Description
Claude LeCoq published his first book, The Soft Lawn, in 1916 while still attending Princeton University. A controversial portrait of adolescent upper-class rebellion in New England, the coming-of-age story follows Hampton Perry, a charmingly snotty college tennis champ who, after years of having everything handed to him on a silver platter, finds himself handing it all back.
A little known fact about the author: Claude LeCoq wore only seersucker suits, known in that era as the wardrobe of the poor, and it was his gallant presence at high society dinners and prestigious sporting events that brought the fabric into popularity among the affluent in the ’20s.
Linden blossom, Laurel & Ivy leaves, Vetiver, Oakmoss, Fresh Tennis balls, Clay Court. The Soft Lawn was launched in 2012. The nose behind this fragrance is Josh Meyer.
Occaliect – :
A sour opening with lemon/lime and lots of green notes. 15 minutes in and the sour citrus is nicely combined with sweet notes; some vetiver appears with a grassy aspect. It’s a pleasant warm weather scent.
6.5/10
guzelshaid – :
I pulled this one out tonight! Sits quite linear with me, which is fine! Smells mostly green and I get this dill vibe. I say this has moderate longevity, and decent sillage.
6-7/10
lilimol – :
Michelle1234567 is such a negative Nancy… you seem to dislike ALL of the imaginary scents… why even give feedback when it doesn’t seem to be critical? Geez.
Winston – :
Some mention Calone; others mention cucumbers and cut grass. Yes. This is a brightly realistic cut of green grass after mowing the lawn on a warm spring or summer day, a lush wetness, playing with Linden blossom. There is also a tea or “tannin” like note in there somewhere.
I play tennis and I guess this has a tennis ball note–but I really think that’s just the power of suggestion–mostly grass, green,cucumber/linden with a twist of lemon-lime warmed by a sweet note. It’s almost like a drink, some kind of gin-like tonic. Its drydown is a bit powdery–not violet powder, but a musky green powder.
Now the downside is that after 15 minutes, and depending on application, this turns into a cool green mess of aroma chemicals, slightly reminiscent of Tide and the like. It has that chemical-cleanliness that I abhor. The green grass is fun, albeit short-lived, and the clean Calone aquatic green wash of scent is sure to please some, a sort of watercolor amorphously yellow-green and tennis-ball hued, but I don’t think this is what I’ll be wearing when the weather turns warmer.
Not a scrubber, but not all that interesting. Fine for spring and summer, low-to-moderate silage and longevity and perfectly unisex. Appropriate for office wear, but not really a seductive scent. If this was a body spray, it’d be just fine for after a workout.
yakimov – :
Today, I received a parcel from Josh Meyer himself! Included with my order of Memoirs of a Trespasser, were 3 samples and the Soft Lawn has my full attention.
I usually steer widely around ‘green’ fragrances and who would think that tennis balls, clay courts and cut grass could possibly make a nice perfume? BUT IT DOES! It’s really soft as the name implies but projects nicely on a hot day for which I think this fragrance is intended for.
No, it’s not for cool months or evenings but a wonderful day perfume and totally unisex, although I think it steers toward women more than men. Don’t be too quick to judge this one on first application. Let it settle. Trust me here please!
A really unusual floral.
I like it a lot. Could indeed become ‘a love’! Very unique offerings from this wonderful House.
They intrigue me! Thank you Josh Meyer!
sokolov0093 – :
This smells exactly, and I mean EXACTLY like hot, wet, fresh cut grass.
The opening is more bright and sweet but then it turns so grassy very quickly, then the drydown has lots of vetiver – I guess the grass ‘dries out’.
To me this is hyperrealistic.
Can NOT fathom how this is supposed to be similar to OdLR Something Blue, which I have and is not even REMOTELY close. That one is cold and floral.
All in all – I dont mind this – I think it would be nicer on a man though.
Editing to add: longevity is good – at least 6 hours. Projection about average.
Stygo – :
Linden blossoms and greens. 🙂
I LOVE Linden blossoms… not so much the ‘calone’ and soured greens that accompany these, which actually resemble cucumber more than grass. While the latter is potentially owing to my chemistry, linden fragrances still call to me and are fun to test!
