Portia did a very brave thing recently. She employed a couple of friends to catalogue her extensive perfume collection. They took two days and came up with a figure of 1,208 bottles.
Not many of us fragrance fanatics know the exact number we have and I dare say even fewer of us would want to publish it.
Some thought it might actually be more considering Portia often refers to her “perfume room” but this hallowed space functions as an office as well as providing storage. This is where the hard work of keeping Australian Perfume Junkies motoring takes place.
The cabinet you can see in the left of the photo below holds boxes with various groupings of fragrance.
We had a really fun couple of evenings going through some of the boxes on Portia and Jin’s dining room table.
We did some serious spritzing and I was in danger of running out of skin real estate.
I was particularly interested in Portia’s stash of Geurlain and Chanel. There were so many vintage gems. Lots of Mitsouko, Samsara, No.22 and No.5.
I also tried all three Les Eaux de Chanel and liked the herbaceous citrus breeze of Paris–Deauville the most.
Mahora Parfum, Guerlain
Portia gave me a partial bottle of vintage Miss Dior Parfum when last in London and as it is all but finished, I asked if I could buy one of the many back-ups. I wore it to Portia’s wedding and you can read my review of it here.
I also bought a full bottle of the EDT which I’d never tried before.
The perfume that was on my To Buy List at the time was Chanel No.19. I didn’t know which concentration to get so we tried them all. I totally fell in love with an old bottle of the Parfum. The galbanum is so smooth and silky that it made me swoon.
I decided to buy the EDT version along with the Parfum. We thought I could wear both at the same time to give the Parfum some throw. Well, that was my excuse.
No.19 Parfum and EDT
Portia kindly provided me with two ‘Gifts With Purchase’. One was Niki de Saint Phalle EDT, which I liked a lot but had only owned a sample of. It’s a gorgeous, powdery green scent that I find easier to wear than Jacomo’s Silences but is in the same vein (my review is here).
The other was Caleche Parfum by Hermes which I’m looking forward to getting to know.
Portia only charged me what she paid for them less what she had used (if any). I got a great deal and did my bit to help reduce the Aussie fragrance mountain 🙂 It was also the perfect way to buy vintage without risk.
Just before I left Australia, Portia very generously gave me a partial bottle of vintage Mitsouko. It’s the EDT which is my favourite concentration. It is glorious.
They will remind me of Portia and my trip of a lifetime every time I spray.
Are any of these favourites of yours?
A Bottled Rose 
I love the pun in ‘shopping’, and what a collection it is! The helpers did a good job of sorting everything by the looks of it – all those serried ranks of Chanel and L’Artisan Parfumeur. May I also say I really loved the boxes in the cupboard. Nothing like a pretty storage box. And I can quite see how your ‘shopping trip’ gave you some bargains that will also be lovely souvenirs of your visit.
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Hi V,
They are lovely storage boxes, aren’t they? I also agree that those rows of Chanel boxes look particularly pleasing. I’m very happy with my purchases!
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What a collection! How does Portia keep them all at the right temperature? How are they organized? You chose wonderful fragrances! I love Mitsouko and Miss Dior. Never tred the PdT from Mitsouko. Must have been quite a thrill to experience Portia’s collection.
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I don’t think Portia worries too much about temperature control to be honest, but I could be wrong. I also have a feeling that she relies a lot on memory for finding stuff.
Nice to hear you like my choices! We had a blast 🙂
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I can imagine you did! She must have quite a memory. Enjoy your choices and your memories or your trip when you use the fragrances 😘 Esperanza
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Thanks, Esperanza. Olfactory memories are the best 🙂
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Hey Esperanza,
We live in a double brick apartment block with neighbours above and a car park below. Although there is some temperature fluctuation it is far less than outside and really doesn’t stray much more than 10C.
They are loosely organised by house.
Portia xx
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Hi Portia, you are lucky to live in a double brick apartment. Good idea to organise by perfume house. I have them organised that way as well. XxEsperanza
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Ooooh, Mahora!
That one speaks my name. 😉
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Ines, I gather from Portia the Mahora Parfum costs a bomb!
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Your purchases are all on my favorite list! Great choices Tara. From reading Posse and APJ, I have found I tend to like most fragrances that Portia enjoys, and love his recommendations/reviews.
Enjoy your vintages!
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Thanks, Kathleen!
You have a very fabulous Scent Twin in our Portia.
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Store is ALWAYS open for special friends Tara. I’m thinking to downsize to about 1000 bottles later this year or early next year.
Meanwhile I keep buying……
ADDICTED to the shopping.
Thanks for taking some beauties off my hands.
Portia xx
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Hey Portia!
Yeah, that buzz you get from buying is a hard thing to give up but at least you’re making a start on reducing your stash.
Thanks for sharing your amazing collection with me.
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I loved to get a peak into Portia’s perfumes collection. I must say that now I feel much better about my own collection. MUCH better 🙂
Miss Dior and No 19 EDT are my all-time favorites, so I’m thrilled that you also liked them. And I heard about Niki de Saint Phalle from Portia so many times, that with your endorsement now I just have to get to try it!
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Thanks to our Portia, we can all breathe a sigh of relief 🙂
Great to know we have more favourites in common now.
I really think you’d enjoy Niki de Saint Phalle, Undina.
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What fun! And I love seeing a free-range Portia in the natural habitat, surrounded by boxes of fragrance! Thank you for sharing your photos and experiences, including your lovely post about Portia’s and Jin’s wedding.
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That’s really lovely to hear. Thanks Old Herbaceous!
It was great to relive it all through these posts.
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Seriously Tara – I can hardly cope with my extremely small collection! And to be honest I would not want a collection the size of Portia`s. BUT I cannot imagine anything that would give me more pleasure than going through her collection. Wow! That would blow my mind. Talking of collections I plan to go through yours one day. Soon hopefully! Fab pictures and a great post. Rock on girl. Hugs. xxxxxx
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Thanks, pal.
You’ll get to Portia’s one of these days.
Mine is paltry in comparison but I’m fine with that and happy to share it with you any time.
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Beautiful, he has been busy collecting these last few years 😂
I think I couldn’t love that many perfumes, and I only want what I love and wear. I’m not sure about numbers, my Parfumo account says 138, the trouble being all those I didn’t list for various reasons: rarety, doubles, different concentrations etc.
Vintage Mitsy is a wonder. Congratulations on your Portia Haul
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Asali, I often feel grateful that I am so fussy. It keeps my collection relatively small 🙂
Is that 138 full bottles? It can be hard to keep track, even if you have a rough idea, you could be way out. I know your collection would be extremely high quality though and full of swoon-worthy vintage.
I must start wearing the Mitsy and maybe do a review.
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Oh, the office! That would be a love/hate space. I can only imagine the fun! How tiring, though. I get tired of collating my own, smaller collection. I did nearly die at some of the gems there though. Swoon!
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It was a treasure trove for sure. I know I couldn’t cope with a collection that big though. I’m all about whittling down these days.
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Same! Kind of liberating. Especially when giving things to those who really love it. Merry Christmas, gorgeous gal. Xx
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Yes. Matching a perfume with someone who’ll really enjoy it is great. My mum and sister are set for life 🙂
Merry Christmas to you!!!
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