Sea Of Gray

This is such an interesting scent. The ice cream parlor vibe is very real. This is the scent of walking down a pier at the ocean, and catching the whiff of a nearby ice cream shop's waffle cones drifting through the air. The aquatic note is almost more absent than present, but it's still there, if that makes sense (I know it doesn't). It's like you've been walking along the pier for the last twenty minutes with a loved one, taking in nothing but the salty ocean air and the scent of the wet sand on the beach, but then those scents are instantly pushed out by the scent of an ice cream parlor which you're approaching. The constant presence of the sea is still there in your nose, morphing the way that you perceive the vanilla and other notes, but it is almost defined by its absence at this point. Leans slightly feminine, to be honest, even more so as it dries down, but I'm still rocking it as a dude. This is also my most complimented fragrance by far, with Tres Oros being in close second. Granted, must of those compliments were from old ladies who come into my library, but one also came from a cute waitress at a steakhouse, so you know. You take what you can get 😅 For the price, the artistry on display here is just stunning. The only problem I have is when exactly to wear this thing. Most people have marked it as a summer scent, which I agree with, but only to an extent. This is an *extremely* sweet fragrance, and I probably wouldn't wear it at around 90°F or above. And I don't know if it would really fit the winter time all that well, either, because it isn't exactly a warm scent. It's a bit of an enigma in that regard. I just end up wearing it when I'm feeling it and it seems to work out.

Another hit! I've been revisiting a bunch of Solstice samples that I purchased years ago, and they have aged beautifully! Now I want a full roller of this one too!! Amazing for summer. This really does conjure up scent memories of being at the beach on a rainy day, plus a yummy vanilla note just for fun! I really love this, because it's unique. Most beachy summery frags use coconut and white florals, sometimes other fruits. They can smell great, but also are reminiscent of suntan lotion and Vegas casinos. They have their place, I enjoy them at the beach or the pool, or in Vegas in warm weather, but this is something different. More refined, addictive, and a bit sexy. Salty ocean, seaweed, vanilla, sandalwood, ambers, what's not to love. Especially since I'm a person who REALLY loves the ocean. It's a healing place for me, I'd live where it smells like this if I could. I've been whale watching multiple times, and find it incredibly exhilarating, especially when you can ride on the bow as a pod of dolphins ride the wave from the boat! This scent reminds me of being there, it is self care. It is another skin scent, and I'd prefer better projection, but as with other amazing blends from Solstice, it's good enough that I'd buy it anyway. I think I have a problem with these. 😄

i was unimpressed with my other two solstice oils and all but forgot i owned this until i started looking at another marine vanilla (Namba Fantome) and all of a sudden i wondered why i didnt ever wear this....well ive been wearing it all day (two applications and easily lasting 11 hours) and you know what!! this is some incredible niche masterwork. i cannot confirm or deny that it smells like the sea because i havent been to the ocean or even a lake in years but from my frame of reference...its giving dank basement. mildewy-ass basement. i dont even dislike that on its own as i have plenty of basement nostalgia (i was always playing in various basements, at my house or relatives house or friends houses, loved the coldness) BUT this basement smell is beautifully tempered by the vanilla, like a beauty and the beast situation going on, i bet you vanilla never in her life thought she'd get matched with mildew and fall in love but here they are together!!! love wins!!!!!!!! the vanilla does indeed dominate in the drydown as well roughly 20 minutes after application but you can still smell the dankness when you sniff hard. in case you were addicted to it. like me

When I lived in CA I got a sample of Solstice Scents Sea of Grey and tried it. A few days later I was at the beach (not wearing perfume) and sitting on the sand a few feet from where the waves came up and I vaguely thought 'something smells familiar', then I realized it was Sea of Grey that I was thinking of, that's how authentic the ocean note is, it smells like the ocean water! I've tried so many ocean scents and this is the only one that actually smells like the ocean to me. Her Cliffside Bonfire has that same ocean note only with the bonfire element mixed with it. I would love if she released something that just had the ocean scent by itself (Sea of Grey has vanilla mixed in with the ocean scent, so it smells like the ocean only with vanilla mixed in)

Sea of Gray is a cool atmospheric experience at the ocean. Its a overcast cold winters day with the pacific ocean lapping on the beaches near the pier and an ice cream shop stands deserted after the summer crowds. You walk by and he frozen steel air from the coolers rush outside with the scent of vanilla from the waffle cones they are freshly making for the weekend visitors. The ambergris/salt accord lends a realistic marine note to the composition. You must like ambergris to pull off this scent successfully. This is exactly what you get in the copy above. It reminds me of my days in Pismo Beach, California on the pier. 5ml oil reviewed.

