# Imaginary Authors — Bull's Blood > Bull's Blood is Josh Meyer's most notorious, most polarizing Imaginary Authors creation - a visceral animalic rose-patchouli built to evoke the sordid aftermath of a Spanish bullfight: metallic blood, ## Essence Bull's Blood is Josh Meyer's most notorious, most polarizing Imaginary Authors creation - a visceral animalic rose-patchouli built to evoke the sordid aftermath of a Spanish bullfight: metallic blood, dusty arena floor, sweat, tobacco, and fur-like costus root. It is widely described as the fragrance that made reviewers newly fear the patchouli-costus register. This entry covers the original 2012 formula, discontinued for roughly five years before a distinct 2023 "2nd Edition" relaunch that reworked the concept into something considerably tamer. ## Scent Profile The opening is loud and confrontational: a bright, metallic top note that's simultaneously dirty, quickly overtaken by dominant costus root and rose. Costus - a rarely used material with a wet-dog, animal-fur, oily-scalp facet - runs from start to finish and drives the fragrance's "sweaty scalp," barnyard, mothball, and manure associations. Alongside it sits a metallic, iron-and-blood-like accord (the fragrance's namesake "bull's blood" note), a Spanish rose that reads full-bodied and darkly sweet to some and trampled to others, tobacco (perceived variably as absent or as cigarillo smoke), black musk, and a dry, dusty, petrol-tinged leather that builds through the drydown. A persistent sour, almost red-wine tinge runs underneath. The arc is a challenging, feral first ten to fifteen minutes of mothballs, sawdust, and sweat, followed by a slow softening into a musky, patchouli-rose-leather base that many wearers describe as surprisingly creamy, even gorgeous. Costus, rose, metallic blood, and musk remain perceptible throughout, while tobacco is submerged and variable. Development is broadly linear in mood once past the opening, with the rose fading and a smoky, musky, leather finale taking over. ## Performance This is a powerful, long-lasting, high-sillage fragrance by wide agreement - wearers repeatedly describe it as loud enough that a single spray is plenty, with lasting power commonly cited around six to eight hours on skin and a scent trail that lingers on clothing well beyond that. The near-universal application advice is restraint: one spray, since both the animalic funk and the projection amplify generously with more. It is best suited to cold weather; several wearers report it becomes unbearable in summer heat. ## Wearing Context This is a cold-weather, evening, statement fragrance - explicitly described as date-night or "take the bull by the horns" wear, and firmly unsuited to summer or any close-quarters setting (office, crowded rooms) where an animalic, potentially sweaty projection would be unwelcome. It is genuinely unwearable in public for some noses and is best reserved for wearers who already love the animalic, "dirty" genre. Social perception is extreme and split down the middle: admirers read it as classy, confident, and sexy; detractors read it as a dying animal and reach for the shower. In practical terms, this is a connoisseur's art-fragrance rather than an everyday signature. ## Comparisons & DNA Frequently cited comparisons place it among hardcore animalics: Serge Lutens' Muscs Koublai Khan, Frederic Malle's Musc Ravageur, and Mazzolari's Lui, plus Givenchy Gentleman for the rose-with-danger angle (Bull's Blood reads as edgier and more dangerous). Etat Libre d'Orange's Vierges et Toreros comes up as a thematic bullfighting cousin, and Nina Ricci's Fille d'Eve is invoked by costus enthusiasts specifically. The broadest description is animalic rose-patchouli-leather built around a metallic blood conceit, with no designer-level dupe - it is deliberately fringe. The most useful comparison is internal: its own 2023 2nd Edition, widely treated as a tamer, more conventionally wearable "rose-patchouli-oud" reworking of the same idea. ## Reception This is one of the most divisive fragrances in the indie canon. Reaction among animalic-fragrance lovers skews appreciative to reverent, with reviews calling it a masterpiece and one of the most daring scents around; elsewhere, reaction runs to visceral pans describing it as smelling like mothballs or ruining the costus note entirely. Common praise centers on originality, storytelling, and a sense of balance within the brutality; common criticism centers on the costus funk, sourness, and general unwearability. Independent blog coverage largely splits down the same line: one review called it "smoky-floral, with sweet resiny notes blending with a dark rose scent" that develops sweat and a slightly fecal musk, concluding it smells good and interesting but recommending a pass for anyone who dislikes dirty fragrances. Another called it "one of the few truly human perfumes" the reviewer had worn, describing it as smelling like hair, skin, and blood - beautiful and emotional. This is emphatically not a safe blind buy; sample first. ## Versions & Reformulation Two distinct formulas share the name. The original 2012 version, covered here, was built on patchouli, Spanish rose, costus root, tobacco, black musk, and the "bull's blood" note, and was discontinued for about five years. The 2023 relaunch, Bull's Blood 2nd Edition, is described by the brand as an entirely new formula that dropped costus root and added geranium and sandalwood. General consensus treats the 2nd Edition as "less car crash and more perfume" - more accessible, with the metallic edge softened by geranium and a boosted hay-like tobacco quality, while retaining strong longevity and projection. A handful of retailer listings still describe the 2nd Edition as containing costus, but that appears to be outdated copy rather than the current formula. ## Acquisition Notes The discontinued original commanded roughly $85 for a 60 ml bottle at its 2014-era pricing and has since become a collector's grail, with vintage bottles trading at a premium on the secondary market - buy with caution if you're specifically chasing the original. The current in-market product is the 2023 2nd Edition, priced around $105 for 50 ml through the brand directly and authorized niche stockists, with samples and travel sizes available. All Imaginary Authors fragrances are formulated vegan. The main acquisition risk here is confusing the two editions, not counterfeiting. ## Notable Facts & Lore - Like every Imaginary Authors release, Bull's Blood is attributed to a fictional author - here a novelist raised in a Spanish bullfighting family whose lurid novella drew obscenity charges before he vanished as a fugitive. - Perfumer Josh Meyer has said Bull's Blood was the very first perfume he made for the concepts that would become Imaginary Authors, created with no real expectation that people would wear it - "perfume as art." - Sustained demand during its five-year discontinuation, including offers of large sums for old bottles, directly drove the 2023 relaunch. - The fragrance's bullfighting theme has generated ethical pushback in reader discussion threads objecting to the glorification of the corrida. - All Imaginary Authors fragrances, including this one, are formulated vegan.