Another in this same group would be Oscar de la Renta Something Blue, which to me smells related. Of the two, I prefer Something Blue as being a touch more feminine and wearable.
Interesting, though not the most unusual or delightful from this house.
sasok07 – :
I get a big blast of cucumber at first. Also, I’m not sure what a tennis ball smells like. Had a dog as a kid and have played tennis more than a handful of times throughout life but I don’t recall the smell in any significant way. Anyway…
This one seems to get most of its ‘strangeness’ out of the way within 30 min or so. Then its all about the fresh cut grass, green notes, and powdery notes (of which i’m not a fan). That said, it reminds me of having allergies and I’m out. I will enjoy the sample I have for the occasional sniff and ponder…
I like Imaginary Authors’ frags. Many are more ‘art’ than something to wear to work or the bar or anything like that. I think that’s important to take into consideration w/ this house. Regardless of my opinion though, the quality and imagination – excuse the pun – are top notch in all their offerings.
Illummifofe – :
On me, The Soft Lawn is really nice–if not quite my scent style being green and fresh–and extremely wearable; I don’t get much of the tennis ball note. Instead of weird or avant garde, it’s actually grassy and softly herbaceous. The trouble is, it smells a heck of a lot like this Bath and Body Works scent my mom uses, clover and aloe or something, and is pretty lacking in anything that would set it apart in some way, so for me it’s not worth seeking out at the IA price point.
aliediuddigip – :
I have been owning this fragrance for quite a while and it still astonishes me how people are heavily influenced by the marketing, i.e. the tennis ball note in this case.
You see, perfumes are just like any other product, the creators wish to distinguish them by adding something funky that people can talk about…the more discussion, the better.
Many fragrances are marketed this way and people more often than not fall for the wrapping/labelling/positioning if you like and end up smelling the tennis ball, while this is just a green vetivery linden blossom!
I bet if fragrances were sampled without labels, we would have very different reviews but hey ho this is 21st century.
AlisaS – :
Hahaha! Any perfume inspired by “a charmingly snotty college tennis champ”, and which inspires such academic reviews by our members here, was a must for me! Not to mention it has a starring note of tennis ball! The most amazing of all . . . it does not disappoint! It’s green, happy feeling of casual summer past times is sheer delight! Josh Meyer accomplishes his mantra of “scent as art and art as provocation” with this linden blossom hybrid accord that is fresh and memorable. Oakmoss is very noticable, along with ivy, balancing out the sweetness, and then there’s that ball! Makes me smile just to contemplate! A perfume for Jay Gatsby if there ever was one!
vadvik – :
I am a huge fan of green scents in general, so I had high hopes for this one. On the first spray, I was immediately impressed. Green notes of all sorts bombarding my nose in a pleasant manner.
But 5 minutes later I smelled like a pickle. I generally dislike when reviewers mention specific supposed unpleasant scents in reviews, but I just have to here.
To its credit, after an hour into the dry down I get the moss and ivy, more typical green accords, and they are pleasant.
I commend Imaginary Authors for brining affordable indie/niche fragrances to the market, but this is a pass for me.
Hanskern – :
Very nice, soft, fragrant imagery comes to mind when wearing the Soft Lawn. That sounds pretty funny actually…I feel like Pistachio Disguisey in one of the worst films ever made, the Master of Disguise. In this horrific film, Pistachio, played by Dana Carvey disguises himself as a section of lawn at one point…so he’s wearing lawn. Today, I’m wearing the Soft Lawn, but it is infinitely better than Pistachio’s lawn…that he’s wearing…
Okay, anyway, this fragrance is actually quite enjoyable. The listed notes intrigued me greatly. I love green scents, and this definitely has them. The lime blossom is quite strong in the opening and is one of my favorite parts of this fragrance.
This wears well, is unique, and has very good longevity and sillage. I’d like to get a bottle.
HicHaUpesaH – :
Total vetiver scent, herbaceous and green
Mi_EvroShipping – :
A tennis balls accord? That would be a mix of linden and lime blossom with vetiver and lemon.
