Hi there A Bottled Rosers. Thanks again Tara for letting me infiltrate you inner sanctum.
I come from Australian Perfume Junkies and would like to share some of my all-time favourite fragrances. Each season, according to your Northern Hemisphere weather, I’ll tell you what I have that gets quite a bit of wear. So Portia’s Winter List will be like an all-star list.
Here’s a pic of Tara and me on our 2018 holidays in the Australian Outback at Uluru with TinaG.
Portia’s Winter List
Winter! I really like the cool weather. It’s so much easier to add more layers if you’re cold. Jin and I often flee the debilitating heat of Sydney in Summer to hit the Northern Hemisphere’s winter for a few weeks of relief. We love to hit the snow, but funnily neither of us ski, we just like to be in cold weather. I think the coldest we’ve been in together was the Polish ski fields in a snow storm, about -15C.
Coco by CHANEL
You want spicy oriental fragrant bliss? Coco has it all. I don’t bother to pick it apart anymore, for me Coco is its own smell and that smell is perfect in all seasons. Winter is extra special for Coco though, suddenly it grabs you into an enormous bear hug of lavishness.
Cuir Amethyste by Armani Privé
Leather, patchouli, vanilla and rose with some sweetness and herbal references. Cuir Amethyste is related to Daim Blonde and Botega Veneta EdP but manages to edge them out for me as a winter spritz. Not necessarily warming, it does envelope me in a cloud of confidence and energy. It’s the fragrance of getting stuff done, through snow, sleet or hail.
Exultat by Maria Candida Gentile
So many people rave about the CdG incense range, and they are excellent but if you want to smell the most fabulous incense fragrance of them all then you must try Exultat. It is the benchmark for me. Nothing I’ve smelled even comes close to its incense, violet and cedar backbone. The perfect incense fragrance.
Fille en Aiguilles by Serge Lutens
Stewed fruit, incense, spices and woods with my nose smelling roses galore that aren’t there. Fille en Aiguilles is my second most spritzed Serge Lutens. I find it utterly transportive, and can change my mood from glum to glad with a single spray. When shopping for loved ones who like a darker, more faceted fragrance this is what I often choose for them. So wearable all year but best in the coolest depths of winter.
L’Heure Convoiteé II Cartier
It seems counter intuitive to wear something that smells like a frozen strawberry slushy should smell in the heart of winter. Yet the carnation, iris, fluffy powder and strawberry in L’Heure Convoiteé II are a perfect fit for it. Bought from the Cartier in Prague in February on Jin and my first overseas holiday together. Its crystal clear, arctic fragrance enhances winter as well as reflecting it.
Opium by Yves Saint Laurent
Vintage Opium and Coco aren’t miles apart but the difference is in the smoothness of Opium. It’s burgundy German cotton velvet to Coco’s slubbed wool with glittering trim. Even though Opium is enormous and room filling, it still feels somewhat restrained and far less animalic. It makes winter seem like living in a fairytale.
So, what are you guys wearing this Winter?
Portia xx
A Bottled Rose 
Hey Portia!
Thanks for sharing your Winter List with us. I’m really intrigued by the sound of Exultat with its violet and cedar. Especially as it’s your benchmark incense.
I will own Fille en Aiguilles one day…
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Hey there Tara,
Next time you’re in Sydney we can wear Exultat together, eh?
Fille en Aiguilles is a big favourite. You’d smell fabulous in it.
Portia x
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I love reading seasonal lists.
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Hey there Matty,
Me too. That’s why I asked Tara if I could drop in and do some here.
Portia x
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Hi Portia !
There‘s loads of snow here around Vienna right now, and cold too – tempting ?
I‘m going to pass on your „frozen strawberry slushy“ this time 😄, but Cuir Amethyste is a rather all year favorite, so I take that one today. People in the Pilates class in just few hours will be wondering…
I spritzed Papillon‘s Dryad yesterday, which theoretically shouldn‘t be a winter thing, but it was gorgeous, otherwordly wonderful.
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SO TEMPTING Lady Jane Grey,
You know Vienna is my favourite city in the world. We haven’t been there for a few years and I miss it, and you guys. Maybe 2021 we’ll get back there.
Dryad! So good. I bet you smell amazing in it too.
Portia xx
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I love your winter list Portia! This post if fun to read as well. I totally agree with your choice of Coco and Opium. Cartier Les Heures Convoitee II sounds divine, I need to get my nose on it! I’m fairly certain I have a sample of Fille en Aiguilles, I’ll look for it today. It is actively snowing here in Denver, CO this morning!
A couple of my only the coldest winter days comfort scents are Estee Lauder Youth Dew and Lanvin Arpege, under a cozy sweatshirt or fleece.
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OMG! Youth Dew! I love it in winter too Kathleen. Excellent choice.
Portia xx
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My Elderly Friend has a bottle of Coco I bought her, and i so agree that it is an ‘enormous bear hug of lavishness’…though if I told her as much she would probably run a mile, not being into physical contact as a rule, even with perfume.
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HA Vanessa,
You are hilarious. Maybe the Coco is enough of a hug for her, she doesn’t need any other?
Portia xx
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Beautiful list, Portia, very you 🙂 I’m with you on Cuir Amethyste, it is superb. Still not familiar with Fille en aiguilles nor l’Heure Convoitee, I’ll try to find some. And Exultat! You’ve read my mind, apparently, ’cause I’ve found a bottle at a great price (online) but wasn’t sure it’s really as good as I imagine. I guess, I’m gonna have to take a leap and go for it.
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Oh WOW Diana! Grab that Exultat bottle immediately.
I love that we snap on Cuir Amethyste.
Portia xx
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Oh Portia!.. This low-buy thing was good while it lasted, eh? 🙂
BTW, I blind-bought my Cuir Amethyste because of your reviews in the SOTD thread.
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HA! Sorry Diana, Did you grab it?
PHEW! Imagine if you’d Blind Bought Cuir Amethyste and hated it. That would have dropped my credibility to the dirt. It’s such a good, well crafted, wearable fragrance though, YUM!
Portia xx
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Not yet but I will as soon as I put some money on my card. As for blind-buys, I could never blame anyone for pushing me towards a scent that failed to impress me, we’re all different. Getting a tip from a perfume twin helps but in the end no one but us knows what works or doesn’t.
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I feel very miss my wife Fille en Aiguilles whenever I travel away from home. Thanks for your great list. Send greetings from London
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Thanks Frank,
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