What surprises me about the reviews of this fragrance is how no one has mentioned how Japanese it is. Not in the Western sense, where Japanese associated notes are randomly thrown in like Hinoki, Sakura, Moss, etc.
This fragrance absolutely checks every box in the Japanese olfactory pallet. To me, this is an extremely light Fougere. If I had to make a mental image, Imagination would be a clear glass pane with the slightest green tint, freshly cleaned with a citrusy ginger spray . Although I’m not here to discuss each individual note, I will say to those curious, the tea aspect smells more like fresh green tea than black.
If you’ve ever been to Tokyo, this smells like the lobby of (my favorite) high end Tokyo hotel, small boutiques, and Ryokans. Fresh and herbaceous of the cleanest and most transparent quality. In my opinion, this is the quintessential Nihon fragrance for the Japanese audience, not for a foreigner looking for a Japanese themed scent. I think it would be a home run there.
Wearing it, I’m instantly transported back to Aoyama, alongside families, businessmen grabbing a quick bite, and trendy store clerks. Not the loud, rebellious, and tattooed lot of Shibuya- although I think the fragrance makes a tasteful juxtaposition with this type.
I’m describing myself a bit here, I imagine the person who wears this is a relaxed but refined young man, living alone in a ground floor apartment nestled in an alleyway of a busy Tokyo district. His apartment is small but organized and he tends to the many plants strung around his place and keeps everything clean. He plays indie folk on his acoustic guitar, and likes to watch the people go by. His life is simple and quiet, but he is content and happy to be a still and quiet observer of life flashing in front of him.
This is not the smell of imagination. It is the smell of acceptance of how insignificant and tiny one’s life is in the world but nonetheless joy and peace in simply existing. Imagination captures the soul of the observer, the rock that has watch the water flow down the same riverbed for a thousand years.
