Scents of history

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Catriona Pollock is a third-generation perfume bottle and scent collector. Over three decades she has acquired more than 500 fragrances and flacons, and every one has a story to tell.

Collectors are born, not made. The zeal required to chase down a particular object with a hunter’s instinct, the dedication needed to spend many hours lovingly tending to a collection – not to mention the financial commitment involved – is something innate. “It’s an obsession,” Catriona Pollock admits in hushed tones. A third-generation collector of perfume bottles, Catriona believes she was genetically programmed to love fragrance and destined to collect bottles. After more than three decades of acquiring bottle after bottle of perfume, she confesses her hobby is a little out of control. “But I won’t ever be able to stop – it’s in my blood,” she says.

Catriona’s pulse races at the mere sight of a perfume bottle and her senses are piqued by the different scents emitted from almost any open perfume bottle. “My dad thinks I inherited a highly developed ‘nose’ from my great grandmother. Her olfactory sense was so well developed she could walk into a room and name the flower or food that had been in there,” she says. “I too can remember smells and identify specific notes.”

Catriona began collecting perfumes when she was a child. “We lived in the country and it was a big deal when the Avon lady came calling,” she says. “I loved the make-up and lotions, but I was particularly captivated by the perfumes. Even as a very young girl I understood that perfume was exotic, grown-up, fashionable, sophisticated and womanly.”

Catriona vividly remembers how her first experience with fragrance shaped her life: “When I was five or six, my mother bought me two little roll-on scents – one was lavender and the other was hyacinth, and they had little flowers painted on the tubes,” she says. “I had always admired the glass bottles on my mother’s and grandmother’s dressing tables, but when I was given my own scents it was the start of a lifelong devotion to perfume.”

Today, the 37-year-old Melbourne mother of one has more than 500 bottles in her collection. “I’d hate to know how much I’ve spent on the collection, but it’s now too big for my home,” she admits.

The birth of her son James, now seven months old, not only meant she would need to store some of the collection to make room for him, it made Catriona realise that her collection was literally all over the house, and posed some risk to her son. “My priorities have changed now; it’s not at the forefront of my existence any more,” she says.

However, it’s obvious how much pleasure she gleans from admiring her precious collection of perfume bottles and indulging in the delights of spraying herself with a fragrance (Catriona currently has about 10 bottles open, wears several different scents a day and often spritzes herself). “The way light catches in the bottles and bounces through the glass, and the way you feel when you spray perfume on yourself is completely uplifting,” she says. “Perfumery is an art. The bottles, the decorative packaging and the perfumes themselves are things of beauty.”

Among the many bottles Catriona has gathered, those passed down to her by her grandmother and mother are the most special. “My grandmother wore Yardley’s April Violets, so when I catch the sweet, intoxicating smell of that perfume I am reminded of her,” says Catriona. Her grandmother also left her a charming little 18th-century snuff bottle and her mother has already passed on the empty bottles of many of her favourite scents.

To Catriona, each bottle is like a precious time capsule that contains feelings and meanings that are released when she uncorks the bottle and inhales the scent. “This has nothing to do with the head, and everything to do with the heart,” she explains. “I collect because it gives me wonderful stories to tell and great mementos of times, places and people.”

On the surface, Catriona’s array of bottles, lotions and scents appears haphazard, but on closer inspection, certain themes emerge. Earlier this year she participated in a group exhibition at the Melbourne Museum entitled ‘Community Collections’, which forced Catriona and her mother to sort through her treasures. She ended up arranging the collection under the following banners: perfumes named after flowers; atomisers; animal-inspired bottles and scents; biggest and smallest bottles; sample sizes; perfumes with silver caps; ‘my favourites’ and ‘my mother’s favourites’; classic scents, such as 4711 by Meulhens, Chanel No.5 and Arpege by Lanvin; fragrances with quirky names (such as Skinny Dip, Moonwind, Windjammer, La Belle Telephone and Somewhere); gifts with purchases – items that have come with fragrances, such as scarves, bags and even tablecloths; perfume boxes; promotional posters and cards; fragrances inspired by the Orient – and the list goes on.

To Catriona, the names Aimé and Jacques Guerlain, the years 1889 and 1925, and the fact that these scents are probably among the most sophisticated, complex and brilliant perfumes ever created are not the most important facts about Jicky and Shalimar, classic Guerlain fragrances. What is important about these particular scents is that while she was trawling though a St Vincent de Paul store one day, she found a pair of Guerlain refillable perfume containers – one housing Jicky and the other filled with Shalimar. “I couldn’t believe my luck,“ Catriona recalls. “When you find something like this it’s like winning the lottery. Somebody loved these once and now I do – and that gives me a lovely feeling,” she enthuses.

There is something magical about a life charted in scent. Catriona can look back over the decades and, like a mapmaker, she can see her adventures and her progression marked by her glittering collection of glass flacons and the scents they contain. “A woman wears many fragrances over a lifetime, but no matter what scent she wears, it always lifts her mood and makes her feel good,” Catriona says. “Even when it fades, she has the knowledge that she is going into the world smelling nice. That’s a beautiful thing don’t you think?”

Fragrant desires

Catriona comments on some of her all-time favourite fragrances:

Poison by Christian Dior – “It has the most distinctive, exotic and amazing scent. It literally stops traffic.”
Paris by Yves Saint Laurent – “I don’t have a signature scent, but I’ll always be captivated by the pure rose note in Paris. I love everything about it: the distinctive black and pink packaging, the shape of the bottle, and even the advertising is beautiful. I projected myself into the ‘Paris’ woman and voila – I fitted!”
Angel by Thierry Mugler – “I love the caramel scent.”
Aromatonic by Lancôme – “This fragrance is really fresh and uplifting.”
Dolce and Gabbana – “This perfume has sentimental value because my partner gave it to me as a present for our first Christmas together.”
J’adore by Christian Dior – “This is a lovely classic scent.”
Charlie by Revlon – “It was one of the first fragrances my parents bought me. It takes me back to my teenage years.”
April Violets by Yardley – “It instantly reminds me of my grandmother, which makes me feel good.”
Chanel No.5 by Chanel – “It’s soft and womanly. I love Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s quote: “It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion that heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure.”

Catriona’s collecting tips

• Choose objects that are visually appealing so they can be displayed.
• You’re only a true collector if you’re passionate about something – it means you’re prepared to go to great lengths to find special things.
• Scour flea markets, garage sales, antique shops and second-hand stores, as one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure.
• Tell your friends about your passion – some of my favourite bottles were given to me by friends who wanted to contribute to the collection.
• Only keep things that hold meaning for you – they become precious when you can tell a story about them.
• Don’t spend more than you can afford – collecting can get out of control.

Collectable bottles 

Erin Whitty lists some of her favourite ornate perfumes bottles that will help you get your perfume bottle collection started.

• Guerlain Insolence
• Cartier Declices de Cartier
• Gaultier Classique
• La Prairie Midnight Rain
• Kenzo Amour
• Annick Goutal Songes
• Estee Lauder Youth Dew Amber Nude
• Michael Kors
• Vera Wang Princess
• Thierry Mugler Alien
• L de by Lolita Lempicka

Words: Nikki Goldstein. Photography: Andrew Lehmann. Styling: Kim Ellmer. Hair & make-up: Ruth Sebire.