WOW!!! WOW!!! Must try line: Imaginary Authors from Portland, Oregon

Thanks for your thoughts Bark. Bull's Blood is terrific juice. Surprised he didn't mention cinnamon in the notes. I haven't tried most of those new ones.

Thanks for your quick reviews, Bark. This line sounds pretty interesting.

What is it about Portland that makes people so creative? I need to spend more time up there. I'll drag my brother too, since he is named Josh. Then we can start our own fragrance line in earnest.

I've heard polarizing opinions on this line. Definitely something to check out, thanks.

It has something to do with those "Keep Portland Weird" bumperstickers, I suspect.

lol!

Hmm I'll be there in a couple weeks. I might have to stop by a couple of the small perfume shops to see if they carry this line

Excellent post, Bark!!! I need to find a shop that carries this line!


I live in Portland, and I really adore it. There's a strange vibe here, and I mean that in a good way. There's a sense of community that often seems to eschew competition in favor of collaboration or mutual admiration. The beer scene is a perfect example. We have more breweries per capita than anywhere in the U.S. Heck, we have more breweries than Munich, and more seem to be opening all the time. It's a beer lover's Meca... but what really amazes me is that the breweries don't compete with each other. Each carves out its own niche, and everybody is a fan of everybody else's work.

Portland is a great place to be!

Isnt marijuana legal in Portland ?

Nope. Colorado and Washington - in theory. Nobody knows how the feds will react once those new state laws take effect. Legalizing pot was on the ballot here on election day too, but Oregon voted no. I was surprised.

Portland is delightfully weird! Love this city full of creative people. But pot smoking is seen in bars and on the street in...San Francisco much more' at least when I visited in September. In Portland it is seen a lot more behind closed doors. But there are a lot of very sick people here with medical cards.

Some very interesting designs here, especially interested in trying Soft Lawn, Falling into the Sea, and Cobra&Canary. I like the reviews given by The Bark as it seems this is another rather small operation that is churning out quality niche frags much akin to Slumberhouse. I also like the brewery mention of Portland and how each brewery finds its own niche, it may be the same thing with fragrance design in Portland as it becomes clear that Slumberhouse and Imaginary Authors don't share much in common at all in scent construction.

Who knows at this rate Portland may become the mecca of fragrance designers, especially if your name is Josh, haha.

EDIT : I gave in after reading more reviews, especially those of forfreddie of smellythoughts, seems like I will enjoy this line immensely. Sample set ordered and now the torturous waiting period begins.

Thanks for posting about this line, Bark! I ordered a sample set a few weeks ago and have been thoroughly impressed, especially by The Cobra and The Canary, The Soft Lawn, and Bull's Blood - each potent and complex in their own way.

I totally agree with your take on the leather notes in Cobra and the Canary! It's very well done and the leather takes just the right amount of "the stage" while wearing. (Incidentally, this is going to be the winter of leathers for me, from rubbery to more authentic takes, as my recent purchases have also included Bulgari Black and Violet Tendencies by Smell Bent.)

So it's a Texas thing, then...

I just got some samples today. My first impression of this house is very positive. I ordered four samples and he sent me five, which was nice. They are also all quite good. Bull's Blood is initially the most attention getting. It's a strong, old school, manly fragrance and the notes listed seem pretty true to the fragrance itself. The Cobra and the Canary smells like being in a very expensive car. Memoirs of a Trespasser is a terrific vanilla fragrance. I'm not normally a fan of vanilla fragrances, but this one might win me over. My partner smelled it and smiled and said, "Cookies," which I can see, but it really isn't as sweet as that would suggest. At first, I didn't think much of The Soft Lawn, but after a few minutes, I started to get a really nice violet note, which combined with the green notes, is very lovely and refreshing. The bonus sample he sent me is Violet Disguise. It's nice, but I actually get more violet from The Soft Lawn - maybe the disguise is working.

All in all, I'd say this is a new house that is definitely worth sampling. I agree with others who have said that the only things this house has in common with Slumberhouse, is that they are both young men in Portland named Josh who make perfume. (Well, I suppose that is quite a bit to have in common, actually!)

Alright, I'll be the dissenting voice: Having tried the line I was disappointed.

Maybe an indie-perfumer doesn't have access to fabulous raw materials (and perhaps I should take that into consideration when testing them but I'm feeling grouchy, so I shan't) and that's why the scents seems to bleed together and become a mass of sameness, especially in the basenotes.

