As anyone who's spent much time shopping for indie perfumes knows, there's a plethora of interesting, imaginative indie scents inspired by literature out there--Imaginary Authors is a brand that takes that idea and does it one better: all its scents are inspired by novels, but the novels don't actually exist. As the name of the company suggests, all the perfumes are inspired by imaginary novels written by imaginary authors, each with their own bio and plot summary. They had a sale recently so I finally took the plunge and got a few samples from them to try out. Today I'll discuss my favorite of my order, Memoirs of a Trespasser, inspired by the imaginary novel by the imaginary Philip Sava.
Price: $95 for a 50 mL bottle of eau de parfum.
Samples: 2 mL spray sample vials are available for $6 each, or 8 for $35. The sample arrived with a matching bookmark that I forgot to photograph. As it's a clear spray bottle of alcohol-based perfume and doesn't have a cap, I don't know how long this sample will last--I'm a little worried it will evaporate via the spray nozzle before I can use it all up.
Description from the website:"The early exploration writing of Philip Sava bent the limits of post-modern fiction, revealing fantastical worlds that fooled many into believing they were, in fact, real. Sava’s kaleidoscopic collections, of which Memoirs of a Trespasser is the undeniable centerpiece, drew upon true experiences from his exotic travels but were infused with a hallucinatory inventiveness that set his work apart from others in the genre.
Though Sava had associates all over the world, he spent most of his time living in solitude on a ranch in southern Madagascar. When interrogated by the press on his cloistered lifestyle he notoriously answered, “Who needs love when you have cognac?”
WHEN TO WEAR: A true adventure scent, wear Memoirs of a Trespasser when travelling, and again when you’re back home to conjure comforting memories.
NOTES: Madagascar Vanilla, Guaiacwood, Myrrh, Benzoin Resin, Ambrette Seeds & Oak Barrels"
Review:
For any Diptyque fans, I think Memoirs of a Trespasser actually smells very similar to Diptyque's Eau Duelle, which I've nearly purchased several times despite the hefty price tag. It's clearly a sweet vanilla scent at its heart, but it's heavy with woodsy, smoky, spicy incense notes.
It smells like an abstraction of a toasted marshmallow, or an exploration of that idea--it's more woodsy, resinous, and incense-smoky, and less sweet/gourmand, than a realistic campfire-marshmallow scent, but the primary notes I think of when sniffing this are vanilla, smoke, and wood, which mentally leads me down the marshmallow path. It has an interesting almost fizzy brightness to it as well, like cream soda. The vanilla has a deep boozy aspect to it, smelling more like vanilla beans more than French vanilla ice cream or custard.
There is a rather savory peppery undertone to this that, combined with the woodsmoke note, reminds me a little of barbecue. I didn't notice it the first time I wore this, but subsequent tests of the perfume keep bringing meat to mind, which puts it below Eau Duelle in my favors. It's more complex and brighter than my other go-to smoky indie vanilla, Arcana's Devilish, but it also has more presence and projection than Devilish, making it a louder, more conscious scent choice for the day--I wouldn't wear it if I were worried about people around me being sensitive to smells.
I think it's a really nice vanilla-incense scent, more sophisticated than childish, although the way it occasionally edges into barbecue territory unsettles me. I don't think I could wear it every day, as it's quite strong and assertive and never fades into a "second skin" type of scent, but I will happily keep it in rotation until I've used up the sample, and would consider buying a full size if I haven't gotten sick of it by then.
For other reviews of Memoirs of a Trespasser, you can also check out Fragrantica, My Perfume Library, or Kafkaesque (who hated it).
I am unsure if this scent is vegan.
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