Walking along the beach as the dark grey storm clouds roll in. On my skin this stuff is gorgeous! Luckily i get none of the rank smell some of the others got!! This is one of those kinda just for me scents, but I decided to wear it to work the other day and got loads of compliments!!!

My vocabulary isn't varied enough to tell you all the notes I detect in this, so let's just simply call it gourmand version of Gulf Breeze. It's sea water and typical male but also sweet and yummy, in a non imposing way.

A couple of weeks ago, I was walking on the beach by my house. Dead jellyfish frequently wash ashore, but that evening there were dozens of still living moon jellies littering the shoreline. I didn't know if they had any chance of survival, but I spent the next hour throwing them back into the water anyway. Not wanting to get jellyfish...jelly on my hands, I slid my sweatshirt sleeves down over my hands before picking each one up. By the time I was done, my sleeves were soaked, and by the time I got home they were crusty, so I tossed my sweatshirt in the dirty laundry bin. After doing laundry a few days later, I put the sweatshirt on again and realized my sleeves still smelled like jellyfish--salt and seaweed and something that I can't put words to but have only smelled at the beach. Sea of Gray smells like that jellyfish residue plus a hint of vanilla. You wouldn't think that something with a vanilla note would accurately capture the smell of the sea, but somehow Sea of Gray does it. It's actually kind of ingenious because without the vanilla I would probably find this pretty nauseating, just like I was a little grossed out by the smell of my sweatshirt sleeves. I think it's probably the ambergris note that I find a little off-putting, although who knows what makes jellyfish smell that way. So in summary, Sea of Gray is a very accurate ocean smell that sacrifices a tiny bit of accuracy for the sake of wearability, which is probably a good decision.

Smells like Brighton Pier - a cool breeze, the sea, a stony beach full of broken sea shells, and ice cream. It's not at all the scent I was expecting, which is strange because it really does smell exactly as it's described. It's a cool scent that would be very refreshing in the summer. Unlike other sea scents, it doesn't add a bunch of florals or fruits to make the 'ocean' scent - this is more authentic oceanscape, though the vanilla does add sweetness. That being said, this isn't a gourmand, or at least it's not in my book. The vanilla is...different. In much the same way that SS's mallow isn't your typical sweet marshmallow, this vanilla isn't one that'll make you want to eat your wrist. It's cold, unapproachable, slightly stand-offish vanilla. The overall effect is one of desolation, as if you're standing on the pier after its shut down for the winter, the sea crashing on the rocks around you, a cold breeze whipping the flags around, and only that last lingering hint of vanilla to remind you that in the summer, this place was the place to be. I sampled this scent in fall, but I'll keep the rest of the little bottle and try it again when it's hot, because I have a feeling this might be a full bottle purchase if it's as refreshing in the heat as I think it will be.

Funky/aquatic marine opening with a slight salty and a good amber vanilla drydown. I barely detect any marine notes after the drydown on paper, but it's a quality marine amber vanilla that works well with the opening notes, which was surprising, very unique and unexpected. Very good sillage and longevity. Edit: The more I wore it, the more I realized this scent just isn't for me. The funky marine note mixed with vanilla makes me uncomfortable.

I have a sample size of this I'm currently trying. Opens with a very salty, authentic ocean smell. Fresh but bracing, almost made my lips feel chapped! Very strong at the open, but as it wore, it definitely brought in the cooler vanillic smell of an ice cream parlor with the salty note present but not quite as sharp. In the dry down, sat very close to the skin with an intriguing salty vanilla balance almost like a skin scent.

The name is accurate. It smells like a painted cover art of Wuthering Heights. Very vanilla forward and on the cusp of powdery old lady but never quite going over the line. It's a pleasant scent but I personally would like a little more sea/salt to it. Would recommend for wearers who want people to know by smell alone that they are beautifully miserable and that, at any time, a series of unfortunate events may occur to them.

