PERFUME HACK: Opening a Perfume Bottle with a Stuck Stopper

Have you been frustrated by a stuck stopper on your perfume bottle? We collectors refer these stuck stoppers as being "frozen." Wonder how to open it safely without breaking the stopper? Be sure to try these tricks at your own discretion!

Personally, I use a cotton swab moistened with rum or vodka to rub into the mouth of the bottle and around the stopper plug. This helps to loosen and remove the dried up perfume residue and dries quickly without altering the perfume inside the bottle. I also apply gel type hand sanitizer in the same manner, leave it on for awhile, then try to loosen the stopper, if it doesn't budge, I just keep repeating the steps until it finally does work.

If this trick doesn't work for you, I took the liberty of searching vintage newspapers and magazines to see how other people dealt with this very problem and figured I would share them with you.

From 1880: Young ladies are sometimes in a dilemma over a glass stopper that will stick fast in a pretty perfume bottle Let them steam the neck of the (the bottle) over the teakettle and knock it gently with a knife blade. If that will not serve the purpose, put a few drops of sweet oil about the cork and set the bottle near the fire where it will get warm.

From 1895: To loosen glass stoppers - the stoppers of vinaigrettes, smelling and perfume bottles are very liable to get stuck, and if they are forced out the result is usually a breakage. Sometimes the stopper can be loosened by tapping it gently but sharply with the edge of a half dollar or dollar piece; or a bottle of smelling salts may be placed, stopper downward, in a cup of hot water, not hot enough to split the glass. In a few minutes, the stopper will be quite loose again.

From 1924: Should the glass stopper of our favorite perfume bottle stick, pour a little glycerine about the neck of the stopper and forget about it for a little while. You will find it will then turn easily.

From 1926: Should the glass stopper of your perfume bottle become stuck in the neck of the bottle, light a match and hold it so the flame surrounds the bottle's neck. When the glass becomes hot, try turning the stopper. It will invariably turn.

From 1927: Wet a cloth in hot water and wrap it about the neck of the bottle. Very often it will be sufficient to release the stopper. The principle is to expand the neck of the bottle by heat. If this should fail, just pout a few drops of alcohol or toilet water, if you do not happen to have alcohol handy, on the neck of the bottle where the stopper fits and in a few moments you will be able to remove it without any effort.

From 1939: If the glass stopper in that prized perfume bottle of perfume resists your attempts to remove it simply place a few drops of glycerin around the stopper to loosen it quickly and easily.

Also from 1939: How can the glass stopper of an expensive perfume bottle be removed? The crystal top of the stopper has broken off jaggedly just below the top of the bottle. - Run a few drops of glycerine around the joint between the stopper and the bottle neck. Let stand for several hours. Place a rubber suction cup of the same diameter as that of the mouth of the bottle. The suction under the rubber cup may draw the stopper loose.

From 1941: When a glass stopper is stuck, try standing the bottle upside down so that the perfume will soak in around the stopper. After a few hours, this may loosen the stopper sufficiently so it can be removed. Slightly twist the stopper as you pull. If the bottle is empty and the stopper will not come out, drop some glycerine into the joint and allow it to stand a day or two. This will sometimes moisten it sufficiently so it can be removed. 

Also from 1941: Another suggestion for removing the stubborn stoppers is to heat the bottle. Forst add a drop or two of glycerine around the joint and allow it time to work between the bottle and stopper. Apply heat to the neck of the bottle to expand the glass by dipping the neck into hot water or hold a lighted match under the neck at a sufficient distance to heat, but not to break it. Still another method is to allow hot water to drip over the neck until it is hot in that area. Heat applied by this method should expand the glass in the neck before the stopper has a chance to be heated nd to expand. Sweet oil dropped around a tight joint may do the trick. Add one or two drips then place the bottle near a fire where it will become quite warm. Then carefully strike the stopper first on one side and then on the other with a stick wrapped in a cloth. 

From 1949: So you've a new bottle of perfume. There's special technique to opening it. Don't put it under hot water. First cut away all the trimming around the neck. Sever cord which is tightly entwined around the neck of the bottle and the stopper. Then using a small sharp pair of scissors slash the metal cord which is tightly entwined around the neck of the bottle and the stopper. Cut Sealer. To remove the sealer of wax paper or cellophane that is on the neck of every original bottle to foil evaporation, use a razor blade or a sturdy bobby pin. See the photos below.

From 1950: If a glass stopper cannot be removed from the bottle, hold it under the hot water faucet until the glass if fairly hot. Or wind a piece of string around the neck of the bottle and pull rapidly back and forth until the glass is hot, then give a light tap to the stopper with a piece of metal.

From 1951: There are tricks to preserving the beauty of your perfume bottle. Too often beautiful glass containers are shattered by impatient hands or awkward techniques when the stopper gets stuck. The proper procedure is to avoid banging the stopper against the edge of your vanity or prying at with another glass stopper. Tap the underside of the stopper, turning the bottle was you work, so that the loosening will be even all around. A few gentle blows should suffice to open the bottle.

Also from 1951: Place the bottle in the refrigerator and chill overnight. Remove and place in hot (not boiling) water. Water should come to top of the bottle but not cover it. Leave for a few minutes and the stopper will come out easily.

From 1953: Place the bottle on top of the ice cubes in the refrigerator freezing unit, leave it there about 20 minutes. Then with very little effort, the glass stopper should come out.

Also from 1953: The trick is to heat the neck of the bottle so it will expand, without heating the stopper itself. One method is to hold the bottle horizontally, revolve slowly with the neck over the flame of a match. Hot water may also be used as a heating agent on the neck of the bottle, using care that the stopper is not heated, and that too sudden expansion of the glass does not break the bottle. Sometimes glycerine allowed to run around the joint between bottle and stopper and left standing for a few hours will do the trick.

