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Xeroxietue – :
I normally don’t do a review on a fragrance unless I have a good amount of it. And I only have a sample size of this scent. But, with that being said, I love this one that much that i thought I would review it anyways.
Slow Explosions opens up with a lovely leather, saffron and apple opening. The Leather isn’t your skanky kind. It is more along the lines of a suede leather if I am too be completely honest with you all. After a few minutes, an introduction of Saffron, cashmeran and rose come into play giving this fragrance a spicy, floral and musky nuance.
The fragrance doesn’t smell at all like a womens rose fragrance. But, I think the usage of rose is needed to break up the thickness of the leather and saffron. Along with the Cashmeran giving the fragrance this soft muskyness.
My favorite part of this fragrance is the base because you get a very nice benzoin note creeping in. I think the benzoin gives this fragrance a seductiveness. But, also a nice resinous quality that I think is absolutely spectacular.
I really love the smell of this fragrance. But, it does not last on my skin all that long. I am getting 4 hours. But, it has a nice projection for 2 of those 4 hours.
I want to thank Josh for creating such a beautiful fragrance. I really do get images of a spice market with freshly cut green apples around when I smell this fragrance. I can’t wait to be able to get a full bottle. I think it will become one of my absolute favorite fragrances.
ssg-76 – :
I have to admit, I do not like this one. The apple, rose and saffron combo come off like the opening to Across Sands by MMM which I do not like. Quite nauseating actually. It smells like formaldehyde and makes me think back to the biology days of highschool. A pass for me.
rusbiv – :
This is a sweet, dusty combination. Perhaps it’s my own scent memories that drew me to wearing it on a day when I was trying to clean off my bookshelves, and the scent ended up reminded me of cruising used book stores, recalling leather-bound books and sweet-paper. Slow Explosions is familiar, but the specific combination makes it slightly unfamiliar. The leather pushed against the fruity/floral apple, with hints of rose. The synthetic amber/benzoin/saffron notes are a little intense for me and cheapen whatever interesting combination the fruits/florals are doing to the leather. Decent sillage and very good longevity.
It’s a fun sample and I’ll probably keep playing with it, however, I don’t think it’s doing enough interesting work on my skin to warrant a full bottle. Something like a 6.5 or 7 out of 10.
npi698intitytek – :
I love this scent. I get a blast of saffron, apple, and leather that’s linear for the most part but does seem to improve with time. Funny, on of my coworkers is from India and she asked me what I was wearing; she told me it reminds her of the bazaar with spices… So I guess the Airport Night Market note was dead on lol. She also told me that those scents caused her a headache lol. so that wasn’t good… but she said that Slow Explosions was tolerable… being in the actual bazaar the spices are MUCH more intense and headache inducing for sensitive noses.
Call me a jerk, but her having a sensitive nose doesn’t bother me lol. I could bathe in this stuff – SO good.
Sem364 – :
Sour rose, lots of leather and saffron which come off smelling like oud. I actually like this one. But the leather/oud note is putting me off a little. there’s not enough rose in here.
Boys_Tm – :
I actually kind of like this. Not sure I like it enough for a full bottle, however.
Apple cider and leather. Roses.
karkushaAA – :
The unique offerings from the House are wonderful and I recommended every serious perfumista to try the whole line.
Slow Explosions is a match strike into rich honey and precious woods. Is it a sandalwood or oud note perhaps going on here? (Others mention leather, I do pick it, faintly.)
Bit too eager to leave my review and too soon to comment further but, yeah, this is damm good. (Reminds me of Thierry Mugler’s Miroir des Voluptuse) which I own too.
Josh Meyers is a true artist.
LOVE the offerings from IA.