Kamykak2 – :
I thought I would hate this one (I’m not much of a green guy, I like my citruses), but upon first sniff I definitely changed my mind. This is so lovely, the linden blossom, ivy and actual tennis balls mix very well. Best way to describe this one is ‘spring in a bottle’ as it gives off a freshly cut yet already dried grass smell. Definitely a unisex scent, very inoffensive, great for casual or even sporty (tennis in mind) occasions. Do try it, it might become one of your signature spring scents.
exovagala – :
This is very nice. So fresh, warm and green. Initially I get lots of linden blossom and oak moss which are backed up by the vetiver and laurel. After a short while the tennis ball becomes more evident. Wherever this lawn is the sun is shining on it.
It is most definitely unisex and one to wear in warm weather.
Moderate silage and longevity.
sotvictor – :
I’m loving The Soft Lawn. I can’t stop smelling myself!
I get the lime from the linden blossom, some vetiver and a bit of oak moss. I’m not overly familiar with what tennis balls smell like, so I can’t attest to that note…
Fresh, green, citrus and a little woody.
whisper4 – :
Although not listed, I’m ready to bet there’s Benzoin in here. 🙂
There’s something about the combination of Vetiver x Benzoin, that brings out a ‘tennis ball’ accord for me. First noted this in Euphorium Brooklyn’s “Usar”, and also found the same in Carven’s “Carven Vetiver” (the modern opaque green bottle).
Carven is a dry, bordering-on-brittle vetiver on me. There’s some marked similarities with The Soft Lawn, with the latter being slightly more green & unisex– possibly due to the linden blossom.
An absolute delight — I can see The Soft Lawn being a year-around fragrance for me!
Nigth Woolf – :
This is my first venture into Indie Niche Fragrance
I was pleasantly surprised by this beautiful chypre!
It’s color is green and it does indeed, as so many of the reviewers have noted, smell of soft green lawn.
It has that freshly mowed lawn smell.
It smells of grass.
It’s linear and does not throw out too much of it’s own scent but it has just enough of it for you to enjoy.
The oak moss and vetiver are the big players in my opinion.
A lime blossom citrusy scent mixes and mingles with ivy and laurels.
That made up chemical note of tennis ball intrigues me.
I don’t pick up on any tennis ball or “golf club” grass scent.
The composition of this green grassy fragrance transports me to the campus of an East Coast University in the United States.
It smells of well manicured lawns outside those old Victorian buildings in some college campuses.
My daughter Karen went to Wellesley and I visited her there and this fragrance takes me back there.
A sophisticated unisex green chypre scent
It’s not easy to pull off but it seems like it would be better on an older man, a college Professor, or perhaps a golf player.
On a woman it would smell more like No. 19 by Chanel.
It has very little in the feminine department other than that linden blossom
Nonetheless it’s green, a bit citrusy, leafy, aromatic, and very mossy.
This does not remind me of any other fragrance although at times it has a slight “Scherrer” type of scent.
I recommend this fragrance as an intro to chypres
Vini22 – :
Now before I get further into the review I will give a little background into myself and the backdrop of my days when I first discovered The Soft Lawn. I am a commercial lobster fisherman on the Maine coast and I captain my own fishing vessel. When I recieved the TSL sample, it was late May/early June, which is an odd time in eastern Maine on the coast. Some days are chilly with strong winds coming off the Atlantic. Some days feel like summer. We joke in Maine that one can experience all 4 seasons in one week. Lobstermen like myself are getting geared up for the season at this time. Rigging up new traps, painting buoys, fathoming out rope for warps (buoy lines), repairing traps, boat repairs/finishing touches, & taking loads of traps to the shore to set. I recieved the sample on one of the days that leaned towards summer. It was warm and pleasant. There was the taste of summer in the air and I was in my trap shop (my garage where I do my gear work/buoy painting). So I quickly sprayed TSL on a the back of my hand as I took a break from rigging up new lobster traps. Instantly I felt as if I had been transported to Bar Harbor/Mount Desert Island 35 minutes away. BH/MDI is one of Maine’s premier tourist areas. An island on the Maine coast where many famous and prominent people and families have summer mansions and