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 Summer List will be like a personal all-star list.
SUMMER! Suddenly the world is hot. Wearing way less clothing, floaty linens and cottons for choice. If the seaside is within driving or transport distance there are lazy beach days (personally I am a pool fan, no sharks or sand). Salads jump to the front of the food order and light, easy drinking wines flow all afternoon. I tend to either look for shimmering, cool colognes or lean into the heat with heavy middle eastern concoctions, both perfectly viable summer expressions of fragrance.
Here is a photo of Tara, Anna Maria, Jin and me in Venice a few years ago. We have definitely had some amazing adventures together.
Aqua Allegoria Lys Soleia by Guerlain
Lily, yang, vanilla and fruits all combine to create a creamy tropical dream. This is not the usual tart cologne of the Aqua Allegoria line but a rich, sophisticated and long lasting gem. It always smells to me like there’s coconut in the mix as well. On the long hot days of summer Lys Soleia will fit right in with its golden smelling extravagance.
Geranium Pour Monsieur by Frederic Malle
Imagine arcticly frigid mint and incense facing off against anise, clove and resins in a refreshing, utterly unique blend. Nothing smells quite like it and very little on the shelves will give you such a jolt of cool wind in your flagging sails. Geranium Pour Monsieur is the ultimate frosty spritz.
Granville by DIOR
It’s no secret how much I love Granville. A classic cologne with lemon, thyme and rosemary twisted through fresh pine needles and a peppery snap. Its sharp, awakening burst is an excellent foil for those summer days when you are hurried, sweating and uncomfortable. A couple of spritzes and you are good to go.
Niki de Saint Phalle
Where would summer be without a dry, rasping, uptight chypre that flows into a mossy cuddle bunny? It would be a very dreary summer indeed. Niki de Saint Phalle has been one of my favourite summer spritzes for years, friendlier than CHANEL No 19 and less floral that Piguet Futur I find NdSP a perfect balance.
Rahele by Neela Vermeire Creations
Osmanthus, leather, violet and modern oakmoss all drizzled perfectly over some white flowers. Rahele is the sleeper of the Neela Vermeire Creations oeuvre, it easily gets the most wear across the year of all the NVCs. It was my wedding fragrance, fits with any mood or event and has a quiet elegance few fragrances can match.
Ubar by Amouage
When I want to push back at the heat with a burning brand of my own then the choice is often Ubar. I discovered its sublime hot weather qualities while travelling desert Rajasthan in India and have kept it in summer rotation ever since. A fruity white floral underscored by ambergris, vanilla, woods, patchouli and resins galore.
So what are you all wearing this summer?
Portia xx
A Bottled Rose 
Hey Portia, I adore your seasonal lists and am so pleased you post them here.
I’m also really happy you introduced me to Niki de Saint Phalle. It’s such a wearable light green fragrance. Granville is fabulous and Rahele is actually my favourite NVC.
When summer returns to London next week I’ll be rocking O de Lancome, OJ’s Frangipani and Nuxe Prodigieux Le Parfum.
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Hey Tara,
Thank you. It seems I forgot to talk about Ubar. OOPSIE!
Niki de saint Phalle is so wearable. It surprises me that it’s not seen as a reference chypre by very many perfumistas.
Rahele would smell heavenly on you, I can imagine it.
Also, I was given a sparkling Nuxe oil, it’s utterly gorgeous and works equally well in hot or cold. YUMMY stuff.
Portia xxx
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Lots of colognes for me – Ô de Lancôme and the flanker Ô de l’Orangerie, Eau d’Hadrien, several of the Atelier circuses. I am sampling Ineke at the moment and Hothouse Flowers was yesterday – definitely enjoyed the white flowers in the heat!
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Hi MMKinPA,
Lovely to see you over here.
I had a small bottle of Ô de l’Orangerie, it’s gorgeous. Thanks for the reminder. Is it still available?
INeKE does wonderful work, I really loved and bought bottles of a bunch of them. The three bottles I still use a lot are Chemical Bonding, Evening Edged In Gold and Gilded Lily. She has a way with white flowers. YUM
Stay cool over there.
Portia xx
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Evening Edged in Gold is my favorite!!! Middle Marzipan adores Field Notes from Paris…she wore it on her first date with college boyfriend and he loves it too 🙂
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Niki!!!! What a gorgeous fragrance! I wore it in the winter of 1984 when I was a soloist with NJ Ballet Company. It was introduced to me by an older, very sophisticated ballerina who was married to a very wealthy man. I thought I was so posh wearing it as it was her signature scent-LOL!
I have been on a sampling spree this summer thanks to my friends on APJ and our North American traveling perfumes! I had a week of powder, two weeks of iris which is now segueing into a week of rose which will be followed by two weeks of Guerlain.
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WOW Brigitte, I knew you were ballet but had no idea the heights you scaled. SOLOIST is freaking amazing. Congratulations. So many ballerinas go on to wealthy partnerships, good for them. One of my ballet school buddies (still a friend) was soloist for the Australian Ballet, Vienna Stat Opera Ballet and the WA Ballet here in Oz. He was magnificent to watch, even when we were kids.
Your sampling spree has been legendary. Is there anything you’ve tried that given a few hundred dollars to blow you’d run out immediately and buy?
Roses this week, can’t wait for your Guerlain fortnight. That’s going to be a DOOZY!
Portia xx
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ha ha,P!!! Maybe everything I would buy! Believe it or not, I really enjoyed Prada Infusion d’Iris. And that one is actually affordable! Also really like a Different Company Pure Eve. And Blocki This Grand Affair which is very Shalimaresque and also Alahine which is va va va voom! There were so many gorgeous irises I wore I cannot even remember which ones i loved the most 🙂
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Isn’t Pure Eve lovely? I’m surprised you’ve not already been an Alahine fan, YUM!
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Can’t wait for your Guerlain week XXXXX
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I love wearing big sweet heavy things this summer: Cuir Mauresque, Cuir Cannage, Blanche Immortelle, Patchouli Flash – but occasionally I need a freshie, which is where Bulgari au Thé Bleu comes in. I also layered Danza delle Libellule over the new Nuxe Floral dry oil. Yummy!
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Bulgari au Thé Bleu is gorgeous TaraC, what an excellent choice. Did you ever try Eau de Marveilles Blue?It’s really good too.
Portia xx
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My most worn freshie is MM Untitled L Eau. Mint, citrus, green and incense. And affordable too! Maybe I will buy a bottle when my decant is gone
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Hey there Tanja,
That sounds fabulous. I don’t know that crew, where do you get it from?
Portia xx
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Maison Martin Margiela
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I have Lys Soleia! Thanks for the reminder. Might give it a whirl today in fact. I haven’t tried a Neela since Pichola, but am curious about Rahele – or any of her work. This summer have been wearing the Sylvaine Delacourte vanilla frags I won in a draw on here quite a lot. Like them all!
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Hey Vanessa,
YAY for Lys Soleia. What a sensational frag. You’ll be gloriously fragrant as you sashay through your day.
I haven’t spent any time with the Sylvaine Delacourte scents, so many noses I admire and trust love them. Maybe I need to grab a sample set.
Portia xx
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