Hacitchic – :
My review is more of a straight up appraisal than a poetic ode to Slow Explosions…but it’s deserving of them. The review below mine hits it pretty much spot on, the opening is a hell of a saffron note and nothing slow about that explosion, to my nose. It’s rough, raw and rubbery, stinging the nose but imparting a beautiful earthy, expensive and unique smell that only saffron can. I don’t understand why I love saffron so much? It’s not really what I would describe as a ‘nice’ smell, it’s complex and hard to get along with but narcotically enchanting and addictive. What is clever about Slow explosions is it’s kinda cool and transparent yet with some hot, oriental bite. Then as it settles the acidic cider/apple note pokes out it’s head and we start to get a gentle, wafting rose, which is reminiscent of something like a Dior Ambre nuit type rose note. The mid section becomes pot pouri, not in a bad sense but took me back to a shop I used to go in as a child, dry rose petals and sandalwood. It’s then a smooth landing in the drydown, cashmerian and soft leather and still hints of the saffron.
Performance is okay but nothing phenomenal, I can still smell it after 6 hours but very faintly. So….. Great composition, nice journey and an interesting scent but after all that…I still don’t reckon I’d wear it. Josh Meyer never fails to create interest.
messi 10 – :
This is gorgeous.
A strike of a sulfur match, then a sip of mulled cider. An autumn crocus blooms from fallen leaves.
A lost-n-found sweater with leather elbow patches, soft enough to wear on bare skin, and as it warms to the body, traces of the rosewater worn by the previous owner drift from the wool.
press – :
Among all the little niche houses, Imaginary Authors is one of my favorite. I love everything about this house. The concept, the artistry, the illustrations, the originality and of course the perfumes. Slow Explosions is a very spicy and modern leather with a strong personnality and sillage.
invoilbom – :
A quirky yet wearable take on the floral-fruity leather genre. It opens loudly with a strong blast of spicy saffron, dark leather and a delicate kiss of smoke, courtesy of the benzoin. The tangy, metallic apple note softens the opening with a refreshing lightness, but that soon subsides in favour of a warm rose and leather accord that lasts well into the dry down. The performance is amazing – huge projection within the first couple of hours, and very good longevity. This is heady stuff.
I don’t find Slow Explosions to be overly hip or intellectual – but I do get where such comments are coming from. While Slow Explosions is undoubtedly a very good contemporary oriental, it lacks emotional potency and leaves me strangely unmoved. Worth trying, but perhaps too aloof for those like myself who prefer their orientals to be warm and emotionally enveloping.
blesswowforever – :
lovely smoky drydown to this, would certainly wear it, will keep eyes and ears open for a bargain as it’s quite pricey .
Вардан – :
همان گلد لدر آتلیه کولون که زعفرانی شده
تا 50 درصد شباهت دارد
دلنشین، خاص و با پخش و دوام بالا
———–
Scent & Qualiy: 8/10
Longevity: 8/10
Sillage: 8/10
Creativity & Uniqueness: 8/10
Affordability: 4/10
———–
Overall: 7.2/10
Arkashe30 – :
This scent is a perfect example of “Wait and see.” It opens to a rather harsh and loud leather accord (I’ve smelled better) with an interesting very faint fruit-floral light note (the apple). The leather-saffron with cashmere note suffuses the air around in a two foot cloud for about an hour with the apple-flower note hugging the skin. It does not appeal to me much in the first hour, and is easy to dismiss.
I am someone who likes rose, though not soliflore rose scents, but more complex combinations, and in the second and subsequent hours, the leather-saffron-cashmere softens considerably to allow a really lovely rose to peek through. The scent essentially becomes quite rosine with woods, a bit of the cashmeran lingering with the rose, to culminate in a “woodsy-‘hint-‘o’-incense” rose. The scent is a pleasant change from the frequently combined “patch & rose.”
The initial silage is robust, but dies down quickly into just above a skin-scent, with moderate longevity. It is in the afterglow a sexy and pleasant scent, FB worthy, if one can get past that first blast of harsh leather. I like leathers, but this one smells synthetic and rough. I think timing is important with this one.
qtb961Unlogrere – :
bitter apple, rose, and dusty leather. on a somewhat generic-feeling, late-90s-ish masculine cologne base. i didn’t like this at all.