Upon application, this smells like being on a dank beach near an ice cream parlor. The dank, funky beach fragrance (like earth and seaweed) takes precedence, but quickly dims a bit and allows the vanilla to take over. It’s not particularly salty on me, but I definitely get “beach before a storm” from it.

This is a lot more "marine" than the other Solstice aquatic fragrance I tried, Gulf Breeze, but I'm really thrown off by the strong vanilla base. I think the notes of sea air and sandalwood are nice but the briny seaweed sours the whole mix, that sort of organic, rotting, bitter smell. It was really overpowering in Gulf Breeze and it's better here but I still don't enjoy the rank green note. Overall, this isn't an unpleasant fragrance, but it did confuse my nose.

Stinky and rank on me, like fish. Lots of people like it, but my skin does not. If you get this stinky fish note amped on your skin with one of Angela's 2017-2018 water series, might as well avoid the rest, as I found out to my chagrin.

Sea of Gray: This scent is the most perplexing scent I’ve ever tried! I sprayed it on before heading to the airport (only rested two days from receiving in the mail). Before even leaving our home, I told my husband I thought that was a mistake. My skin amped up dirt, seaweed and salt, what a blast, and I didn’t think I was into it. My husband said he thought I smelled good. On the drive there I thought, well this isn’t so bad actually. It’s interesting and even though it’s briny, now it’s sweeter and it really takes me to the seashore. Ok, I can dig it, I’ll just have to be in the mood for an atmospheric like this. My baby snuggled with me on the airplane, and I kept getting whiffs of it from his head, from rubbing on my shirt, and now it’s salt and a French vanilla and omg I love it. Why did I not bring it with to vacation. I kept smelling the shirt in my suitcase all week and was wanting to try it again. What a scent roller coaster! Just sprayed it on myself again, it’s now rested over a week. Now on my skin - Salty, briny sea air, slightly masculine (but not! Idk how to explain it, it is slightly reminiscent of dirt, in a good way. it’s sexy), French vanilla and the slightest caramel. These last two notes get stronger with time, very strong on my skin, delicious! It’s the most unusually beautiful vanilla I’ve tried and I’m obsessed. This is one of my favorites from this house now! Wow!

The concept behind this scent is that you’re strolling along the beach and as tide rolls in, the sky darkens and the first drops of rain begin to fall, you take refuge in a nearby ice cream parlor. I would take this one step further; this is a seaside ice cream shoppe in Innsmouth, and you’re on a date with of its fish-people denizens. This is not to say that Sea of Gray is a fishy scent, but there is more than a hint of murky dankness upon initial application, and, if only for a moment, you’re swept away in scents of sand, sedge-grass, and stunted shrubbery that gives way to crumbling houses and their repellent inhabitants, and a feeling of overall disquiet and decay. This feeling passes as soon as you cross the threshold into the cool, bright interior of the frozen dessert establishment; the cheery clanking of small metal spoons gently scraping faceted sundae glasses and the soft, vanillic aroma of cold, creamy confections lulls you into a feeling of well being as you glimpse the sun peeking out from behind the clouds again, and all that’s left of your brush with the murky seaside secrets of that shadowed port town is the salt-spray on your skin. Your fishy paramour is nowhere to be seen.

I didn't get the same atmospheric happy that others did. I get a green, weedy forest floor with gorgeous resinous vanilla overtones that doesn't quite blend. From a distance it's pretty great, but up close,it's rank. then I tried it another day and it was just the forest floor and the vanilla resin was absent. As my husband said, "smells like rotten grass." So not a buyer for me.

Solstice Sea of Gray captures the rainy day of a deserted beach after summer, with residual scent of vanilla float still lingering. The seashell and saltwater scent is very subtle. Then dries down to warm vanilla amber with a touch of salty sandalwood. Some may argue this is a regular amber perfume. For me, it is a seascape in the art form of perfume without calone!

Not what I expected! Granted, you know how the oils can work so differently from person to person. This smells a lot more like a day at the lake getting rained out than the seas. This is an upscale version of Thunderstorm by Demeter. It smells like hot earth during rain. Not my fave, but good for what it is!