homes. The infamous Rockefeller family have a sprawling summer mansion here. The island is home to many lobster fishermen and boasts a decent size fleet. MDI gives anyone who summers there the authentic view of Maine and it’s beauty. The Soft Lawn smells of a Maine coast summer. It also gives the wearer a feel of comfort and the laid back summer days. It isn’t a typical summer aquatic. It is green and lush. The tennis ball notes blends perfectly. The story of The Soft Lawn speaks of a New England summer where the writer spends time on a large estate of a wealthy individual in the 1920s. The Soft Lawn nails it’s intention 120%. As I caught whiffs of TSL I felt like a distinguished guest at the original Rockefeller summer mansion on MDI in the 1920s. I could picture the fashion the guests would be wearing, the taste of expensive drinks they would sip to cool off, the sense of accomplishment & granduer that would accompany being a master of the universe and rubbing elbows with America’s elite, all the awhile the sense of relaxation that one would feel as they spend the weekend away from the corporate boardrooms of the city. I can picture the Rolls Royce’s and other luxury vehicles driven by chauffers. I can smell the greens of summer and hear the distant roar of wooden commercial fishing boats gliding thru the water as they sail between lobster buoys. All in all, The Soft Lawn is the olfactory version of The Great Gasby with coastal New England as the backdrop. Just pure magic. I have yet to find scents that paint such a vivid portrait in my mind as The Soft Lawn and the entire IA line.
The Soft Lawn performs well in it’s Eau de Parfum concentration. It is not cloying or overpowing. It is the type of scent that wouldn’t be offensive even if it was louder. I get generous whiffs for 5 to 6 hours and the fragrance remains on my skin for 12 to 14 hours.
The presentation of TSL is almost as magical as the scent it’s self. I bought a 50ml and the bottle came in a well designed box that looks like a book which ofcourse completes the whole theme of the Imaginary Authors line. Upon opening the cover of the book you find your 50ml bottle. The artwork really fits this scent. Very 1920’s and it is perfect.
All in all, 5/5. This is a true gem. Most of us find a 1 or 2 scents in our time as fragrance enthusiaists that really speak to our souls. They create a sense of olfactive magic that we can’t begin to wrap our minds around. They take us on a journey to a place or to a time that we would much rather be than the reality of our current location or situation. I can honestly say The Soft Lawn is that scent for me.
Before I conclude this review I also want to note my thoughts on Josh Meyer, the mastermind and perfumer of the IA line. I e-mailed him to offer my thanks for creating such a magnificent example of fragrance art. I told him what this scent means to me and I offered my praises on his work. He e-mailed me back within a few hours to thank me for my kind words. Josh had kind words for me and even asked for my address so he could send me out a gift for my praises and thoughts on his work. Josh’s reply really sealed the deal for me on the Imaginary Author’s line. It’s quite obvious Imaginary Author’s is a fragrance house that cares about it’s customer base and the fragrance community as a whole. That’s more than I can say about most fragrance houses today. I encourage everyone who reads this review to atleast sample IA’s wonderfull line-up. You will not be disappointed.
sem93 – :
I really love the base of this perfume, meaning the whole green scent, smells very upper class. The tennis ball smell however, as unique and realistic as it is, puts me off buying a whole bottle as it is very prominent in the perfume and I simply wouldn’t want to smell like a tennis ball. The base is amazing though truly well blended – smells expensive like something they wear down at the country clubs. Lasts well too.
I have 100+ niche samples for swap within Europe – updated spreadsheet of samples on my profile, get in touch!
Ara – :
I have to commend The Soft Lawn for its boldness and originality. For a fragrance that literally has tennis balls as a note, I think this is actually very wearable. There is a bright, green-floral quality provided by the linden blossom, ivy, and bay leaves. The tennis ball note is definitely there, but it is not as obvious as you think it will be. It is more of a background note with rubbery/leather nuances. It kind of reminds me of the industrial-synthetic quality of Bvlgari Black, but done in a fresh, sporty way.
