There are some trendy niche perfume houses that simply do not work for me. I gave up on reviewing the Clue discovery set when I found that I tried three out of the five scents on offer and did not like any of them beyond an “it’s fine, I guess.” This was also basically my experience with Imaginary Authors, I think.
At this stage in learning how to smell stuff I don’t know that this says anything about these perfumes. It’s entirely possible that they’re doing something interesting in the wider perfume context that I can’t understand and don’t notice. Like if you somehow never saw a painting and then you saw a Van Gogh.
Marissa Zappas is definitely a trendy name; in addition to her own line (which is all I’m discussing here) she has collaborations elsewhere and even reconstructed a perfume of Elizabeth Taylor’s. (I also like this piece she wrote about Taylor.)
What I loved
Ching Shih
(Fragrantica / Parfumo / Basenotes)
Spices, Osmanthus, Orris, Incense, Gunpowder, Myrrh
This smelled exactly—and I mean exactly—like black tea when I spritzed it on and I was honestly shocked to find that “black tea” was not listed as a note. I think what creates that effect is the orris and the gunpowder, though it could also be the orris and the osmanthus. Anyway, I loved this. I loved loved loved this.
Most of the Marissa Zappas scents that worked for me have a “watercolor” kind of quality, and this one is no exception; it is balanced and muted without feeling dull or like everything’s blending together. I get the smoke, I get the orris, I even get the myrrh, but it’s all harmonious and nothing is shouting. Really beautiful. Far and away my favorite of this set. It feels like the earthy cousin of “L’Heure Bleu,” which is maybe one of the nicest things I can say about a perfume.