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O, Unknown! Imaginary Authors 2017

6.9 / 10 169 Ratings

A perfume by Imaginary Authors for women and men, released in 2017. The scent is powdery-woody. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Powdery

Woody

Smoky

Spicy

Floral

Fragrance Notes

Orris butter

Black tea

Lapsang Souchong tea Musk

Musk

Sandalwood

Kyoto moss

Perfumer

Josh Meyer

Ratings

Scent

6.9169 Ratings

Longevity

6.7122 Ratings

Sillage

6.0123 Ratings

Bottle

7.2119 Ratings

Value for money

6.552 Ratings

Submitted by Franfan20 · last update on 12/15/2025.

Source-backed & verified

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Reviews

18 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/12/2024

9Scent

parfumpixie
358 Reviews

parfumpixie

Helpful Review 3

bookish orris

this scent is definitely not for everyone but I really love this! It’s simple and non complex but I think it works for what it conveys. This opens very powdery and earthy. You get the black tea but this is unsweetened and natural, like straight from a tea bag before it’s been brewed. The orris here is very earthy too almost like a dirt scent? but I like it and I think it works here. There’s a paper like accord here that feels like the pages of a book, it’s musky and woody and comforting. This feels like you’re sitting down to read a book on a rainy spring afternoon while sipping a cup of lapsang tea no sugar. I think a lot of ppl enjoy sweeter tea fragrances and this is not that. This is tea at its bare bones with an earthy oakmoss and powdery soft sandalwood. This is perfectly unisex with a moderate sillage and longevity of about 5-6 hrs.

01/10/2025

4Scent 9Longevity 8Sillage

Banjeekundt
103 Reviews

Banjeekundt

2

Nothing but violet

I'm sampling all of Imaginary Authors through their discovery collection and I figured I really wouldn't like this but decided to try it anyway for the love of the game.

At first spray, it's orris butter, some musk and maybe a little sandalwood—a very sharp, powdery and aromatic violet smell with a hint of woods. This has a relatively dry and paper-like scent though, which was interesting. It remained this way for the entirety of the wear, only gaining a slight earthiness around hour three or four from the moss. This lasted on my skin for about ten hours.

I was disappointed that I couldn't pick up on any of the tea notes at all since that was the main reason I didn't skip sampling this entirely. The orris was simply overpowering for me since I don't like violet-like notes. All I could smell were the older ladies at church with their headache-inducing perfumes that hug you too tight for too long.

Overall, this was exactly as I expected. Sorry for the rather brief and nondescript review, but it took everything in me not to just write "hate" and keep it pushing. If you like orris/violet, you'll love this but otherwise I do not recommend it.

12/23/2023

Stacia
135 Reviews

Stacia

2

What an odd duck!

Well, the drydown is definitely reminiscent of some of the other Imaginary Authors base notes. I've seen reviews saying lipstick, face powder, old paper, glue, playdough.... I can smell all of those which is typical for orris-centered fragrances. Dry smelling like warm wax and dust. Candles left in a wooden drawer. I mean, it's interesting but I don't see wanting to walk around smelling like paper dust.

11/08/2025

1.5Scent 6Longevity 5Sillage

getrobo
20 Reviews

getrobo

2

and you may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful orris

about me: 30s, introverted, nonbinary (perceived fem), working in medical

source: 1.2mL sample, mercari
year: unknown
current season: autumn, early afternoon
priming method: none
hydration level: moderate
masked: no

wet: oh my god this is so gross what the hell. it smells like paint or crayons or something, i have no idea what the hell this is. ive never had anything smell like this on me before.

dry: more of the same. oh my god, im so close to scrubbing but this is the third frag ive tried today and i NEED something to work. apparently this is what other people perceive as a "play-doh" scent and while it's been a long time since i encountered said material it makes sense as a descriptor.

1 hour in: less bad. not a scrubber but it's not good. not getting any of the expected smokiness from the lapsang souchong or woodiness from the sandalwood, like this just is nothing but weird maybe-orris-or-something. i have enjoyed a wide variety of iris and orris scents but i cant find any sort of resemblance to Bois d'Iris or Salle Blanche or She Was an Anomaly, just a weird unidentifiable artificial paint/play-doh scent. i fervently sought this out primarily on the strength of a fragrantica review i no longer have access to (having deleted my account with great vehemence) and i feel like i have been lied to.

4 hours in: unbelievably, this has actually started to resemble Bois d'Iris. it's not enough to redeem the entire experience, but i have caught myself taking sniffs that were almost approaching pleasant. it still has that tinge of paint/play-doh underneath, but at least there's a bit of something natural and identifiably iris to salvage the situation. still no tea or sandalwood nuances.

6 hours in: gone. thank god.

verdict: swap
gender impression: unisex(?)
office-friendly: no
crowd-pleaser: no
full-size candidate: absolutely not

12/14/2023

9.5Scent 5Longevity 4Sillage

Emto
7 Reviews

Emto

2

Gone too soon

Though I find the performance mediocre at best, this scent is a love for me.

It's getting up early on a rainy morning to read in a comfy chair before you have to start your day. There's the signature IA musty-ness - a nuance of dusty attic in an old house. The tea is earthy, bitter, smoking, and grounded. Floating over it is orris that announces itself as shortbread cookies: buttery, flaky, dense, rich. Sandalwood is present as a sweet creaminess that lingers among moss in the drydown. This is the most comforting scent I own, and I bring it out exclusively for cold and rainy days.

Unfortunately, the longevity is seriously lacking. It becomes a skin scent after an hour or two.

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