This is, without a doubt, the most unique perfume bottle I’ve seen.

Last week, my good friend Blake sent me a picture message of this old-time pistol shaped fragrance bottle sitting in a charity shop.
Naturally, my response was instantly ‘where do I find it???’.
He told me, and I promptly made my way there.

I didn’t know anything about it at this point.
Just that it was fascinating, and I had to have it!

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Once I arrived at the shop, it took very little time for me to buy it.
At $15, it was too interesting a trinket to pass up.

I could immediately see two things.
First was the label, Avon Tai Winds.
The second was evident after a quick examination;
the bottle appeared to have not been opened in an incredibly long time.

I couldn’t get the silver tip off, let alone have a go at opening the screw cap underneath.

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When I got it home, I did some research online but didn’t find much.
I did find that Avon appeared to have made an entire range of different pistol shaped bottles in addition to this one, as the only evidence of anything related to my search was a bunch of Etsy listings for different styles of bottle.

I didn’t bother to research the actual Tai Winds fragrance at this point, as I wanted to try smelling it for myself without any preconceptions.

This wasn’t so easy though.
As I mentioned before, the tip of the bottle was stuck fast, guarding the screw cap.

I got a miniature screwdriver out of my toolbox and decided to try prying the tip off.
With some minor exertion, tempered by finesse, I popped the seal and the tip flew across the room.
This was as far as I got on that day, though.

The screw cap felt like it was glued on.
The bottle had yet to be opened, and was clearly decades old!

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I took the bottle with me the next time I went up to see my parents, figuring that myself and my dad could put our heads together on how to open the cap.
He went and got some vice grips, a tool I didn’t have in my toolbox at home.

I held the bottle steady while he twisted, and lo and behold, it loosened.

I gave it a sniff, and the juice still smelled fine.
Dad put his nose to the bottle and exclaimed;
‘Brut number thirty three!’

Sure enough, I finally decided to look up the fragrance notes, and they were pretty much identical to Brut.
The date of release was interesting, too.
1971.

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My wrists were free of fragrance at the time, so I naturally splashed some on to give it a whirl.
It definitely smells old school, but I actually quite like it.

It’s the kind of classic fougere that modern masterpieces such as Naughton & Wilson Gravitas, Penhaligon’s Sartorial and Acqua di Parma Colonia source their genetics from.
Citrusy notes in the opening, green notes, spices, lavender and white musk.
It’s the way in which the lavender and white musk are utilised which distinguishes contemporary creations from vintage ones such as this.

Being an eau de cologne, the longevity is never going to be all day.
It’s not bad though, at around four hours of projection.
It’s got quite a bit of punch to it, too.

You might run the risk of getting called ‘old man’ wearing this, but who cares.
It’s good to sense some difference in a world where most people are wearing contemporary designers and blending in with ultra-refined fragrances that are often smooth to a fault.
I like the old-school edge.

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I’ll look forward to gradually using up the juice in this bottle.
The vessel itself will remain a part of my collection for good.
It’s too interesting to part with.

I’ll certainly be keeping my eyes peeled for any other models from this collection…