The Soft Lawn has great longevity and moderate sillage. It is creative and artistic yet still completely wearable and completely unisex. I would buy a bottle of it in a heartbeat, except that I live in an urban city and this fragrance feels very suburban and country-clubby, so it doesn’t really fit my environment. But this is still a fantastic fragrance and I am very impressed by it.
levko1 – :
I am suspicious—make that incredulous—of storytelling in perfumery. The minute the exposition or the plot commences, I tune out. Perfume evokes ideas and states, and reflects trains of thought that no other art-form can. Trying to make perfumes tell stories reminds me of those tiny dogs in circus acts, dressed in clown-like costumes, jumping up and down on their hind legs.
So why do I enjoy the perfume fictions of Imaginary Authors so much? Maybe it’s because they get at stories through imaginations of memory. Perhaps the stories are simply imagistic and evocative. The stories are a stepping-off point into the perfumes rather than a scented repetition of the plot and have a nostalgic quality– part pulp melodrama, part noir detective movie. They riff on very specific references and provide instant entry into the stories. A City on Fire is a deadpan, urban graphic novel. Bull’s Blood is a Hemingway-gestalt of ex-pat thrill-seeking and machismo. The Cobra and the Canary is equal parts On the Road and Thelma and Louise.
In the Imaginary Authors line, stories and perfumes are closely aligned, but Meyer smartly puts some breathing room between them. The plots have the pattern of conflict and consequence found in fables and use symbolism like campfire stories. They are synopses of archetypal stories and we recognize their meaning instantly even if the plots themselves are new to us.
The Soft Lawn is particularly ripe with suggestion. It imagines a prequel to JD Salinger’s own story of a young author’s successful first novel whose protagonist is a disaffected private school brat. The 1920s dashing, tennis-playing author of the fictional novel, Claude leCoq, is a play on 1920s dashing tennis player René Lacoste (Le Crocodile.)
The perfume itself recreates the image of a 1920s tennis club through scent. Green grass and leaves, old-fashioned rubber-soled tennis shoes, tennis balls and starched tennis whites. The note that ties it together is linden blossom. Its green-lemon side could garnish a post-match gin and tonic while its laundry powder musky side maintains the image of dazzling white tennis trousers and skirts. The Soft Lawn is the scent of a location, a scenario, a setting. It gives equal weight to the living (grass, flowers) and the inanimate (tennis balls and cotton fabric) and wears like an olfactory snapshot of post WW I New England WASP culture. Like an antiquated photo that captured a moment but has faded, The Soft Lawn starts strong and eventually ebbs to a faint but coherent reflection of its topnotes. It stays in your nose the way the echoing sounds of tennis balls being struck in the distance stays in your ear. The rhythm can be a pleasant background when your thoughts are elsewhere, but at others times the the clarity of the sound/scent captures your attention with its satisfying simplicity.
Despite the story surrounding the perfume, The Soft Lawn is evocative, not narrative. It doesn’t repeat the story you’ve already read. It creates an olfactory setting and puts you in a frame of mind to write yourself into the story, making you the author.
vitalez77 – :
Fragrance Review For The Soft Lawn Imaginary Authors
Notes: Lime Blossom Laurels Ivy Oak Moss Vetiver Tennis Ball
I was intrigued by the description of the book which sounds like a really good book if anyone had bothered to actually write it/publish it! This scent actually does match up with some of the summary for the “novel”. It evokes a green lawn, in a country club golf club. It smells just like the greenery in well manicured lawns in Victorian/turn of the century country manors and or those lawns where croquet is played. I was of course fascinated by the tennis ball note. However did they do it? As a child I remember actually putting my nose to tennis balls and smelling it. I liked what I smelled. It smells of rubber of course and that fuzzy greenness. It really does smell of a tennis ball when you put your nose to it. The fragrance has a linear progression and doesn’t become terribly complex or multi layered. It’s a green scent. Everything about it is green. The opening is lime blossom, which to me smells of lemon. It’s lemon flavored and a bit flowery similar to the lime blossom note in YVES SAINT LAURENT PARIS. But unlike Paris it is the only floral note in it. Linden blossom and lime are a very nice combination. The laurels and leaves are autumnal and smell like you’re at a park with leaves scattered on the ground. I could really smell the ivy and oak moss. It’s not quite a chypre because it’s lacking woods. It’s mostly green grass. It’s comforting, soothing. I love to spray it into the air at my townhouse in Gramercy Park Manhattan NYC. It also really smells amazing when layered with Bond perfume Gramercy Park. It’s not quite a forest. It’s a small park. Lots of green notes and that creatively recreated tennis ball scent. If you like what I’ve described check this out but being a niche fragrance you have to sample it first since not everyone responds well to green notes. Beautiful!
nicon – :
On me this is iced green tea loaded with linden honey and a hint of rubber from that tennis ball note. I almost feel like this would be a good late spring and summer substitute for Bvlgari Black.
