Aegean (2007)
by Neil Morris Fragrances

This is a fresh, herbal citrus-aromatic, with mandarin, basil & lavender dominating for the first couple of hours. It leans quite masculine, but thankfully does not resemble a mainstream "sport cologne" or a household cleaning product. The projection is good, but not overwhelming. Neil himself admits that he's never been to Greece; speaking as someone who has been there many times, I can say that this is only a very rough approximation of the scent of the maquis, & I don't get anything evocative of the sea here. After the first hour, it turns more resinous & sweet, with the addition of benzoin, & later a touch of neroli. From here it gives off a golden-brown warmth, slowly fading over the course of around nine hours.
This one leans a little too far to the masculine side for my taste, but I recommend trying it if you enjoy a traditional "barber shop"-style scent.

The top notes of Aegean are very pleasant. It is primarily citrus, but you can also notice the basil a bit in the background. The middle notes are pretty strong too. I can smell both the lavendar and the quince.
It is the base notes that I take a bit of an issue with, but I imagine I am alone in this respect. It's amazing how smells trigger our memory as well as our other senses. For as long as I can remember, my grandfather has had a certain bottle of cologne or aftershave sitting on his dresser (who knows, it could be literally the same bottle). And this aftershave or cologne smells just like the base notes of Aegean - I think probably more the sandalwood and the musk (I'm not sure what benzoin smells like). I do not particularly like the smell, so that is why I am not crazy about the base notes of Aegean. However, it does remind me of my grandfather, and so, it gives me fond memories and means it's not something to cavil about.

I find it difficult to talk about this scent. It's nice at first but turns really sour on me. A little floral and musk but I get nothing else.

What a disappointment! It simply doesn't work on my skin. The ingredients looked so promising. The style (Mediterranean, garrigue) seemed ideal. However, this scent sits like a muddled lump on me. No bracing citrus, no greenish basil (flower or herb), no aromatic lavender. On me, it is not delicate or translucent, it is thick and indeterminate with no stages that I can detect. And what do I get? A fairly sweet benzoin/vanilla and musk drydown. Failed potential.

Aegean and Drifting both remind me of Smarties -- those little pastel-coloured candies that come rolls covered by see-through cellophane wrap, and twistie-tied at each end. I guess because both Aegean and Drifting contain "mandarin." It must be the citrus I'm smelling there.

But Drifting and Aegean part ways after that, because while Drifting is a sweet innocent baby-oil and Smarties scent, Aegean smells like Smarties and MUSK. Sexy Smarties. That's Aegean.

After about 2-3 hours it dries down with something like lavender and soapy smell. Maybe some vetiver?

Longevity was kind of poor for me. By 6 hours it was long gone. I guess I'd like it much more if it lasted longer