Вова57 – :
The sexiest leather scent I’ve ever sniffed. Good gracious. NSFW. Opens with a blast of Italian leather, then a sweetish rose-apple accord, and wrapped in a blanket of peppery saffron. Wow.
ivital2007 – :
Slow Explosions has a beautiful start. After the initial spray of SE I was all smiles and could not stop smelling my wrist. There is something about the apple and leather combination that always grabs my attention. The way the sweet and sour apple note latches onto the leather, opens it up, smooths out the rough edges, adding to its beauty, without dominating it, that is just majestic.
Unfortunately, 3 hours in the rose appears, and it is not as kind as the apple. The rose dominates the entire scent, overtaking all other notes, until all I get is a strong rose with all other notes pushed to the side. Being a guy that is not a fan of dominant rose, my heart broke at this stage of the fragrance.
I get moderate projection and good longevity on my skin. I considered this to be unisex for the first 3 hours, after the rose shows up this becomes a very feminine scent to me.
oleg-1 – :
At first I was like “the jek is this?” lol…once the fragrance starts to developed I appreciate its uniqueness. Definitely the most unique fragrance in my collection. It might get you a good or bad compliments but it will get you notice for sure!!lol This beauty is a Saffron bomb! I prefer this for winter since it is…
Long lasting and heavy sillage on my skin!!
388 – :
At first spray, a monolithically strong saffron and leather bomb which announces its presence to everyone within a three metre radius. Around the ten minute mark, the apple note hops in, creating a metallic vibe which clears the air a bit. Dries down to a softer rosy benzoin on me. Brings to mind industrial art installations with hipsters gathered en masse trying to outdo each other in the avant garde sartorial stakes. An interesting experience. Clever, kinda bombastic and loud, ultimately way too hip for me but something I’m glad I’ve smelled.I’ll leave them to it and tiptoe back to my preferred Meyer’s scents!
LolkaSon – :
I love this one! It’s natural layered ambiance is a bonfire in a forest clearing! I’m enamored with most Josh Meyer creations. He is one of the most inspired, creative perfumers of our times. His scents resonate with our collective scent memories, and have an emotional depth not found in many others . . . like the smell of campfires! The most elemental and evolutionary smell. Burning wood with its flickering light and burning embers is synonymous for warmth, protection, and conviviality. Meyer has captured this experience in Slow Explosions, with all the natural nuances of the real thing.
Having accents like leather and cashmeran, it has the feeling of basking in the reflected heat. Saffron adds a dry, spicy, colorful glow, with a fresh apple note giving the mix a gorgeous outdoor aroma. The drydown is the clearing after the fire, with a refreshing green breeze of the sweetest air. The smell of the outdoors, crisp apples in the fall. Euphoria for me! Excellent sillage and longevity. Sprayed it on my hair, and could still smell it 2 days later on my pillow! A fall perfume favorite!
COLD_MACHINE – :
Don’t let the name fool you. This has no smoke, fire or heat at all. Going through my box of “meh” samples I came across this- and glad I did. Had to do a double take and re-read the label with glasses on. I thought I was smelling an oud, and I liked it. Checking the notes here I see it’s not oud, but cashmeran and benzoin. Up front Slow Explosions is as bracing as a wave of arctic air from Canada. It’s medicinal, clean and for some reason, made me think of rain. I like Imaginary Authors as a brand, and this makes me like them even more. Contemplating a full bottle.
mabill – :
This is a very interesting fragrance as it shifts from one set of notes to the other, at least for me. That being leather and apple changing up with saffron, benzoin and a bit of rose. It is a strange sensation as the leathery apple gives me a masculine feel, but once the resinous flower mix comes in, it goes a bit feminine. Those two mixes interchange as the fragrance goes through its lifespan. It is definitely a nice one, however that is just for the person wearing it, it has great artistic value rather than a huge compliment factor. Even though it got a bit hyped in FragComm, I find that Imaginary Authors do have better offerings.
dvadcatshestn – :
This is a very creative fragrance. The blend is really well done and the scent has an artsy feel. The mix of notes is really interesting…
The apple blends great with the soft leather and then there is also the saffron which rounds up the composition beautifully.