Nara1mail1ru – :
Really nice & pleasant green earthy smell. Pretty accurate tennis ball smell, as odd as that sounds. Subtle and great for a casual spring day
ulala-la-la – :
When I was first introducing myself to the fragrances in the Imaginary Authors line several months ago, a couple of them struck me as generic and not really for me (Memoirs of a Trespasser and Air of Despair), while a few others really kept me coming back to my wrist for more and more whiffs to see how it aged on my skin. One of the interesting ones was The Soft Lawn.
The Soft Lawn is an “olfactory novel” published by Claude LeCoq in 1916, while he was attending Princeton. The novel summary goes like this: “A controversial portrait of adolescent upper-class rebellion in New England, the coming-of-age story follows Hampton Perry, a charmingly snotty college tennis champ who, after years of having everything handed to him on a silver platter, first himself handing it all back.” It contains notes of linden blossom, laurel and ivy leaves, vetiver, oakmoss, fresh tennis balls, and clay court. It was launched in 2012 by Josh Meyer.
Whereas most scents that might be suitable for warmer weather open with a citrus accord, or combination of accords, this doesn’t: I mostly get a bright green, grassy smell with some vetiver that’s not dirty at all. (Some people claim to smell lime, which is the linden blossom; on my skin this is a passing note and relatively faint.) This is the kind of scent that I love. However, there’s one major thing about it that continues to have me on the fence about whether I want a whole bottle or not – it’s the floral notes. I’ve smelled it on a few people, and while I always get the dominant grassiness, the longer it wears on everyone’s skin, the more white-floral it becomes. More specifically, it turns more and more into the laurel and ivy leaves which to my nose smells very much like wild honeysuckle.
The more I smell this, the more I’m beginning to like it. If you like grassy florals, and this might be one of the first ones that I found wasn’t too forwardly sweet and femme for me to actually enjoy, I think this would be ideal for spring and summer. It really does a superb job at narrating with just scent alone. You get the sense of wealthy tennis clubs, you can almost imagine Hampton Perry in his short, loose-fit tennis shorts belting out Serena Williams-like grunts of exertion. We all know how Josh Meyer loves his phantom notes. I suggest on future bottles that this list “white privilege” in the accords.
Even though Imaginary Authors recently did recently experience a design (i.e., downsizing in their bottles, from 60 ml to 50 ml, while jacking the price up $10), this is probably going to be in my top three when I start buying scents for the warmer weather. I complained about the price jack in one of the Facebook groups, and it slowly started to dawn on me – this is still under $2/ml for some of the most artistically inspired (and no, that doesn’t mean “novelty”) fragrances available in any fragrance market – such a refreshing delight. It’s definitely in my top two for the entire line.
Lepricon – :
I received a sample of The Soft Lawn. Green, green, green. Sweet grass, sweet astroturf. I smell something slightly artificial, but I don’t really get “tennis ball” or “clay court” AT ALL. It’s all just green and fresh on me. MAYBE a little citrus and vetiver as it dries. I’d also say it’s a little more “femme” than unisex on my skin. I like it; it’s pleasing. I don’t really feel like it’s especially unique or uncommon, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth wearing. Also, something about it does remind me of posh aristocrats, so there’s that. Tolly tip tup, good day.
Meqby588bedyWelty – :
Love it or hate it, this perfume is unique: tennis balls! Can it get more characteristic than that?! As its own motto goes: a fragrance to wear in weekends or anytime you wished it was a weekend. An unmistakable scent of cleanness and freshness together with classy sportiness on the nth power!
