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 