Really nice, versatile scent with moderate performance.
ExTenZ1 – :
It’s a very pleasant apple/saffron fragrance with some rose and leather. A grown up fragrance with apple as the main attraction. It doesn’t change much except that the apple fades back too quickly for me but the rose is very lovely in this composition.
Moderate silage and longevity.
moibertik – :
I actually find this fragrance very disappointing – not because it is unpleasant, but more because it really lacks the novelty that I’ve come to expect from this house. In fact, I would argue that this fragrance is simply a re-packaging of 2015’s “An Air of Despair” with the addition of a subtle, fruity rose note. The two fragrances are so similar that I’d almost consider one a flanker of the other. Why an otherwise innovative house would release two such similar fragrances is beyond me – hence the disappointment.
Just as with “An Air of Despair”, this fragrance opens with a big, dusty – and rather sterile – saffron note that most would liken to a suede leather. There’s a boozy/fruity rose note hovering beneath the giant saffron opening, and the base is a nondescript woody accord. And that’s it. I actually thought “An Air of Despair” was a rather novel take on making a super-minimal fragrance – it was basically saffron and cedar, with very little adornment. But again, I feel like they just threw a synthetic rose note (and maybe a dose of ambroxan) into the mix and re-released it as a new fragrance. Yes, the notes list cashmeran and benzoin rather than cedar as basenotes, but the effect is pretty much the same. It still smells kinda nice, but it’s completely redundant for those of us who own “An Air of Despair”.
I really like a few of the fragrances from this house, but “Slow Explosions” is an odd release. I might argue that it subtracts from – rather than adds to – the overall appeal of the Imaginary Authors line-up.
aleks-shapoval0 – :
Isteresting, but not an easy fragrance to wear, in my opinion.
egr18 – :
It starts out sharp and very leathery (+synth saffron), then slowly warms up and sweetens. In the interview he said apple is not really an intended note, it just so happens to appear so he added it to the list–I think it’s when the sharp saffron-leather transitions to the warm floral heart, you get the effect of something tart, sweet, and fruity, but I wouldn’t call it apple.
In terms of the name, I interpret as: After the initial explosion (opening), something else is cooking up waiting to explode (yet never happens, hence “slow”)
I find it quite nice and definitely in the top 3 of his creations.
jfn252Unlogrere – :
I held off trying this for ages, mainly because I have enough IMs, but also, I really like (and own) Air Of Despair anyway, and, Slow Explosions is perhaps my least favouritely-named creation of theirs, it just makes me think of people farting in baths.
Actually a pleasing smell all the same, quite wearable in public, friendly, apple juice suede. It doesn’t compell me to purchase it currently, though.
igmion65 – :
This is a confusing scent to me. Looking at the packaging and the name, I was expecting something warm. And “Slow” Explosions? Hardly! There is nothing slow about this. The instant you spray it on it’s like a slap to the face, cold and biting like someone unsheathing a shiny silver knife. It smells more like chemicals that belong under the kitchen sink than a fragrance to put on the skin. For me the dominant note is definitely apple, but it’s not any sort of apple that I’ve smelled in a perfume before. It is synthetic and acidic. The other vibe I get from this is something like Pine-Sol. Another reviewer mentioned that it smells a bit like sparklers, and I can see that as well. It’s a very unnatural smell, to say the least. As it dries down, it becomes less sharp and more woody/leathery, though it still carries that bizarre cleaning product aroma. Once the fragrance is all but gone, you can actually smell something like a natural apple, but it’s strictly a skin scent and hard to detect even then.