My overall feeling is that everything is too dense, there is not enough air and space for the notes to breathe. There was one exception; I like Violet Disguise a lot, the notes didn't feel lumped together, the base didn't overwhelm. Anyway, I am a son of a bitch vintage snob, I don't think I'm the target market for this line.

Well, Portland and Txas can both be weird, however, differently. I'd rather stick to Portland's weirdness, albet the many friends I have in TX.

If they have international shipping, I might be into trying this.

Finally got done sampling the lineup from Imaginary Authors and figured I'd give my own personal thoughts on the line. I'll start off by saying that I believe L'Orchidee Terrible and Violet Disguise definitely lean towards the feminine end of the spectrum if you follow the whole masculine/unisex/feminine categorizations. I didn't find them offensive in any way, but definitely do not see myself being able to wear these two. Thus, I don't feel like I could give a fair review of these two. On to the others :


Bull's Blood - this is undoubtedly the most unique scent of the entire line and probably will be what draws people to try this line because of its unique smell. However, I will note that this will be a very polarizing fragrance with most probably falling in the "love it" or "hate it" category. Describing this fragrance there is definitely something animalic almost fecal-like underlaying the notes of tobacco, rose, and patchouli, maybe the interaction of the black musk with the supposed bull's blood note? There is also a metallic twinge involved that come out during the drydown that lingers which I also assume is due to the bull's blood, but can not be certain of. I find the scent to be very masculine and absolutelty love it, but comments have ranged from smelling wonderful to smelling weird. The projection and sillage on this is pretty strong and only a couple sprays are needed. Lasted about 6 hours on my skin. I agree with The Bark in that this is a "dark" scent similar in style (not scent or construction) to Encre Noir by Lalique or L'Anarchiste by Caron. Definitely would recommend sampling before buying. I think this could be a year round scent due to its uniqueness, with it leaning more towards a night-time scent. I like it, but definitely could see why other will not.


Falling into the Sea - I had preconceived notions of this either smelling like Creed Erolfa, Creed Virgin Island Water, or some mass produced aquatic. However, this smells like none of them and the closest scent that came up was from my girl friend who said it smelled like a Glade Tropical Breeze plug-in, which it certainly does to an extent but not in the overly cloying and synthetic sense. There is a lot of fruit in this scent, the lychee being the most dominant to my nose. To me it invoked images of maybe eating a fruit salad while sitting on a beach in Hawaii. While there are certainly plenty of others who may love this fragrance, it just didn't do anything for me. It definitely is a unisex scent. It has decent projection and sillage and lasted about 4 hours on my skin, its not for me, but I'm sure some people will love it. Also this would probably be a spring/summer scent so I may have to retry during that time of year.


Memoirs of a Trespasser - I can honestly seeing this one being the true "hidden gem" in the entire line. The Bark did a great job describing this scent as being a vanilla scent that is not heavy or cloying, but I'd also like to add that there is also a strong smoky/burning/incense vibe with this scent as well. It is not an acrid smell, but rather warm and enticing that won't offend. There is something about this scent that brings up memories of eating vanilla wafers in front of a fireplace to me. Definitely a gourmand, but fairly unisex and I feel it leans masculine. Projection and sillage on this appear to be excellent for me and lasts for around 7 hours. This is my favorite in the entire line and I'll be picking up a bottle of this soon. As with all gourmands, however, I'd recommend sampling before blind buying as even this scent may be too strong (or too weak) depending on what you expect from a vanilla-dominated fragrance. This is also a definite fall/winter scent.


The Cobra and The Canary - this scent is right next to Memoirs of a Trespasser as bidding for my love, with Bull's Blood not far behind. There is definitely leather here, but not faux leather, cured leather hide, or even that brand-new wallet leather smell. Rather this evoked to me the way the leather originally smelled like in Ford Mustang before use and exposure to the elements rendered it more inert. Something about this scent immediately evoked in my mind memories of driving in my Mustang with the top down out in the rural farmland areas of Arizona. It it definitely pleasing to me and I can honestly say I had a smile on my face thinking about those memories which is the greatest compliment I think I can give a fragrance when it evokes powerful enough memories that stir emotional responses. I can definitely pick up the leather, hay, tobacco, and asphalt notes which is probably why there is such a strong automative association with this fragrance. The Bark is right when he says this is a must try leather scent, its not a classy leather in my opinion. Rather, this leather to me would be best represented by a picture of Steve McQueen in a leather jacket driving down a highway with the top down in one of his classic Porsches or Ferraris. There is just something about this fragrance that evokes in me such strong associations with images and memories, haha. I find this to have pretty good sillage and projectivity, lasted around 6 hours on my skin. Another one definitely worth sampling at the very least.


