A couple of weeks ago I ordered some samples from Neil Morris fragrances and here are my impressions on them (thought I'd share here in one go before posting the individual reviews):
Le parfum d'Odette
On opening it evokes a blend of Poison and Samsara (without the sickly berry flavoured cough-mixture of Poison). In just a few minutes, it turns into an incredible fragrance! It's sugared Tuberose, blended with alcoholic woods and blackberry & blackcurrant wine gums. Wow. (On drydown there is more than a passing resemblance to Guerlain's Jardins de Bagatelle). Despite the nod towards all these loud perfumes, Le parfum d'Odette manages to be rounded and wearable, but retains the moorish and addictive qualities that the somewhat OTT perfumes often develop into. I will need a whole bottle of this. After wearing Le parfum d'Odette for one day, I kept wanting to go back to it and not test any other perfumes from my pile of samples.
ZEPHYR
This, like all the other Neil Morris fragrances, has a curious magic perfume-bubble quality; at first you smell the outside of the bubble, at which point the other notes are hidden and you get an impression of "ah, this is what the fragrance will be like", but then the bubble bursts and all the other notes come gushing forth. In the case of Zephyr, the effect is "the smell you get on your hands after picking wild strawberries", then "fairly synthetic, but very pleasant girly shampoo with a hint of strawberry leaves". I'd recommend this to fans of any of the Ralph fun & fruity scents (although this is more refined). I would definitely wear Zephyr in the summer, or at any time I felt frivolous. I can't help wishing for a more complex base (what would happen if you took some of the base from Gotham and laid it under Zephyr? For instance).
AEGEAN
A gorgeous pool boy who wore Kouros yesterday. Very nice men's fragrance - perhaps it could also work on a woman, but my mind is firmly transported to glowing pecks.
MIDNIGHT STAR
Aldehyde galore; unfortunately the very type of ironing-smell aldehydes that give me an instant migraine. I've dubbed this Midnight Migraine.
CAFE
Very accurate patisserie scent; almost exactly like the Crabtree & Evelyn patisserie room fragrance I was recommended to buy for selling my house (apparently if you spray some around, viewers are more likely to buy). I think this is fun, but not a perfume I would wear.
INTIMATE LILY
A very nicely done, grown-up lily of the valley. The other notes bloom out as the fragrance develops and leave the almost soliflore feeling behind. I had hoped for more prominence from the Casablanca lily, but that's the only disappointing thing about this perfume. I'd definitely recommend this if you like Diorissimo or maybe even if you've once loved Blue Grass on someone else, but want something much less stuffy for yourself.
STORM
The first impression is "storm in a bath tub" - the opening is surprisingly soapy. When the soap bubble bursts, the scent changes to a fairly sombre affair; powdery, ozonic, quite heavy - if the oppressive feeling just before a thunderstorm had a smell, this would be it. Storm would be more wearable if it had leaned more towards the smell right after a storm, but this fragrance could still lend a mysterious quality to the wearer. My worry is that evoking the before-a-storm sensation could make the wearer feel sluggish, but perhaps it'll work perfectly for some. An interesting and successful artistic exercise nevertheless (just not sure how commercial).
PROWL
Hi, I'm from the 80s and I'm wearing Rumba.
DARK SEASON
Very accurate fir tree sap, blended with mosses and and a general smell of being in a Finnish forest. (I'm from Finland and Neil's description of Dark Season was the clincher for my decision to order samples from him). I tried this on my husband's skin and it felt like a temporary tattoo of a forest scene, rather than a part of him. Very good piece of olfactory storytelling, but I'm not convinced of its wearability as a perfume.
SWOON
I really wanted to fall in love with this, given the inspiration behind the perfume, but something in here jars when I wear it. The opening is beautiful and fascinating; a transparent melon-like fruit burst mixed with crushed leaves, but it's either the civet, or something else that brings a sour, sweaty quality out on my skin, which really didn't suit me at all. I get the impression that Neil has tried to capture the smell of a fruit that has nestled in a young virgin's armpit for a while (which, on the right wearer, would be very tantalising). I'm sure this would work on many others, but for me, it's a no.
GOTHAM
Hippie Labdanum and pals. I like it! The Neil Morris bubble effect I've mentioned in my other reviews for his scents is here too; this time the bubble is sweet and pretty, but when it bursts you're hit with a very strong labdanum supported by well loved suede boots and some joss sticks. Gotham feels comforting and nostalgic for me and I'd wear it very happily (but perhaps not to work).
