How to Open a Perfume Bottle? The DIY Way to Refill a Perfume Bottle Without Breaking It

Opening perfume bottles is not complicated as long as you understand the pattern they have. Most perfume bottles are built with a certain design that should attract the attention and compliment the quality of the perfume. 

Different perfume bottles also have different sealing systems. If you want to open a bottle in order to get the perfume out of it or refill it, it will take certain tools and skills.

So, are you wondering how to open a perfume bottle? Don’t worry..

In this article we will address all the ways to open a perfume bottle without damaging it. We will also touch the best ways to refill a perfume bottle. So, keep reading and forget about all the hassle that comes with that.

How to open a Perfume bottle?

Opening a perfume bottle that is sealed is not as difficult as it may seem at first glance. Most bottles are sealed with a metal or plastic layer but you will also found those that are not sealed at all and they come with just a nozzle.

Type 1 – Opening metal-sealed perfume bottles:

If your perfume bottle is sealed, here is how you will have to open it. First of all, you will need certain tools such as pliers, nipper, and tissues (or you can simply get a complete glass tool kit like this, for more perfection and safety). 

• Step 1. Take the cap off and remove the sprayer

The first thing you will have to do is remove the cap off the bottle. You will see the nozzle or the sprayer exposed and you can use your pliers to remove that. The pliers will be very efficient if you pull back and forth or up and down, according to the position of the sprayer. By the end of this step, the base of the nozzle should be completely visible so you can move on to the next step.

• Step 2. Removing the base of the sprayer

This is one of the most complicated parts when it comes to opening a perfume bottle. You will have to use a nipper and a pliers to remove the metal base of the nozzle. This base is wrapped around the neck of the bottle and sealed using high temperatures. You will have to try to loosen up the metal part by using the nipper and try to wiggle it left and right with the pliers. It might take some minutes but with the right patience, you will get it done. It is important not to use the pliers in a too tight way because this could break the glass bottle underneath the layer of metal that you want to remove. When this layer is loose enough, simply take it off your bottle.

• Step 3. Use a tissue to check for fine glass that might have come off the perfume bottle.

No matter how careful you are, at times, fine pieces of glass will break off the neck of the perfume bottle and potentially get into the perfume. But if you use a tissue to wipe the neck off, once the metal sprayer base is removed, you will stay on top of this problem.

Type 2 – Opening plastic-sealed perfume bottles:

The process of opening plastic-sealed perfume bottles is similar to the metal-sealed ones. You will also need pliers or scissors, nipper, and tissue. (or you can simply get a complete glass tool kit like this, for more perfection and safety). 

• Step 1. Open the cap and remove the sprayer

Most perfume bottles come with a sprayer so once you take the cap off, you will find a nozzle that will need to be removed as well. You can use pliers to remove the nozzle just like in the previous case, but you might get away with scissors as well. If the nozzle is not too tightly connected to the plastic base, scissors will help you tremendously. Once you exposed the base of the sprayer it is once again time to remove this piece as well.

• Step 2. Eliminate the base of the sprayer

In this case, we are talking about a plastic base so you will most likely not need both a nipper and pliers. You might get by with just using scissors again but if that doesn’t work, a nipper alone should do the job. Loosen up the base by sliding the nipper or scissors underneath it to tear it apart from the glass perfume bottle. To ease your job you can do that on opposite sides of the bottle so it will tear easier.

• Step 3. Use the tissue to clean the neck of the bottle

Even if you can’t really break the glass bottle when removing a plastic sealing (as plastic is more flexible than metal), accidents can still happen. You can get small pieces of plastic into the glass bottle. To avoid that, use a tissue just like before, and wipe the neck of the bottle.

So, we have already discussed how to open a perfume bottle based on the type of sealing they have. Now let us look at some famous perfume brands and how to open them quickly..

Opening a Chanel perfume bottle:

Chanel is one of the most popular brands of perfume and they use different techniques to seal their bottles. You will find Chanel bottles with the spray system as the one we talked about previously but you will also find the baudruche sealing.

This type of sealing uses a thin yet very resistant material to cover the opening of the perfume bottle and a special string to wrap it around the bottle’s neck so it stays sealed. The most common materials used for the baudruche technique are animal membrane, collodion, gelatin, sheet rubber, onion skin or parafilm.

Opening a bottle with the baudruche sealing is a lot easier than opening one with a metal sealing. You will need scissors and tissues.

• Step 1. Remove the cap

First of all, you will have to remove the cap of the bottle. After you do that you will reveal the boudruche sealing that lays on top of the bottle’s neck.

• Step 2. Remove the string

Here is where you will need to use the scissors. You can cut the string that is wrapped around the bottle’s neck by using the scissors. Depending on the thickness of this string you might have to spend several minutes to do that. Be patient and you will see it comes off after you wiggle it with the tip of the scissors.

• Step 3. Remove the baudruche sealing

Once the string comes off the bottle’s neck, all you have to do is remove the material that covers it. This material should come off easily but there are bottles that use glue to stick it to the neck. If you have a bottle like that, you might need to use the scissors again and cut the baudruche material enough to open the perfume bottle.

• Step 4. Clean the bottle neck

Now you will use the tissue to make sure there are no pieces of material stuck around the neck of your perfume bottle. You are done! Now you can reuse your Chanel perfume bottle just the way you want to!

Opening a Victoria’s Secret perfume bottle:

Victoria’s Secret perfume bottles come with a sprayer and a metal or plastic sealing. You shouldn’t have any problem opening any of these bottles if you use one of the methods we introduced earlier.

One thing you have to keep in mind when you try to open Victoria’s Secret perfume bottles is their design. Some of them might be difficult to open in order to get to the metal sealing. But in most cases, pulling the sprayer with pliers and moving it left and right will loosen it enough to come off.

How to Refill a Perfume bottle?

Refilling a perfume bottle is not complicated at all, once you opened it. But in order to reuse the bottle, you will have to open it the right way and avoid any damage. If you damage the nozzle, sprayer or the sealing, you will not be able to reapply them in order to use the bottle again. If you opened it correctly, here is how you can refill it step by step!

• Step 1. Open your perfume bottle

Opening your perfume bottle without damaging it is one of the most important things to consider. Use one of the methods we presented at the beginning of this guide. If you are lucky, you might have a simple bottle that allows you to easily unscrew the sprayer. But if that is not the case, get your tools and remove the sprayer, nozzle and sealing without damaging any of these parts.

• Step 2. Fill the bottle with the perfume you want

Once your bottle is open and empty, you will have to pour the new perfume into it. Make sure you don’t spill it over the edges as you pour it. This is a constant risk if you hurry, so take your time when you refill your bottle.

Step 3. Add the sealing

If you managed to go through the first two steps with no challenges, now it is time to seal your bottle again. Depending on the sealing system it has, this might be more or less difficult. If your bottle uses a metal sealing and nozzle with sprayer, you can try to reapply the metal seal first. This is tricky but if you managed to not damage it when you took it off, it can be done. However, if you can’t reapply the metal or plastic sealing, you can skip it and just add the sprayer.

The easiest case is when the sprayer is set on a screwing in mechanism. In this situation, all you have to do is screw it back on the neck of the bottle, and you are done!

Conclusion

As you can see, opening and refilling a perfume bottle is not complicated if you know what you are doing. You do need to have a lot of patience when you do that so you don’t break any of the pieces. Follow this guide and use the proper tools to get your bottle to serve you again with a lot of new perfume to enjoy!