The Soft Lawn - I really really wanted to love this scent as I had heard it being compared to Creed Green Valley, one of the best Creeds ever made in my opinion anyways. However, while there is definitely greens involved in this scent it leans towards being synthetically green rather than that fresh, natural green to my nose. It may have to do with the tennis ball note that is in here which I can honestly say I never cared to smell from my limited time playing tennis while growing up. However, there is an earthy,dirt-like aspect of this scent that appears during the dry down that is very faint and wish would have been brought out more as it adds a real depth to this scent that would make me love it. As it stands, this is an unfortunate pass for me. Projection and sillage are decent on this one and it lasted about 5 hours on my skin.


Overall, I have to say I am very impressed by the work of Josh at Imaginary Authors. While there are certainly hits and misses involved with this line, there is certainly a lot of innovation and uniqueness taking place in the design of these scents. I have to imagine (ha) that there will be quite a few more interesting takes in the near future. This is definitely a niche line worth checking out and sampling at the very least.

I really liked some of these, and the concept was right up my weird alley, but unfortunately they Do Not Work on me in a major way.

I was mad in love with Bull's Blood (although I probably wouldn't wear it out, in consideration of others' feelings). This was a salty, bitter, dark smell, kind of like that particular rather outhouse smell of certain traditionally tanned South Asian leather goods ("fecal" is the perfume word, right?), with an undernote of patchouli, and, yes, blood. (I have no reference for bull's blood. But I know blood, and it does smell like thick, old blood.) (My partner hated Bull's Blood, a lot.)

The Cobra and the Canary I thought was amazing, dry, papery and somewhat sweet, a bit like old, velvety cardboard boxes in an attic. Deeply weird, in a good way.

I was also extremely fond of Memoirs of a Trespasser -- warm spice, wood, vanilla and cognac, to me. A woodshop at Christmas.

Orchidee Terrible I did not, to my surprise, hate. A perfume smell, followed by the dry hot smell of old-style photocopiers. Dry and piercing, like the quality of the smell of lemon balm. I wrote "a feminine android" in my notes.

Violet Disguise smelled like some dry shampoo that I tried once. Had little use for it. The Soft Lawn was interesting at the beginning (it did smell like tennis balls!) but quickly turned into a generic green freshness. Falling Into The Sea reminded me of some horrible lurid fruity drink made from a mix.

All of them, however, were killed by my freakish skin. I mean really killed; after three to four hours, they all smelled identically of ancient Avon perfume improperly stored, sickly sweet and soured. Even Bull's Blood! I haven't murdered anything quite so thoroughly since I borrowed my friend's Beautiful once to go clubbing, in university.

I wrote to Josh; he was sort of baffled. He said he does use a base of "musks." I have no idea. But I'd be interested to know if anyone else has this experience.

Now, if only this line would show up in the directory......

Thanks for the reviews guys, if the samples were like 20$ I would jump in.

Thanks, The Bark for the heads up. I love the introduction to each fragrance. Eloquently written copy! Would love to get a sniff or two... If only to find out exactly how wearable these scents truly are. I've come across some well-executed concept compositions that ultimately fail the wearability test.

I mentioned this to the perfumer when I wrote my reviews and was having some conversations with him - I worded it a little nicer though :P He talked about how he wanted them to be blended seamlessly - and I said that, that can lose the magic though and you want something still jutting out as it dries down. Not that my opinion means anything to him, he's the perfumer after all, but he said he'd given it a lot of thought and I look forward to seeing what he comes out with next. I think it's a solid line but the drydowns suffer a tad. Still, I'm a fan of the line, the creativity, and the perfumer - he's an awesome guy and I think he'll get stronger and stronger.

Just ordered some samples. Lets see how this pans out.

I feel the very same way. What is interesting though is that I let my brother sample these and he compared Memoirs of a Trespasser to one of his which was Memoires Liquide - Encens. Now besides the somewhat similar name, I did find there was a very similar vibe with the vanilla and smokiness, but the vanilla was much more pronounced in Encens and longer lasting as well.

