Aegean Neil Morris for women and men

No one else appears to be making this connection, but Neil Morris AEGEAN reminded me immediately of Guerlain JICKY. The combination of citrus, lavender, basil, sandalwood, and spice seems a lot like the skeleton or an outline of JICKY to me. Of course, this may be because my only experience of JICKY has been through the recent, emasculated reformulation, which is completely devoid of civet and other skanky elements.

Do I like this particular complex of notes? Yes and no. I definitely find this composition more masculine than feminine, whether in AEGEAN or JICKY, and I do feel that this is an easy-to-identify, distinctive perfume moment with enough of a personality to warrant attention. However, I hasten to add that I also experience something of a nineteenth-century barbershop vibe emerging out of this particular combination of notes. To me, there is a tangible Acqua di Parma COLONIA feeling here.

I would without reservation recommend this perfume for gents, but caution the ladies to try before they buy.

This one is love at first sniff, starting out with candied citrus, aromatic herbs and lots of clean musk. The notes list a quince accord, and I can see that, although I probably wouldn’t have identified it as such without explicit prompting. What the quince accomplishes is to make the citrus smell very sweet and fruity, and tempers the sharpness of the lavender and rosemary and the anise notes of the basil.

The combination of fruity cologne-like notes with mega-musk is brilliant. Based on the opening, this is another NM fragrance that I’d actually buy in FB form if I had the space, money, and time to wear it. The one down side to this fragrance is that it isn’t particularly long-lasting. The citrus, herbs and fruit combo lasts for a couple of hours, after which it dries down to a skin musk that lasts the rest of the day. Initially, Aegean is a real winner, but the ending is fairly ordinary.

Beautiful, the unusual quince note balances well with the lavender. It dries down to a more traditional musky sweet fragrance - but not too sweet - nice!

This one is so fresh, pure and a bit creamy. After citruses fade very delicate and velvety lavender shows up. I can hardly remember how the quince should smell but there's smth sour-sweet mixed with the warm base. Like it a lot!

This is quite original. The fresh mandarin/basil flower in the opening is quickly joined by the quince first, which I don't think I have ever smelled in a fragrance before, then the lavender. I'm usually no friend of the latter, but paired with the quince it turns into something very interesting, lively and juicy. For me this is the most enjoyable phase of the scent and it stays with me for a long time. Thankfully, it doesn't get too sweet or too edible. The drydown, however, is quite musky.
It's a real pick-me-up scent and I can imagine just about anyone wearing this. Sillage and staying power are average.