed too. But it is hard to compile a list as such. Maybe I have zero taste but I love the tempting Lolita Lempicka bottle and Angela. Heck, I even like DK's. And I Love Love's is made to resemble Olive Oil from Popeye. But, I do despise Betsey Johnson's because it is so cheap and plastic.
I like the commentary, but a lot of the bottles are called out for being perfect embodiments of the brands they represent like the LAMB and Betsey Johnson bottles. I thought the exclamation bottle was so cool when it came out. Also, I'm pretty sure the Valentino one is supposed to look a little Parisian bordello- and I love it.
Ack!
Light bulbs…vaguely remember seeing those in TJMaxx ages ago, or something very like! Actually, you could probably compile a pretty good ugly bottle slide show at TJ Maxx.
Agreed — and didn't really hate that LAMB bottle myself, although do think that like many bottles, it looks way better in pictures than it does in person. Still think it's a fun list.
Haha, I really think some people are missing the point here. This slideshow was great! Many of us who have been scent-hounds for a long time have spent hours and days and months of our lives being bombarded with nothing but advertising and editorial raves over product after product after product–so how cool is it that some glam fans are willing to come out and say “no I don't agree–this product sucks!” And those of us who love the art and design of bottles ought to cherish the right to dislike some too. Who cares if we like and dislike different bottles–difference, isn't that what makes the world go round?
Agree w/ all of that, thanks!
hilarious! it's like go fug yourself for perfume.
It was funny and ironic to look at this list because if I were to make a list of the most beautiful / creative bottles I would certainly include Angel and Lolita! Maybe this because I am French (and a patriot!) but it is also because both scents are so successful here it is difficult to believe that they could have been so popular with the ugliest bottles on the market. In fact for Angel in particular most women adore / cherish their bottle so much that they buy the refillable version and refill it over and over again!
I think one should also take into account the uniqueness / degree of novelty of a creation (be it a book, a movie or a fragrance bottle…) when giving an opinion. Something really different is usually disturbing (Donna Karan or Alien for instance) but personally, even though they don't correspond to my personal aesthetics, I find them much more interesting than let's say all the copycat bottles that flood the market nowadays. That said, I must say that I giggled watching the slideshow!
See, I guess I'm different from some of the commenters here because I just didn't find the slideshow descriptions uniformly funny. It didn't bother me because I disagreed with some of their choices (I did), or because some of the bottles embody their brands (they do), but because I thought many of the throw-downs were not very humorous. The Animale/Boca Raton and salad-dressing cruet were accurate and funny, and there were some truly hideous bottles there, but the comments added nothing to Cuba Jungle Snake and the Casper-the-friendly-ghost doing show tunes joke seemed pretty desperately stretched to me. Fun idea, but I sincerely believe you would do a better job, R! Off to check the Fug Girls….
I've been trying to figure out what the Moschino ILL bottle reminds me of – just got it: A Dalek from Doctor Who, albeit a Dalek that got caught in a paint-booth, LOL!
Should add I love the name “Eau No”, though!
Exactly — and I do adore Go Fug Yourself!
I have never liked the Angel bottle myself, but you're right that it has become so iconic & same w/ LL's, they've worked extremely well for their brands. I don't find either of them “ugly” even if they're not my favorites.
I would not do a better job — don't even know how to do a slideshow, LOL…I guess I should figure it out one of these days.
I don't know Dr. Who, isn't that terrible?
Not terrible….but you're missing a fun time. The old ones (Tom Baker is my favorite) are a HOOT!
He's a TimeLord from LordKnowsWhere (can't remember) who travels around in a Tardis (time machine) that looks like an old police/phone box (can't remember). obviously I should revisit the series…anyway, the Daleks are these terrifying enemies that look sort of like R2D2 from Star Wars…..I guess you gotta be there…
I know I know…everyone says so! No time! Right now am working my way through all of Star Trek Next Generation w/ my son, and we're only on season 2 so far. After that, I'll work on Dr. Who!