Overall though, I feel myself leaning towards making a purchase of Cobra and Canary over Memoirs. Although I feel both are very worthy of owning a full bottle of.

Question.

Is there any relation between this line and a thread here about a year ago by the same name, "Imaginary Authors"? I was invited to participate but can't locate the thread.

Just curious.

Got my samples today which is insanely fast. This guy has one heck of a talent. I sampled Bulls Blood, Memoirs of a Trespasser, The Cobra and the canary, and he sent me Voilet Disguise free. This guy let me tell ya he is first class all the way including what looks like thin book marks that are all done up with the story plot of the fragrance and even a spot to spray the fragrance to test on. I love Memoirs of a Trespasser and The Cobra and the Canary. Everyone should check this guy out.

Josh is having a sale on bottles of Memoirs of a Trespasser, $68 for one week only (regularly $85).

I too tried this line. Caricatures of fragrance. And that is all I'm saying.

Figures, there goes more of my money, haha. I'm surprised though that they are having a sale right now, would have been better served to have done it during the Thanksgiving hysteria shopping in the states. The more I wear Memoirs, the more it is becoming my favorite in the line. I do love C&C, but it gets rather linear and there's not much discovery going on.

Josh sent me a lovely package with a variation of Bull's Blood today. I am comparing it with the commercial release side-by-side and while the beginning is warmer and more animalic (civet), the drydown is more woody and less buttery -- less castoreum to my nose. Interesting! I'll have to do a full wearing.

Really? Do I need to be less grouchy about this line? I haven't eaten since breakfast, so that could be a problem.

Just a quick follow-up. I purchased Memoirs and Bull's Blood back when Memoirs was on sale, and I'm really happy with my purchases. Bull's Blood is something I haven't worn frequently so far, as it makes quite a strong statement. I'm glad I bought it, though, and have enjoyed it when I have worn it. It's a bit like Givenchy Gentleman on steroids. Memoirs I'm finding extremely wearable and pleasant. It's not a challenging scent - just a very, very well done woodsy vanilla. I'm not usually one for vanilla, or gourmands in general, but this one is really nice! Josh also sent me another sample of Canary and the Cobra. I still think it smells like the interior of an expensive car, but it's starting to grow on me. I like it better now that the cold weather is here.... and Brian, yes, I think you do need to eat breakfast and give these another try. :-)

Nice to see another fan of the line and its understandable if not everyone cares for Imaginary Authors, the scents are pretty linear and that's not for everyone. I do enjoy that there are a variety of fragrances for everyone from those that lean feminine, florals, green, aquatic, and also some interesting compositions that can be challenging, primarily Bull's Blood.

Also Josh let me know he is working on some scents for the coming year, I know I'm looking forward to more of his designs.

Yes, he told me that, too. He mentioned one that is a "dirty lime" fragrance. I'm looking forward to trying the new ones next year as well.

l have just added all of these to the directory. They may take time to appear, but keep your eyes peeled...

Thanks for adding them and another note, Josh tends to put a fragrance on sale every few months or so. So, it helps to join his newsletter if you are interested in the lineup.

Right now he has L'Orchidee Terrible on sale for $68, normally $85, I'm guessing primarily for Valentine's Day sales.

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Thanks for adding them and another note, Josh tends to put a fragrance on sale every few months or so. So, it helps to join his newsletter if you are interested in the lineup.

Right now he has L'Orchidee Terrible on sale for $68, normally $85, I'm guessing primarily for Valentine's Day sales.

Yea! I'll keep my eyes peeled for their appearance in the directory. I'm really enjoying my bottles of Bull's Blood and Memoirs of a Trespasser.

About these new lines that emerge from the creative Oregon or some other place... who wouldn't enjoy some creativity in fragrances (with creativity I mainly refer to the idea behind the fragrance), but in the end creating fragrances is not so much about creativity. It's more about expertise, experience and patience. For me, it's about the small details and intricate balance, not about throwing together stuff that isn't usually used together and thus wowing the perfume lovers for a while. Many new niche houses are certainly more about intriguing concepts than meticulous blending. Concept fragrances with slack blending keep me interested exactly one time.

