Imaginary Authors: Portland's Self-Taught Perfumer Who Builds Each Scent Around a Fictional Book

Imaginary Authors presents its perfumes as fictional books, complete with invented authors, plots and illustrated packaging. Josh Meyer makes the fragrances; co-founder and creative director Ashod Simonian shapes the branding and illustrations.

Which Comes First, the Perfume or the Story?

In a July 2025 founder interview, Meyer describes leaving his job and learning materials while blending perfume in his basement. Simonian became the creative partner who brought the visual work into the brand.

Meyer says the perfume has historically come first. The pair smell it and discuss the memories or characters it suggests. There are exceptions: A Little Secret began with Simonian’s idea of cherry pie and diner coffee.

So the books are a way into the scents, not a recipe. Meyer also calls terms such as “stardust” fantasy notes: they describe a feeling, not an ingredient.

Cape Heartache: Conifers and Strawberry

Cape Heartache’s note list gives Douglas fir, pine resin, western hemlock, vanilla leaf and strawberry, alongside the images of old growth and mountain fog. It’s a Pacific Northwest forest with a strawberry in your pocket: resinous fir and pine, made sweet and a little smoky.

One wearer enjoys the strawberry balancing dark, rich woods. Another gets the strawberry and a campfire-like effect but misses the pine and fir they had wanted. A third likes the concept yet finds the strawberry too prominent for frequent wear.

If you want a straight pine perfume, this isn’t it. If you want a forest that feels like a memory, it is.

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A Whiff of Waffle Cone: The Gourmand Route

A Whiff of Waffle Cone, made with Salt & Straw, offers a very different introduction. The maker’s current notes include vanilla, salted caramel, Saigon cinnamon, heavy cream, sandalwood and orgeat, with “scoop shop” expressing the setting.

On the later version’s review page, one wearer makes it their winter scent for its warm caramel and cinnamon. A second, who got it in a discovery set, finds the maple-syrup impression far too sweet for their tastes.

It’s an ice-cream shop in Portland on a cold day: toasted cone, caramel and cinnamon, with orgeat’s almond sweetness. Not a light vanilla. The earlier release has a separate review history, so match the version.

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How to Explore the House

The brand’s sample-set collection includes The Complete Works and other selections. The full set is the best way in, because the books make it fun to compare.

Treat each scent as a separate choice. Enjoying Cape Heartache’s woods does not tell you whether you want Waffle Cone’s sweetness. Our signature-scent guide can help organise your impressions as you compare them.

For another house with music and place among its references, explore D.S. & Durga. Zoologist takes a different route through animal subjects and collaborating perfumers; the niche-house guide brings the options together.