From 1957: Take one bottle and tap it gently against the glass stopper of another bottle. Do this all the way around the glass stopper until it loosens. But do it gently. In case this method does not work, I would advise you consult a druggist. They have constant experiences with glass bottles and stuck stoppers. [Note - However, today's pharmacists have more experience with plastic bottles rather than glass ones, you may wish to consult someone who deals with chemistry]

Also from 1957: "For years I have kept handy a simple pair of pliers and with it have removed many a 'stuck' bottle top, including perfume bottle tops, metal tube tops, in fact, any number of 'stuck' things such as leather,. etc. A firm grip on one of your perfume bottle tops (to test it), turning the pliers slowly but carefully ought to do the trick. Good luck."

From 1959: I don't know any expert way, but I have seen them loosened by running alternate cold and hot water over the neck, then twist the glass stopper.

From 1966: "I had a cut glass cruet with a stopper stuck. An antique dealer told me running hot and cold water over it was dangerous. He provided me with a better solution. Get penetrating oil from a gas station and let a couple drops ooze around the stopper overnight. Take a kitchen knife wrapped in a man's handkerchief and tap the stopper gently until it is loosened."

From 1967: A reader told us recently that she had a perfume bottle with the stopper stuck. Put it in the refrigerator overnight and in the morning, it came out easily.

From 1968: Put three drops of glycerin around the stopper and let stand for a few days. The stopper will then come out easily. Another tip, light a kitchen match and hold it under the neck of the bottle, immediately take a rag and turn the stopper. It will be hot and may smear from the burning match but that will wash off.

From 1972: To remove the stuck stopper of a perfume bottle, try running very hot water on the stopper while keeping the bottle dry. If this does not work, try holding a lighted match on the neck of the stopper. Be careful, because too much direct heat may crack the glass.

From 1976: Here's a suggestion for someone who has a perfume bottle with a stuck stopper. When I was a nurse, we used to have to soak hypodermic [needles] to get them unstuck, they were ground glass too, like perfume bottles. We soaked them in the solvent for whatever was inside. The solvent for perfume often is alcohol, so soak your perfume bottle in alcohol. It may take several days. For other substances, the solvent ,might be water or it might be acetone. You'll have to know what's inside a bottle to know what the solvent agent is.

From 1980: Our good friend Jack Rogers sends his idea for removing a stuck glass stopper from a perfume bottle: "Put the bottle in the freezer, but not long enough for any liquid to freeze or crack the glass. The cold will make the glass contract. Then gently warm the bottle with lukewarm water. The thinner the glass of the bottle neck will respond faster than the thicker glass of the stopper. So it will expand first and permit twisting out the stopper."

From 1981: Sharply tap the stopper area several times with the side of a glass tumbler (never a knife handle). Give the stopper a one quarter turn and remove it.  The force of the  taps "shocks" the top into coming out easily.

From 1982: When the stopper on the perfume is stuck, put the bottle in the refrigerator until thoroughly cold then remove the stopper. Twist the stopper back and forth when re-inserting it, and it will prevent later sticking too.

From 1985: Hints from Heloise suggests to mix together one-half teaspoon salt, one teaspoon rubbing alcohol and one-half teaspoon glycerine (available at any drugstore). Pour or dribble this solution around the stopper, letting it seep in.  Allow it to soak in for several hours, even a day or two, if needed. Then gently wiggle the stopper. The stopper should lift out after this treatment but you may have to help it by gently tapping the neck of the bottle with a wooden spoon. Be careful and ever so gentle.

From 1990: suggestions included the following: soak the bottle in warm, soapy water, then tap the stopper gently; place a few drops of paraffin oil around the neck and leave on for 20 minutes; put a piece of cord around the neck and pull to and fro, this produces friction and with gentle tapping, the stopper should come out.

From 1992: Advice, decades old, comes from a gracious lady who was an executive for Mary Chess, Inc., a perfume/fragrance company. She used this method to open antique bottles: Warm drops of baby oil over a candle or hot water. Drip oil into the rim of the bottle so it can ooze between stopper and bottle neck to soften residue holding stopper. Wait a few minutes before trying to gently twist the stopper. Repeat minutes later. Another possibility: Wrap a hot wet cloth around the bottle neck. Never run hot water over the bottle or hold it long over steam, which may crack delicate glass.

From 1994: Use a piece of string similar to fishing cord of yesteryear. Have a friend give you an assist. Loop the cord one time around the neck of the bottle. While one person holds the bottle, have the second person pull the cord rapidly back and forth for at least three minutes. The neck of the bottle will heat up and swell. The glass stopper will not. If this doesn't work the first time, try it again.

From 1997: Stuck glass stoppers: we've recommended a number of ways to unstick glass stoppers, but here's a new one from Joseph Tunstall: "Sixty-five years ago, when I started working in my hometown drugstore, it was not uncommon to have glass-stoppered and cork-stoppered bottles. For a glass stopper, use a short piece of household twine and make one loop over the neck of the bottle. Grasp the two ends of twine and pull them rapidly back and forth while a second party is holding the bottle. The friction creates heat, and in very little time, you can remove the stopper. I have removed hundreds of stoppers this way. The technique also works on perfume bottles. I never found one I couldn't open, although you may have to repeat the process as you work the stopper upward."

To keep your glass stopper from being stuck again, use this tip from 1963: smear a little petroleum jelly inside the stopper, it will also help keep your perfume from evaporating.