I just listed my top 25 or so fragrances in my mind and realized, that every one of them is made by an experienced perfumer, most of them have had a formal education. No amount of talent can replace this. It would be great if these creative minds would take their time to really master the techniques - and also take their time to finish their creations. Most new niche houses make atleast three times more fragrances than they should.

Lorenzo Villoresi once said that he is not an artist, but an artisan. This is very healthy and fruitful approach for a perfumer.

Have you tried this house's offerings or is this just random soapbox pontification? Ironically, I believe Villoresi got some of the same criticism you are offering when he first started. There also seems to be some geographical snobbery afoot in the phrase "the creative Oregon or some other place." I'm guessing the "some other place" doesn't include Paris.

I tried them all and whilst I salute this concept and the whole idea behind it, I can not see myself wearing any of them anytime soon. If my memory is good, the only two that I liked were Memoirs of a Trespasser and Violet Disguise. These two were the most wearable of the seven, but even so I can hardly imagine someone who does not have some experience with this side of the niche to actually appreciate them. The other five were too Pentachords-like.

Just a random soapbox po...pointi... thing. I'm talking about a trend. This is wrong thread for this, because by placing it here I'm implicitely directing my post to this house, which I didn't mean to do. Sorry.

Random soapboxing or not, in my opinion, much of what is wrong with this line is described here. There is a general trend for people to simply call themselves something and think that they are. This is not just true of perfumers--it's in every profession. But to my nose, these scents are derivative. Within minutes, they completely fall apart into very unpleasant chemical miasmas The craft is absent. Historical concept is absent. They are actually offensive to me.

I didn't want to go into this detail because I hope he keeps working at it and gets to the point where the craft is there. But he has a very long ways to go.

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It is probably worth noting that many of the early Slumberhouse creations were similarly trainwrecky. In fact, I don't think Slumberhouse was really making good fragrances until last year. We'll see if this guy has what it takes to pull himself out of this. I'm always happy to be proven wrong.

Sounds good.

I drew the parallel because they are both self-taught.

Please tell me what you've encountered that is anything like Bull's Blood! Would love to explore that type of aromatic sandalwood musk thing more.

It's been awhile since I tried that one on, but I don't really get sandalwood from it. Maybe Ebanol and some shrill woody dry thing like Norlimbanol. The musk had an herbal quality that I think was maybe the more promising part of the concept, but the rest of it was so piercing and unbalanced that it was hard not to scrub it off. If I wanted something like this but actually well composed I would probably start with Musk Tonkin and Leather Oud.

"Derivative" was probably not the best choice of words because I'm not sure they were made with an awareness of what came before. "Unoriginal" may have been a better choice. The others in the line mostly involve saccharine vanillic bases with an uninventive combination of notes on top. I know the scent maker here is fond of saying that his concept of telling stories is a new one, but I'm sorry, hasn't Shalimar told this story before? I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he works in a vacuum and doesn't know/care. This goes back to the culture of deciding that you are going to be something, whether it be a perfumer or anything else, without training, without doing the work, without context. The results are generally not good.

I think there is a good idea in Bull's Blood. I just wish he'd waited until he could have made it better and maybe released just one good scent instead of a half dozen crappy ones.

Well I doubt it's Mysore, but when I sampled it, the first thing I said was "lots of sandalwood." Josh was surprised and said that I'm right, but no one else had ever noticed it before.

Musc Tonkin does have a slight similarity, but it's kind of aquatic and seems to skip over the woods, which is what I find interesting about BB.

Do you really think this line is good, MB? Sincerely? E.g. you would recommend that people buy bottles of it?

Re: sandalwood, to me it smells like a bad sandalwood reconstruction. Real sandalwood tends to come out in the far end of the drydown, and I'll be honest, I was not that patient with it.

I must say the other releases besides Bull's Blood are not to my taste.

I tend not to make recommendations in general, since as I know from experience, perfume tastes are extremely subjective.

I think you are also a unique customer in that many of the alternatives to Bulls Blood probably contain your Kryptonite. I can see why it would hold some appeal.

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There is yet another self-taught perfume line from the NW called Phoenicia. Has anyone tried these? The story is rather intriguing.

Thanks for the rundown on the different scents! Just placed an order for two samples.

If you want to smell the whole line and you're in the general vicinity of Manhattan, let me know. I have the whole pack.

Much appreciate the generous offer! If I'm blown away by the samples I get I just might take you up on your offer.

Looks like it's a real hotbed all of a sudden. Got a link?