I understand that Imaginary Authors try to tell a story with their scents. Some of them I enjoy, others I do not. However, what I find so strange about this particular scent is that the story does not match the name of the scent or even the packaging. There is no warmth to Slow Explosions. I don’t understand its story. This is not to say it is not a story- it certainly is. And one that I think a bold soul could wear with pride. (And of course, skin chemistry may make this smell quite different on such a soul!) For me though, this is a pass. It is not so bad that I felt like I needed to scrub it off- in fact, it was a very interesting journey, albeit unexpected. I just don’t think this one was meant for me.
serega171 – :
starts with a huge leather blast (lovely, actually) much like cognoscenti’s no 16 — and ends like eau d’italie’s paestum rose (rose and incense.) nice, if not terribly original.
arinavirte – :
fragrance is not for people that love designer houses. This is for the one that appreciate the art of perfumery. I have never smelled nothing like this before it is not the scent that you are buying you are buying the reaction that you would get from other people when you’re wearing it. I sprayed this perfume in a open area A co-worker came around about two minutes later and went crazy trying to find what the hell is that I’m smelling so if you’re looking to the Intrigue somebody and dare to be different this is one you should try but please sample.
siciliec – :
My best advice is to view this as a statement fragrance. I don’t think it’s going to be something that is completely enjoyable in the sense that it smells wonderful – but more the fact that it’s incredibly unique and intriguing. My best comparison is that smell of a sparkler or used firework – maybe that’s where the name slow explosions comes from? At any rate, it’s enjoyable because it’s unique and not off-putting. It could be something you reach for over and over – just because you love it for what it is. Good, weird and right up my alley.
edit – 3 hours in the rose becomes more dominant for me. it seems to take the edge away from the saffron – I actually like the earlier stages better, but it does retain it’s overall unique feeling – and besides the rose popping a little more, seems to stay fairly linear.
kirilll_centurion – :
A wonderfully wearable saffron fragrance with notes of rose, apple and smoky leather. It lasts about six hours on my skin. The sillage is amazing, but never heavy. Unisex, yes but more masculine to my nose. The men I know love it.
vernyk – :
Slow Explosions is a great release from IA. Opens with a combo of saffron and apple. Bright and playful opening that changes with the entrance of rose and benzoin. The dry down is leather, rose and some soft woods . Amazing right? It’s a great scent! Similar to An Air of Despair but way better. Performance is crazy good, more than 8 hr on my skin and sillage is average. I could place it top 5 from the IA collection.
4 out of 5
oxigen – :
Imaginary Authors Slow Explosions is a continuation of the story begun by An Air of Despair, a saffron bomb limited edition summer fragrance launched in 2015. Slow Explosions features the same signature note of saffron and adds another signature note, one I’ve longed to see used in this house, of rose. However, apart from the saffron and rose stars there are a handful of other supporting notes that stand out on their own and contribute to a rather unique mix. Specifically, apple comes out a lot on my skin, and the perfumer speaks to this specifically in an interview. I also get a little leather and benzoin. So the mix overall is unusual but pleasantly-blended, an unexpected treat coming mainly from the versatility of the saffron.
Performance is good,not as much of a beast as Cape Heartache, Memoirs of a Trespasser, or A City on Fire but still good for an EDP.
I recommend watching the YouTube video on Looking Feeling Smelling Great with the perfumer, Josh Meyer, for more insight.
Not the very best of the house (my favorites are still Cape Heartache and Every Storm a Serenade) but this is perhaps his most unique and surely one I’ll be buying a full bottle of at some point.
8 out of 10
ninel – :
If you are at all familiar with IA, you know the usual drill. If not, you’re in for insanely creative combinations of notes, brilliant names and imaginative backstories. You’re also in for unique, thrilling scents. If you were fortunate enough to have gotten your mitts on some of IA’s limited edition An Air of Despair, it’s a bit like that, but better. It’s AAOD stripped of its fussy bits and fleshed out. I didn’t much care for AAOD, but LOVE this. Here you get an almost “cool” patchouli and rose opening, despite the lack of patchouli in the notes. I’d say it’s similar to the patchouli in Histoires des Parfums’ 1826 (which I lurrrve). It settles into this leathery, almost suede-like heart. It feels incredibly soothing, relaxed, and like a good pair of jeans. You know the ones. They always fit right, make you look good, are comfortable and give you confidence. That’s Slow Explosions.