First Impressions – Imaginary Authors – A Whiff of Waffle Cone – As a child, one of my favourite summer weekend rituals was to line up with many of the other kids from the neighbourhood for the ice cream truck. The distinctive jingle of Greensleeves in the air, anticipation growing as the sound of Mr. Whippy drew ever closer. My ice cream of choice was always vanilla with a chocolate flake. Of course, the warm summer sun ensured the ice cream would always melt and go everywhere. But that was part of the fun. It was a welcome cooling treat after a morning of sport and a vital energising boost for the afternoon of adventure ahead.
So, even though I don’t have an especially sweet tooth (in culinary or fragrant terms), I still enjoy ice cream, and I was quite excited to try the 2020 Imaginary Author’s release, A Whiff of Waffle Cone, supposedly inspired by an ice cream shop. The shop in question is the Portland, Oregon store, Salt and Straw. I’ve never heard of the store, to be honest, but anything based on an ice cream store has to be good, right?
Unfortunately, the perfume doesn’t offer much in the way of waffle cone or ice cream. Nor does it bring on a wave of childhood nostalgia. Instead, there’s an overload of syrup and an odd Piney, smoky wood scent. I believe the woodiness comes from the amyris (West Indian sandalwood). The sort of sandalwood that screams scratchy and artificial. I’m not a fan, sadly.
The heavy reliance on maple syrup sweetness made me think of that horrible Bond No. 9, New Haarlem. Although, Whiff of Waffle Cone is much more muted and reminds me less of pancakes and more of burnt sugar. Gradually, vanillic traits come through, but my patience has melted by this stage. I expected something more creamy from an ice cream scent.
Imaginary Authors impressed me with Fox in the Flowerbed and In Love with Everything, but like most of their output, this release leaves me cold. A Whiff of Waffle Cone lasts approximately 5 hours on my skin before fading. The ice cream in this photo below lasted about 5 seconds.
What’s your favourite from the brand? Are you an ice cream lover? What’s your ice cream of choice?
Note: Bottle image from Fragrantica. Ice cream photos are my own—perfume tested from a sample I purchased.
Great childhood memories! And tks for the honest review, as this perfume has been hyped on social media. Beautiful pictures as always!
Thanks Tetê. I didn’t know this one was hyped. In any event, it wasn’t something I enjoyed very much. The ice cream however was a different story. Very enjoyable!
Now I want ice cream! My favorite is vanilla as well, although I also go for more adventurous flavors. Imaginary Authors also made edible perfumes to spray on ice cream for Salt and Straw, and because I live on the other side of the country and couldn’t try it in person, I wrote to both brands to ask questions related to wearing them as perfume and got no reply. (I did, however, get subscribed to Salt and Straw’s email list about a year later by doing that. Sigh.) So am glad that this one sounds like a no-FOMO as well.
Ah, now that you mention it, I think I remember reading about those edible perfumes. Annoying about the email subscription, though.
Ah, what a pity. I’ve heard so many good things about this one. For some reason, I feel like an ice cream looking at your delicious pics.
Haha. Cheers, Rich. Hope you get that ice cream!
That ice cream looks amazing!!! I’m a huge ice cream lover and while I do like vanilla I tend to seek out exotic and u usual flavors. I know I have tried a few fragrances from this brand but nothing inspired a full bottle purchase.
The ice cream was fantastic! Yes, I haven’t found a full bottle worthy one from the brand yet either unfortunately.
Ice cream is my weakness. I’m not keen on the syrups or sprinkles but any ice cream or ice cream dessert makes me very happy. A Whitby Fluffy Lemon Top* makes my hear sing.
Hyper sweet screechy perfumery like this makes me feel nauseous.
*Fluffy lemon tops are large cones of vanilla soft serve topped with tart soft serve lemon sorbet. They’re regional to the North East Coast of England & yes 4160Tuesdays do a lovely lemony scent named after it
I’m not fond of too much syrup or sprinkles either. That ice cream sounds fabulous indeed.
Interesting review Daniel, thanks v much. I’ve heard only good things about this one, but not had the chance to try it myself. Sounds like it may be for those with a sweet-tooth/nose only…
Cheers, Marcus. Yes, it’s one for the sweet tooth for sure. Let me know what you make of it, if you ever sample.
I think it smells very nice. As far as my favorite from the house, I prefer Saint Julep followed closely by Sundrunk.
I’m happy that it works for you, James. Saint Julep and Sundrunk are both excellent choices! Thank you very much for reading and commenting.