The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
The chill in the air. Warm sun on cold skin. Leaves in red and orange and amber. These are the textures of autumn that Neil Morris has captured in Chasing Autumn. The fragrance is a way of chasing the season rather than arriving at it on time. Where some autumn scents celebrate the abundance of the harvest, Chasing Autumn is what happens when you try to hold onto the season as it shifts. There is a bittersweet knowledge in this composition that the leaves are falling and the light is changing, and the response is to burn something and breathe it in. The smoke curls upward while the base notes hold the warmth close to the skin, and the overall effect is of someone standing at the edge of a wood as the afternoon fades, watching the last of the daylight without turning away from it.
The structure of Chasing Autumn is unusual in how it refuses to separate the campfire from the person standing next to it. Birch tar and leather arrive simultaneously, tar as the smoke, leather as the warmth, and the coffee doesn't sweeten them so much as deepen them, turning a simple smoky opening into something with weight and presence. The heart piles on: cypriol, Siberian pine, Nootka cypress, and cedarwood create a forest that is being consumed rather than admired. Vetiver threads through every phase, green and earthy and slightly bitter, the root that keeps the smoke honest. By the base, amber and vetiver are all that remain, not fading, but settling into something close and warm that stays for hours.
The evolution
The opening is immediate and confrontational. Birch tar announces itself first, raw and smoky, followed by leather that rounds it into something wearable rather than aggressive. Coffee arrives, bitter and dark, and the composition reads as a single smoky-leathery mass, no individual notes, just atmosphere. Then the heart begins to separate. Cypriol and cedar emerge, bringing an earthy, slightly tarry depth that matches the opening's energy. Siberian fir needle appears briefly, a flash of something cold and sharp that cuts through the warmth before it also dissolves. As the fragrance develops, amber asserts itself, adding a honeyed warmth to what was previously all smoke and bitterness. The coffee remains present but quieter, integrated rather than leading. Leather never fully leaves, but it softens, becoming a texture rather than a statement.
Cultural impact
Chasing Autumn offers something different from the spectacle of smoke. Where some smoky fragrances aim for dramatic impact, Chasing Autumn opts for something more personal, the smell of a campfire in a state park rather than a grand performance. Wearers describe it as the scent of someone who walks into a room and does not need to announce themselves. The fragrance provides autumnal depth without sweetness, and smoky presence without aggression.
