So I got the discovery set for Imaginary Authors last year after seeing @Blake Merl’s reviews about them. I said I’d start the new year off right reviewing the discovery sets I’ve acquired and today starts this adventure. By the way, I love the story they built for each scent, which I am sharing as well. The Cobra and The Canary by Imaginary Authors is a Woody Spicy fragrance for women and men. The notes are: Lemon, Orris, Tobacco Flowers, Leather, Hay Fields & Asphalt. When a tip from a clairvoyant leads 23-year old Neal Orris to a rural Connecticut barn housing his deceased father’s secret obsession, a pristine 1964 Shelby Cobra Roadster, it is the getaway ticket he was desperately searching for. After liberating his best friend Ike from his dead-end job on the family farm, the two hit the open highway. Aiming for the Palm Springs race tracks, their journey is a blur of seedy motels, cool swimming pools, hot debutantes, cocktails, and cigarette smoke. Each stop finds the friends inventing new pseudonyms and personas for themselves, their innocent game hurtling into the depths of decadence and desolation.

Good morning Frag Fam and happy first Friday of the new year. We’re kicking it off with a serious deep freeze here in Chicago, the kind of cold that makes you reach for something bold, rich, and comforting before you even step outside. Wishing everyone a warm, blessed, and great-smelling start to the day. Today’s scent is Mohra by Lattafa, and I’m currently doing a side-by-side with Halfeti by Penhaligon’s. Initial thoughts right out of the gate… these two are very, very close. Mohra opens with that same dark, spicy richness and slightly resinous sweetness that instantly brings Halfeti to mind. There’s depth, warmth, and a smooth progression that feels far more upscale than the price would suggest. At this stage, Mohra is holding its own impressively, especially in this cold weather where it really shines and blooms off the skin. I’ll spend more time with both and come back with a full, detailed comparison later, but early impressions are that Lattafa did something special here. Definitely one to keep on your radar. Stay warm, Frag Fam.