Perfume is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion. It heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure. Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel
I think it is safe to say that perfume prolongs your enjoyment of moments too. It adds both a sensory layer and a sensory memory to life’s experiences. I find that I can enhance a mood — or conversely change a mood — by the perfume I choose for the day.
I decided this last sentence isn’t exactly true for me. It is rare that I wear the same fragrance through the entire day. I much prefer to layer up and change as the day goes on and as my own feelings develop. I wear enough that I can enjoy it, but not so much that I can’t change in a few hours.
Neil Morris spoke with me saying that he likes to capture memories and moments of his life in a fragrance. Behind his fragrances, there is always a story. He asked me if I would like to know the stories behind his fragrances, and of course, I said yes!
Dark Season is a lovely, lush fragrance, filled with nuances of meaning. The notes are
French cinnamon, labdanum, oak moss, myrrh, fir needle, dark vanilla, Indonesian patchouli
He told me
Dark Season is a scent impression of a time I spent in Finland visiting friends — cold, dry shimmering nights. One evening our group took a walk through the winter woods in Lahti. The night was crystalline with cold air, and a majestic forest. The snow started to fall — it was an other worldly landscape. The stars were like frozen lights, as if they would break in a thousand crystal pieces, if you breathed on them. We had to return home as the north wind was getting too potent. My friend lives on a street that translates: Path of the Northern Hag. In the distance we could smell the warm fires and the saunas. Out in the cold and elements, a dry cold, we felt the promise of something warm in the distance, the hearth burning. My friend served gloggi, like a mulled wine — a perfect evening.
One thing I have longed to do for a number of years is spend some time in Finland during the winter season when the nights fill the daytime hours. I have ‘family’ in Helsinki and a dear ’son’ who lived with us for the school year when our son was 5. Just recently he brought his son to visit us, a kind of full circle. I’ve spent some time in Helsinki and at their summer cottage, enjoying their saunas, not to mention the cold dip after in the crystal clear lake.
I asked Neil how he learned to speak Finnish, and he told me he’d lived there for about a year. Lovely for him! Someday I hope to do the same, even if I might be hopeless with the language.
I asked him what he would do if he could no longer use oak moss. He said, it wasn’t settled yet, but he preferred to use natural oak moss and labdanum, but he has a good alternative, if he can no longer use oak moss.
Well, my impression: of course, knowing the Finnish back story enhances the fragrance for me, how could it not! My first impression is of fir needle and patchouli, the sweet kind that I love. The fragrance settles in with cinnamon wrapped around the patchouli — both last until the end — with vanilla casting a spell, along with the richness of myrrh. Altogether an entirely satisfying fragrance. If you love the notes, you would love it!
Yes, it is a walk in the woods, a night dark enough to let the stars shine through as crystal. (We had this experience of stars so bright you felt you could touch them, when we were at Lake Tahoe.) Wrapped around like the warmth of a good lap blanket are the notes that make up some of the spicy drinks we serve in cold weather — but not spiced cider, as there is no apple/fruity note in it.
I think I’m thirsty!
This fragrance is not overbearing, nor sickly sweet. It is the promise of happy memories and good times, richly elegant in its simplicity.
Stayed tuned for his other fragrances on other days. The price is $150 for 2 oz of perfume. Again, these are not available at his website yet, but you can order them by requesting them. Or if you prefer, you can phone: 617-267-2315. They are also available at Takashimaya in NYC.
Karin
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