# Imaginary Authors — A City On Fire

> A City On Fire is Imaginary Authors' definitive smoke study: a dense, tar-forward cade-oil composition built around burnt match, dark berries, and resinous labdanum. Released in 2014 as an exclusive c

## Essence

A City On Fire is Imaginary Authors' definitive smoke study: a dense, tar-forward cade-oil composition built around burnt match, dark berries, and resinous labdanum. Released in 2014 as an exclusive collaboration with a Portland menswear boutique before joining the standard lineup, it wraps a noir, two-detectives backstory around a scent that wearers describe anywhere from "campfire masterpiece" to "burning tire." Perfumer Josh Meyer built it as a genuine smoke bomb rather than a polite, gourmand-adjacent take on the note, and it remains one of the house's most unapologetically avant-garde releases - a finalist for the 2015 Art and Olfaction Award.

## Scent Profile

The engine of the fragrance is cade oil, a brutal, balsamic, medicinal tar note that reads as smoke from something specific rather than abstract incense - closer to charred paper, burning leaves, or a struck match than a cozy hearth. A dose of woodsmoke dominates the first minutes, often carrying a cough-syrup, VapoRub-like undertone that some wearers find photorealistically like a house fire. This opening is the fragrance's most divisive moment: for fans it is thrillingly honest; for detractors it can read as genuinely unpleasant.

Spikenard's earthy, jade-toned aromatics and a mucky, leathered labdanum quickly temper the smoke's raw edge, while cardamom contributes an oily, dry-sweat spice that flares briefly before folding back into the resin. Dark berries add a sticky, jammy sweetness underneath, preventing the composition from reading as pure ash. Development from here is broadly linear - the sharp opening smoke steadily softens rather than pivoting through distinct movements.

The far drydown is quieter and cozier than the opening but still unmistakably smoky: warm resinous wood, leathered labdanum, and a lingering trace of berry sweetness. The overall arc reads as cardamom-spiced smoke drying to resinous labdanum and wood - intense and dark up top, warm and settled by the end.

## Performance

Longevity is very strong and projection runs hot in the first hour, enough that wearers are consistently advised to keep it to one or two sprays; a small minority reports the opposite experience of it fading faster than expected, but the dominant account is a heavy initial trail that settles into a persistent, hours-long smoky presence that clings to fabric even longer than skin. This is a cold-weather fragrance through and through, built for autumn and winter evenings rather than warm-weather wear.

## Wearing Context

This is an evening, after-dark fragrance, not an office or daytime scent: think a smoky bar, a scotch in hand, wandering an unfamiliar city late at night. It is marketed unisex but reads more often as masculine in practice, and it rewards wearers who already enjoy avant-garde, challenging niche work - if a bold desert-oud composition or a maximalist gourmand feels like too much, this one likely will too. It is emphatically not a crowd-pleasing "safe" pick, best worn by someone actively seeking a smoke-forward, noir-toned signature rather than a universally flattering scent.

## Comparisons & DNA

Comme des Garcons Black is the most frequently cited reference, sharing the dominant smoky-cade, dry-wood, incense-like atmosphere. Sonoma Scent Studio's Fireside Intense and Rouge Bunny Rouge's Tundra occupy similar tar-and-smoke territory, with A City On Fire generally read as sitting between the three in intensity. Slumberhouse's Vikt shares a wild, grassy darkness at the margins. Within the house itself, it is most often compared to Memoirs of a Trespasser, the brand's smoky-vanilla signature; A City On Fire is the more aromatic, herbal, single-minded sibling, without Memoirs' sweeter vanilla cushioning.

## Reception

Critical reception has been consistently strong: reviewers have praised it as an austere, smoldering, almost claustrophobic evocation of noir tension, and it earned a finalist nod at the 2015 Art and Olfaction Awards. Among everyday wearers the split is much starker - glowing "masterpiece" reactions sit alongside genuinely repelled ones that describe the opening as burning plastic, cigarette ash, or medicine-cabinet cough syrup.

What emerges is broad agreement that the fragrance is honestly, uncompromisingly executed rather than synthetic or thin - the disagreement is entirely about whether cade oil's raw tar-smoke character is something you want to wear at all. It is frequently cited as the release that convinced buyers to explore the rest of the Imaginary Authors line, a strong signal of quality even from wearers who personally find the note challenging.

## Versions & Reformulation

No reformulation is documented. A City On Fire began life in 2014 as a limited collaboration release in 30 ml and 60 ml sizes before being absorbed into the standard Imaginary Authors lineup at 50 ml, plus 14 ml and 2 ml travel and sample formats. The official note list uses "clearwood," a patchouli-derived material, in a slot that some retail listings render as "juniper" - a naming variance worth knowing about rather than a formula change.

## Acquisition Notes

The 50 ml eau de parfum is priced at $115 directly from the brand, with 14 ml and 2 ml formats available for those who want to test the note before committing - a sensible approach given how polarizing cade oil can be. It remains in regular production and is stocked by a handful of authorized niche retailers. Buy through the brand's own site or an authorized stockist rather than an unverified secondhand listing.

## Notable Facts & Lore

- The fragrance was originally developed as an exclusive collaboration with Machus, a Portland menswear boutique, before joining the standard Imaginary Authors lineup.
- Like every Imaginary Authors release, it comes wrapped in a fictional backstory - in this case a noir graphic novel about two matchmakers who witness a murder and become reluctant vigilantes.
- It was a finalist for the 2015 Art and Olfaction Award in the Artisan category.
- Perfumer Josh Meyer has described his overall aesthetic as "big large goopy oil paintings, thick, rich and heavy with materials," a description that fits this fragrance especially well.
- At least one buyer has said the scent was compelling enough to send them looking for the brand's printed short-story collection just to understand its inspiration.