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 Spring List will be like an all-star list.

Here’s a pic of Tara and me with Anna Maria, husband Johnny and youngest son Marc while she was out in Australia last year.

Portia’s Spring List

Spring! It means the end of wearing socks and tracksuit pants to bed. PHEW! In Sydney it often means some warm rainy days, one of my favourite combinations. Suddenly I am seeing the bulbs come up, the crabapples and cherry blossoms flower, people are generally smiling more and the feeling of renewal seems universal. I love that the days are warm and evenings cool so I can wear a range of fragrances.

A Quiet Morning by Miller et Bertaux

Saffron, woods, jasmine and rice create an uplifting woodsy fragrance. It’s very 21st century niche but wears so well on my skin and fits a springtime mood perfectly. It also has incredible happy memories of discovering it with Jin, Sandra and Birgit in Vienna back in 2013, then going back to buy it with Michael in 2014.

Eau Absolue by Mona di Orio

Eau Absolue is a queer fish. Citrus, orange blossom and resins float effortlessly over bay and woods. I always smell lavender in the mix too, though it’s not noted. Smooth like just cleaned glass and cool. My 100ml bottle is well over a third used, there may even be a backup bottle around here somewhere. SHHH!

Le Jardin de Monsieur Li by Hermès

A rainswept afternoon in the garden. This mainly minty citrus fragrance is a beautiful way to smell on warmer spring afternoons. The jasmine and musks give it buoyancy. Hard to wear Monsieur Li with a frown.

Ostara by Penhaligon’s

Ostara is the smell of spring. Narcissus in bloom. I completely understand why it didn’t sell well. It’s too obviously a soliflor of a scent people like to smell but not to smell of. Unless of course you are a hard core perfumista and it smells EXACTLY how we want to smell. Fabulous.

Shalimar EdC by Guerlain

Yes, it’s just like Shalimar EdT or EdP. Just a little less intense. It has excellent longevity and throw though. I love to wear it in spring. Just as an aside this EdC can be bought for peanuts on the discounter sites. I know Val the Cookie Queen is an EdC devotee also.

Y by Yves Saint Laurent

A cool galbanum floral chypre in the 1970s style. Full of oak moss and delightfully sheer. If Silences, CHANEL No 19 and Deneuve are way too over the top for you but you like the idea of a chypre then Y could be the perfect choice. You can only find it on eBay nowadays but it’s definitely worth looking for.

So, what are you guys wearing this Spring?

Portia xx