Storm

This does go on at first like sweet flowers then petrichor, dirt and an aquatic with a sweetness and depth but as it dries down sandalwood and spices present so it ends up like a softer type of floriental like Ciara. I love it. This lasts better than most from this house but it still is very soft and close. Supposedly the top notes are papaya and lime with delphinium and hyacinth in the middle and tonka, musk, earth, and marine notes in the base. I don't get it. Only the earth and marine are there and more in the top.

This smells more floral and herbal than stormy. The flowers are hard to identify, but if I were put on the spot I’d say ylang-ylang, and sunflowers along with an obnoxious aquatic. When I look at the perfumer’s notes, however, I see hyacinth and delphinium. Hyacinth? Maybe. It does have something vaguely in common with ylang-ylang. As far as I know, delphinium doesn’t have a fragrance, at least not the tiny blue-purple ones that I grow. I smell a vanilla-tonka sweetness at the base, and as things settle down, the aquatic note subsides and I begin to like it a lot. After an hour or two, what I smell is mostly a very nice musk that reminds me of a warm, furry animal. Although not evocative of a storm to me, this is a unique scent that I could enjoy wearing.

From Neil Morris' website Top Notes: Papaya, Lime Middle Notes: Delphinium, Purple Hyacinth Base Notes: Tonka, Golden Musk, Earth and Marine Notes I am not sure about the opening either...did not get limes and not much of the papaya either. I am not familiar with Delphinium but Hyacinth is definitely there. It is a unique perfume indeed. There is something a little similar smelling in the Neil Morris fragrances I tried so far (Rose of Kali, Afire, Moulin Rouge) but could not put my finger on it yet. This is something fizzy and earthy at the same time. Also as if leather was in it... I find this a very much wearable scent and quite unisex. Not flowery on me at all. Maybe it is more on the masculine side than the feminine.

NM is doing gorgeous scents, and this one - no less than the other in the Signature collection - is a very interesting fragrance. To my taste, it has a touch too much of sweetness. At least at the beginning, it can be cloying. But I do understand the concept here, just before a storm, the air is heavy with many odours and scents and humidity. And it can be cloying. Storm bursts off with a fruity note that I identify with plum (NM said Papaya and Lime, I do not get neither sorry); the flower appear suddenly, and it is magnificent: blue hyacinth, so intense. Then you have the feeling of the wet earth after the storm: the air is clean and the scents around are fresher and watery. There is a prominent ozonic note (that I do not favour so much) and a "clean air " feel that is quite singular. The drydown is a musk/earthy/tonka bean base - quite common I must say. However, even if I recognize that it is an intelligent composition, it still smells artificial to me (I may be misled by the ozonic notes that are not my cup of tea). I like NM but I am not sure this is his best creation.... off I go sniffing the other ones!

Gentle wind and petrichor, after a light drizzle while in the eye of the storm. Hard to describe without coming across as conceited. It's a tad screechy, muggy and tropical. It progresses as smushed leaves appear from someone's foot as they hurried to get inside and dirty pavements where bubbles arise from the water that rushes down towards you. Patchouli and green notes create the stench of upturned earth. There's flowers and aquatic notes that create the sense of humidity, sweaty humidity. There's faint citruses that brighten it up a bit, but the trees are billowing and the skies are black... a storm is coming to town. Finally, the vanillic dry down appears to be calm... perhaps you're inside feeling a bit relaxed, finally managed to get home where the air conditioner is on but you're wearing a nice warm jumper.