Sumarok – :
I find this tennis ball concept fascinating and mourn the fact that i am unlikely to ever be able to get me hands on this or any other of the scents by Imaginary Authors. (Live on the other side of the world now). My father who was an avid tennis player and my memories of boarding school sports days would make us both revel in this.
5tr4nn1k – :
Like the other Imaginary Authors warm-weather brethren I’ve tried (Falling Into the Sea and Mosaic), The Soft Lawn has a refreshing opening involving citrus, but it takes on a geener, grassier character, as its name suggests, likely provided by the moss and floral notes. The vetiver comes out a little bit more in the dry down. I could see this as easily being worn by a woman as a man, and while that versatility is often a plus and the mark of a great fragrance, it isn’t flattering enough on me for me to consider buying a bottle, even at IA’s generally-agreed-to-be-reasonable pricing.
Longevity is decent, not great for an EDP—almost a skin scent after 7.5 hours, a workout, and shower. Interesting in its own right like Falling Into the Sea and Mosaic, this warm-weather offering by IA is worth trying, but that’d be it for me.
5 out of 10
vladstil – :
I’ve been enjoying a spritz of this on my wrists on my days off because it’s just so fun! Men and women can wear this, of course, but to me, it’s best described as a wearable men’s summer cologne with a slight twist.
The “twist” comes from the tennis ball scent. Yes, I know, it’s kind of funny to see it on the notes list. XD But there absolutely is the scent of a brand new tennis ball, that faintly rubbery, hairy, and surprisingly pleasant smell. It mixes with a bright and beautiful lime blossom and some other green notes, like ivy, and a dash of woodiness. A lot of green fragrances give me headaches, but luckily, I can sniff this pretty thing with impunity.
As the day progresses, the vetiver and the oakmoss become more dominant and the brighter green notes fade slightly. This makes the scent slightly more “traditional,” though still very pleasant and not at all heavy. Every time I wear this, I get that full picture of an upper-middle-class man playing tennis at the country club.
The Soft Lawn has soft to moderate sillage and a lasting power of about 6-8 hours on my skin. It’s ideal for summer and spring days because of how light and fresh it is, but I could see somebody wearing it for all seasons or for work.
sasha-port – :
hahaha… it is a tennis ball yes. newly shiny tennis ball in a sunny day, i can smell a golf field too! grass, ivy, and linden as well. it’s fresh and springly seasoned fragrance. it is quite an inspiring creation.
IIAPA3uT – :
I don’t play tennis and wouldn’t recognize the smell of tennis ball if one whacked me in the face on the court. But oh, do I love this – and I thought it would not appeal to me at all, because “green” doesn’t usually appeal to me, but THIS DOES. It’s not boring-green.
I ordered the sample collection from Imaginary Authors mainly to sample this before buying a full bottle blindly for my tennis-obsessed sister. If this is what tennis balls smell like, I get why she’s obsessed. 🙂
EDIT: A few weeks later, I’m still drawn to this, which for me is saying something with thousands of samples in my possession. Thank you, tennis fanatics, for inspiring this scent (can you do a Thank You Note, Jimmy Fallon?). I keep going back to it. I think it’s time for a full bottle for myself too!
валентин4141 – :
Okay. Tennis Ball note… Hahaha. I have to try this.
loiuyhjk – :
As a long time tennis player I was pre-determined to like this fragrance and I didn’t let myself down. This is one of those scents that you could wear every day and enjoy it just the same. It isn’t totally unique, nor is it common. It performs and garners a few compliments here and there. I don’t ever see this one being in my top 10, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t thoroughly enjoyable.
My Score: 7.5
earlrvu09 – :
This review is based on their sample. It literary is Wimbledon tennis in a bottle. It smells like a tennis ball with a sweet-green undertone to it. I also get a hint of short-lived lime in the opening. It’s artistically unique, which I see is in the same vein as some of Demeter’s real object scents. Having said that, it’s actually quite pleasantly easy to wear. I don’t play tennis but I can see someone who does liking this. It has moderate projection and good longevity on my skin.
stepan120 – :
@shakatran it smells like a tennis ball lol. Weirdest thing ever and I’m not a fan at all. Everything else sounded and smelled good, but then that tennis ball hits you in the eye! Or the nose, actually.