In 2012, Josh Meyer and Ashod Simonian co-founded Imaginary Authors, a whimsical collection of eclectic scents that feature accords like “paperbacks,” “fresh tennis balls,” and “stardust.” Meyer, a self-taught perfumer, went from mixing scented elixirs in his basement to launching a brand that has resonated with millions of noses around the world. Simonian brings a varied creative background to the brand; his illustrations, which adorn every bottle, are part of what make Imaginary Authors so identifiable. We had a chance to sit down with the co-founders and ask our burning questions about their cult-favorite niche brand. Here’s how it went.
Ashod Simonian, left, and Josh Meyer
BNNYC: Your website says you view your fragrances like books, and there’s an overall literary theme going on. Let’s talk about that.
JM: We were inspired by books in the beginning.
AS: We would fall into these worlds – these stories around the perfumes. There was a moment where we thought, ‘should we make these inspired by real authors?’ Taking someone else’s creative work and trying to claim it as our own felt a little bit icky.
Ultimately, Imaginary Authors fragrances are meant to both conjure and create memories unique to each wearer, rather than evoke stories that have already been told. That’s where ‘imaginary’ comes in.
BNNYC: People’s tastes – especially when it comes to books – evolve over time, often shaped by life experience. Something that doesn’t resonate at first can later feel completely different. Do you think fragrance works the same way?
AS: I’m a little bit more of a music person. Music was my 20s and 30s and books have been my 40s and 50s. All of my favorite bands, I hated the first time I heard them. The first time I smelled fragrance, I thought the same thing. We get some pretty brutal reviews online; I’m happy to see them. I love that we make fragrances that are challenging – it’s a way to push someone a little bit further in their own journey.
JM: I wasn’t a perfume person either. When I was in high school, I boycotted them until I was in my mid 20s. I think to create and release something in this perfume landscape, it’s got to be distinctive and unique. That’s so much fun – to make something that’s not out there in the world.
BNNYC: Your mission is to create memories through fragrance. How do you think about the balance between your own storytelling and the wearer’s personal experiences?
JM: It’s inherent with any smell that you’re going to have fragrance memories – you can get triggered immediately. It can be a bad scent too, like changing a diaper. The goal is to specify where those memories can take you, and that’s where the storytelling gets engaged with the fragrance, where the art comes into play. That’s the fun part.
AS: I think of it as building a bridge. That’s where a lot of brands probably stop. I think of the work that I do like this: there’s a giant unknown canyon. We can build part of the journey for the user – but the end is up to them.
The magic, says Simonian, lies in the individuality of the wearer – they fill in the blanks (i.e. the rest of the bridge) with their own unique memories and life experiences.
BNNYC: When developing a new fragrance, what guides your creative process?
JM: It’s about finding a trio of ingredients that smell delicious. It has to be something I haven’t encountered in the market before that people haven’t gotten their nose on yet, both unique and wearable.
Meyer notes, though, “We would never release a perfume for people who want compliments.”
AS: I’m always surprised at the paths our fragrances take. The one thing is curiosity. It’s about peeling away the layers and getting a little bit deeper.
BNNYC: What are both of your favorite scent profiles and notes, specifically as they relate to your own fragrances?
AS: I grew up in California and lived in LA before I moved to Portland. Part of what drew me in were the trees and the forest: the rain, sitting in the cafe with the coffee beans roasting. I’m obsessed with really rich scents, whether that’s forest or coffee – darker, heavier vibes. Josh will soften that with something a little lighter – the perfect bite has a little sour, a little sweet, heaviness but not pure heaviness. I love that about his approach.
JM: I never really loved jasmine, but I sort of lightened and brightened it up with a tulip accord [see: Fox in the Flowerbed] that I made with something else entirely – and now I love it. I love the indole, the light brightness. Vetiver, too – I didn’t love it at first and I tried to make it something special. It’s exquisite.
BNNYC: What role does fragrance play in your personal everyday lives? Do you wear it daily?
JM: I’m always testing stuff. One of the ways I get to explore scent is on vacation – it’s always a great excuse to pick up something new from other brands. It also creates a scent memory for that vacation.
AS: My wife gets immediate migraines around fragrance – it’s unfortunate that she’s married to me. Our routines are clinical, in a way; she does a very light spray and walks through it. The joy of Imaginary Authors for my wife and I is that we have this bookshelf of fragrances. We ask ourselves, ‘What’s our mood for tonight?’ and we find something that matches that. That has truly been the thing that changed my mind about fragrance – this idea of having a whole bookshelf.
BNNYC: How have both of your relationships to scent in general changed since you started a perfume company?
JM: I’ve become more aware.
AS: I feel like for me it’s not just scent, it’s everything. I’m always checking out people’s style, always trying new flavors. I will 100% order the thing on the menu I’ve never had before over the comfort food.
BNNYC: Your fragrances contain some really original notes and accords. How do you come up with these?
JM: With fantasy notes, I really want them to translate what these raw materials are doing. Not everyone knows what labdanum smells like, so how do we get across what that note smells like? The fantasy notes help us do that in a fun way.
AS: The fantasy note is the last thing that comes. We’re in the world of the fragrance, and we know what it looks like. We think, ‘What does it conjure for us, what memories does it bring up?’
For example, their fragrance Sundrunk features a note of “first kiss,” which Simonian says is bubbly and effervescent, an orange zest note that feels like young love.
BNNYC: You have a very loyal following, and your fragrances clearly resonate with people. Are there any moments or stories from customers that have particularly moved you?
JM: It’s really special when people write us letters and get what we’re trying to portray – it feels like we’re connecting on a deep level.
AS: We got a video from a couple of their wedding vows – they were on the altar and were spraying Cape Heartache. That was the most important moment of their lives, halfway around the world.
Meyer and Simonian also shared that romance author Casey McQuiston selected two Imaginary Authors fragrances as signature scents for the characters in their book The Pairing, as a creative method during the writing process. “I had never thought of perfume working that way,” says Simonian.
Simonian closed the interview with a nod to the power a fragrance can hold, likening it to drag, an art form rooted in performance, self-expression, and storytelling through costume. In this case, that costume is not seen, but smelled.
“It’s a way to find confidence. It’s the act of wearing that makes you beautiful.”
