This hobby of ours can lead to some strange ADs...

I'm on the prowl right now for vintage, glass aftershave bottles to decant my modern formulations into. I'd ideally like to get ahold of a glass Clubman bottle and a glass Aqua Velve Ice Blue Bottle. My other aftershaves are of the Imported sort and they're all still in glass. I'm also on the lookout for something to use for my Master Bay Rum.

Any, uh, vintage bottle AD sufferers here? Care to share any tips on finding bottles? Maybe you'd like to post a little vintage bottle porn?

I've been checking out ebay for several weeks now, and so far, either I'm typing in the wrong things, or pretty much all the vintage aftershave bottles were thrown away when the product was used up. The only ones I've found that are empty, are the Avon decanters, most of which I find to be rather ugly. A few empty Pinaud glass bottles can be found, though. This weekend, it's another trip to the flea markets and antique shops for me. I'd like to see what others have found, too!

Another thought I had while at a local restaurant, was glass stoppered cruets with etched labels might not be too insufferable either.

Do a search for apothecary bottles. A lot of nice looking new ones in the 4 to 8 oz size would work perfect.

Oddly enough, I did this today




http://imageshack.us

In my experience the vintage ice blue AV bottles show up on ebay on a regular basis, and can go for less than ten bucks. Just keep looking I guess. They do look cool. I also think the vintage English leather bottles look pretty cool.

I found my William's Aqua Velva bottle at work. It was in a medicine cabinet, and I asked the owner if he'd like to swap out for a brand new bottle. I think it's from the 80's, since there is a UPC symbol. He was a bit mystified, but now he has enough to last him for the next thirty years.

I've passed on a few bottles early on at second hand stores that I now regret letting go. A couple Avon Bay Rum jugs, a Pinaud bottle, no label, and an empty Roman Brio.

It's a bit morbid, but estate sales can be a good place to find vintage bottles. I've gotten used to the funny looks when I ask if there are any razors, cologne or after shaves for sale.

Happy Hunting!

Lou, great work on transferring the label. How'd you do it?

B&B is great, used this technique here; used a razor blade to start the peeling.

The bottle used to hold BBQ sauce, the cap is Maker's Mark. The Pinaud bottle says it holds 177ml/6oz, the glass bottle says it holds 200mm/7oz, but I filled it to the top

I've picked up some vintage Old Spice, Pinaud and AV bottles over the last couple of years. I think it's fun to decant the new stuff into them. Or, if you buy Old Spice, decant the old stuff into the even older bottles... Anyway, if you keep your eyes peeled, something will turn up. I'll post some pictures when I get home.

Wow, I forgot the Old Spice bottles.

Maybe because in my mind the new ones don't even exist.

It's a happier world I'm living in.

I am still looking for a big 9.2 ounce Old Spice bottle to fill from a peeling paint ships wheel bottle. I just dont like this bottle, but the stuff inside is great.
Recently won a pottery Old Spice bottle to refill, 3.99 on Ebay. This is a perfect example of the earliest OS bottle. I'm going to fill this one with my Special Reserve mixture, 75 percent Ivy Club, 20 percent P&G cologne, and 5 percent Burly.
So far resisting the other Brands, though the early Aqua Velva bottle at the Asheboro Antique Mall caught my eye.

Your idea is an inspiring one........

Places like Pier 1 Imports and Cost Plus World Market are great places to find interesting bottles.

I have seen some really neat looking bottles in the large craft stores.

They are the type that you would need to use corks though.

I have been buying some hot sauce bottles in the dollar stores and Wally World to use for a/s as well. The only problem is that it takes so long to use them up and I hate the idea of just dumping all that firey goodness down the drain.

Maineac said:

I have seen some really neat looking bottles in the large craft stores.

They are the type that you would need to use corks though.

I have been buying some hot sauce bottles in the dollar stores and Wally World to use for a/s as well. The only problem is that it takes so long to use them up and I hate the idea of just dumping all that firey goodness down the drain.

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Next time you're at Wally World, go to the kitchen department, housewares or whatever its called.... and get one of the plastic bottles like you find on tables at diners, resturants that contain ketchup and mustard (they're cheap). Empty the hot sauce into one of those.

huracan said:

Do a search for apothecary bottles. A lot of nice looking new ones in the 4 to 8 oz size would work perfect.

Oddly enough, I did this today

Click to expand...

Cool, that looks slick. Did you just transfer the label? If so, how did you do it so cleanly?

Ruger Packer said:

Next time you're at Wally World, go to the kitchen department, housewares or whatever its called.... and get one of the plastic bottles like you find on tables at diners, resturants that contain ketchup and mustard (they're cheap). Empty the hot sauce into one of those.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that suggestion. Having hot sauce and the bottle too is a good thing!

I have been using Vingar bottles and Hot Sause bottles.

A few days back I cleaned up a Tabasco bottle to use for a/s.

I took off the little plastic restriction cap to clean the bottle thoroughly. But, so far I have not had success in getting all the orange coloring out of that plastic cap. I have used various cleaners and a toothbrush but it is still somewhat orange.

I am thinking of using bleach but am unsure if it might damage the plastic.

Have any of you had success with this?

chris456 said:

Cool, that looks slick. Did you just transfer the label? If so, how did you do it so cleanly?

Click to expand...

I did, I linked to the thread I learned how to do it 3 posts down from that one.

The bottle also has a flask curve to it, it looks pretty cool in the den.

Maineac said:

A few days back I cleaned up a Tabasco bottle to use for a/s.

I took off the little plastic restriction cap to clean the bottle thoroughly. But, so far I have not had success in getting all the orange coloring out of that plastic cap. I have used various cleaners and a toothbrush but it is still somewhat orange.

I am thinking of using bleach but am unsure if it might damage the plastic.

Have any of you had success with this?

Click to expand...

I saw the same problem with a similar bottle, but decided to ignore it. Most of the time it's covered by the opaque plastic cap.