Secure travel container for perfume oil

September 21, 2023 7:47 AM

I have a perfume oil that comes in a somewhat leaky glass bottle with a twist-off cap. The slight leakiness is fine at home, I just keep it on a tray--but I'd like to transfer at least some of this oil into a more secure container for travel. Do you know of a good container for this? Googling produces a dizzying array of options and I have no idea which ones are trash. Note: would prefer not an atomizer nor a rollerball, as both end up overapplying this particular oil.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

I really like these wide-mouth nalgene bottles for travel toiletries, but whether they work for you will depend on the size (they might be too big?) and how you feel about plastic.
posted by OrangeDisk at 7:53 AM on September 21, 2023

Best answer: Note that, for HDPE containers (like Nalgene bottles), not all oils are compatible. If your fragrance contains, for instance, orange oil, it's not a suitable container material. A few more reference materials on the no-go list here. You can keep searching for more specific kinds of compatibility. In my lab, we avoid HDPE for a lot of oils and solvents.

I would opt for a small glass or stainless steel dropper bottle with a (replaceable) rubber seal. Soemthing like this might work. Or this.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 8:08 AM on September 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

I have a few leaky containers and I’ve been able to travel with them by using this cling wrap trick. Might be worth testing out on your existing bottle before buying something new and unknown!
posted by stellaluna at 11:08 AM on September 21, 2023

How about the glass vials perfume samples come in? The Hermes ones are a little larger than others I've seen and have traveled well for me without leaks or breakage.
posted by Zimmy at 11:09 AM on September 21, 2023

I like saving glass tincture bottles for traveling with face oils, I'm guessing they would work with perfume oils as well?
posted by blueberrypuffin at 11:32 AM on September 21, 2023

Best answer: American Science and Surplus reasonable price , they also have tiny funnels .
posted by hortense at 1:40 PM on September 21, 2023

If you'd rather not travel with glass, you can get tiny stainless steel flasks.
posted by tangerine at 8:44 PM on September 21, 2023

The smaller bottles in this line - the dark color is great for perfume.
posted by ersatzkat at 7:05 AM on September 22, 2023

Have you tried soaking cotton balls in this oil and putting in your container of choice? I have had excellent results with liquids in old contact lens cases.
posted by SinAesthetic at 10:59 AM on September 22, 2023 [1 favorite]