Midnight Sea
by Neil Morris Fragrances

Neil Morris Midnight Sea

I had a great childhood growing up in S. Florida. One of the best things about it was I didn't go to summer camp. We had close firends of the family who had a son my age, Buddy. When school would get out in the beginning of June we would set sail on Buddy's parents 52 ft. sailboat down into the Caribbean for 8 weeks or so. What I remember most on those trips was being awake late at night as we were anchored in port and the smell of the ocean at night. Neil Morris has a knack of painting olfactory landscapes with his lush, densely constructed scents. His 2007 creation Midnight Sea is no different as he takes the typical ozonic sea accords and dresses them up for night adding in depth and power. To start the scent he uses a very freshwater note of water lily. This gives the aquatic feel with out the salt present and the feel of a night blooming flower of some kind coming awake. It is in the heart that the smell of the ocean comes alive as the salty accord full of iodine appears in contrast to the lush floral of the top. There is also a musk here which Mr. Morris uses in two other of his Midnight series, Midnight Flower and Midnight Forest. I'm not sure how this note achieves this, but it somehow adds the feel and smell of a humid night into these scents which enhances the feel of things happening at the midnight hour. This musk feels like a warm sultry breeze which carries on it the scents of things moving around just out of sight in the dark. This, in conjunction with the sea accords make the heart of this reminiscent of many nights falling asleep in my hammock with my head near the porthole breathing in the smells of whatever island we were anchored near. The base of vanilla and patchouli eventually take over things and leave Midnight Sea on firmer more recognizable ground. Neil Morris' scents are powerful creations which I have found to be rewarding compositions in their complexity and their beauty. It is nice that whenever I want to set sail, in my mind, Midnight Sea is always at hand.

21st June, 2009.

Nostalgic and very patchouli heavy. Interesting that the ozone notes are in the base. But I feel it loses its salty quality as the scent winds down. Still, what a great salty quality it has in this mix. VERY powerful.

1st February, 2009.