Le parfum d'Odette
On opening it evokes a blend of Poison and Samsara (without the sickly berry flavoured cough-mixture of Poison). In just a few minutes, it turns into an incredible fragrance! It's sugared Tuberose, blended with alcoholic woods and blackberry & blackcurrant wine gums. Wow. (On drydown there is more than a passing resemblance to Guerlain's Jardins de Bagatelle). Despite the nod towards all these loud perfumes, Le parfum d'Odette manages to be rounded and wearable, but retains the moorish and addictive qualities that the somewhat OTT perfumes often develop into. I will need a whole bottle of this. After wearing Le parfum d'Odette for one day, I kept wanting to go back to it and not test any other perfumes from my pile of samples.
ZEPHYR
This, like all the other Neil Morris fragrances, has a curious magic perfume-bubble quality; at first you smell the outside of the bubble, at which point the other notes are hidden and you get an impression of "ah, this is what the fragrance will be like", but then the bubble bursts and all the other notes come gushing forth. In the case of Zephyr, the effect is "the smell you get on your hands after picking wild strawberries", then "fairly synthetic, but very pleasant girly shampoo with a hint of strawberry leaves". I'd recommend this to fans of any of the Ralph fun & fruity scents (although this is more refined). I would definitely wear Zephyr in the summer, or at any time I felt frivolous. I can't help wishing for a more complex base (what would happen if you took some of the base from Gotham and laid it under Zephyr? For instance).
AEGEAN
A gorgeous pool boy who wore Kouros yesterday. Very nice men's fragrance - perhaps it could also work on a woman, but my mind is firmly transported to glowing pecks.
MIDNIGHT STAR
Aldehyde galore; unfortunately the very type of ironing-smell aldehydes that give me an instant migraine. I've dubbed this Midnight Migraine.
CAFE
Very accurate patisserie scent; almost exactly like the Crabtree & Evelyn patisserie room fragrance I was recommended to buy for selling my house (apparently if you spray some around, viewers are more likely to buy). I think this is fun, but not a perfume I would wear.
INTIMATE LILY
A very nicely done, grown-up lily of the valley. The other notes bloom out as the fragrance develops and leave the almost soliflore feeling behind. I had hoped for more prominence from the Casablanca lily, but that's the only disappointing thing about this perfume. I'd definitely recommend this if you like Diorissimo or maybe even if you've once loved Blue Grass on someone else, but want something much less stuffy for yourself.
STORM
The first impression is "storm in a bath tub" - the opening is surprisingly soapy. When the soap bubble bursts, the scent changes to a fairly sombre affair; powdery, ozonic, quite heavy - if the oppressive feeling just before a thunderstorm had a smell, this would be it. Storm would be more wearable if it had leaned more towards the smell right after a storm, but this fragrance could still lend a mysterious quality to the wearer. My worry is that evoking the before-a-storm sensation could make the wearer feel sluggish, but perhaps it'll work perfectly for some. An interesting and successful artistic exercise nevertheless (just not sure how commercial).
PROWL
Hi, I'm from the 80s and I'm wearing Rumba.
DARK SEASON
Very accurate fir tree sap, blended with mosses and and a general smell of being in a Finnish forest. (I'm from Finland and Neil's description of Dark Season was the clincher for my decision to order samples from him). I tried this on my husband's skin and it felt like a temporary tattoo of a forest scene, rather than a part of him. Very good piece of olfactory storytelling, but I'm not convinced of its wearability as a perfume.
SWOON
I really wanted to fall in love with this, given the inspiration behind the perfume, but something in here jars when I wear it. The opening is beautiful and fascinating; a transparent melon-like fruit burst mixed with crushed leaves, but it's either the civet, or something else that brings a sour, sweaty quality out on my skin, which really didn't suit me at all. I get the impression that Neil has tried to capture the smell of a fruit that has nestled in a young virgin's armpit for a while (which, on the right wearer, would be very tantalising). I'm sure this would work on many others, but for me, it's a no.
GOTHAM
Hippie Labdanum and pals. I like it! The Neil Morris bubble effect I've mentioned in my other reviews for his scents is here too; this time the bubble is sweet and pretty, but when it bursts you're hit with a very strong labdanum supported by well loved suede boots and some joss sticks. Gotham feels comforting and nostalgic for me and I'd wear it very happily (but perhaps not to work).
And thank you for the lovely comments, you've made my day by being so appreciative 
Longevity for all three is > 10 hours for me.
