The Soft Lawn

For anyone looking to know what the difference between the old one and the new one as I own a bottle of both. Old one: Heavy linden blossom opening, every bit green yet every bit sweet yellow floral. For me, intoxicating, but can be polarizing. Then it fades to join with green and damp ivy and laurel leaves. A beautiful deep and rich moss and earthy vetiver in the background. It all coming together to form this very damp, humid, green and yellow floral heavy fragrance with a distinct fresh tennis ball like accord in it as well, all while having this deep, thick, and earthy moss and vetiver. Evocative of a realistic feeling of a hot and humid evening while playing tennis at the local country club, a humidity felt through the fragrance. Amazing, but very different and harder to pull off casually, but better for formal in comparison to the new one. New one: Fresh grapefruit and linden blossom opening. A cooling green, yellow floral, and bright fresh citrus reminiscent of a spring or summers sunny morning. The increased freshness translates to the laurel, ivy, and laurel leaves, which is still the main bulk of the fragrance. The same distinct tennis ball like accord in this but a bit less off-putting with the freshness. The fragrance though is still with the deep moss and earthy vetiver, but the thick-ness of the earthy-ness is pulled way back while the moss stays the same. Read my review of that on its specific page for me to gush about it more (I'd love you), but TLDR this is super fresh, easy going, unique, and evocative. Same scene as before but much more romanticized with a morning freshness and because of that, a much easier reach day to day. Both get fairly good projection and performance off my skin. I have nearly worn through both bottles at this point and I am sad they no longer carry the old formula and so I've been delegating my spring/summer formal frags to others. If you dig the "humid" effect of the first one, check out "Paradisi" by Jorum Studio, has a similar effect and equally as good. 10/10. Both masterpieces.

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!

What a beautiful scent. At the opening, I can smell almost every note listed here. What stands out to me most is the tennis ball and oak moss undergirded by a dry vetiver and there’s just a hint of other green notes as well, including the lime and ivy. I’m not entirely sure what laurels smell like as this is my first dealing with them, but I do highly love this fragrance. IA makes such good scents. They’re not overly strong or offensive, and their longevity is just as good. IA scents aren’t overly expensive, either. They’re definitely worth what they cost. I’m not sure when I would wear this in terms of season, probably spring is my initial thought. The Soft Lawn dies down after several hours, as it just fades slowly over time. I will definitely add this to my purchase list.

This is such a unique fragrance. I mostly smell the grass (lawn), tennis ball, some small hints of vetiver a small hints of florals. The florals here are very soft, yellow florals, with touches of light circuses. It's a gorgeously balanced and smooth perfume that can definitely be fitting for any occasion. It's light, airy, clear and fresh. I agree with the other reviewers that it is very inoffensive and "safe". Overall, I am very impressed by its uniqueness. I am excited to compare it to Ds & Durga in the future as they have a perfume with a similar take. Those, who have tried both, which one do you prefer and why?

Wow this scent instantly gave me nostalgia. It’s 7:00 a.m., and I’m back in elementary school. The air is freezing cold, the grass still damp with dew. It smells like softly pressing your face to the bus window on a field trip morning (still half asleep), headed to an old strawberry farm we used to visit. a faint metallic note of morning air. It even reminds me of those early tennis sessions with my brother, the court still damp from last night’s rain. This one hits a deeper nostalgic register for me, more vivid, more personal than Steamed Rainbow by D.S. & Durga. 10/10 i warmly fell in love, and almost shed a tear

I bought a small bottle of this at the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago when the brand was still pretty new. I was taken by the branding and story and fell in love with the fresh, unique fragrance for its grassy, green scent. Perhaps not for everyone with a distinct fragrance that may even give dill pickle on the finish, I found it really fresh and fun for spring and summer.

I would say I will always have this in my collection, but sadly this has been discontinued. I guess, depending on how much the new formulation deviates from the old, I will always have that in my collection. A beautiful and unique,10/10, creation. As it does what no other fragrance does for me; making it irreplaceable. Good job, Imaginary Authors!

This fragrance is the soft, dirty cushion of an outdoor chair. It has grass clippings, bright yellow pollen that hits your upper sinuses, but also the spiciness of moss and the deep earthiness of sun-baked soil. It's really beautiful, very wearable and sort of vintage feeling. Very Lisbon Sisters clasping hands around their favorite tree.

I loathe the backstory. Please stop with the Gilded Age references, those people are awful. But the perfume is like walking in the arboretum after a rain. Fresh earth, wet grass, and flowers in the distance. Very outdoorsy and on the neutral side of feminine, not too floral, just enough to keep the grass from being too sharp.

This is one of my favorite fragrances of all time. I get the tennis balls, linden blossom, cut grass, and all the other green notes most people smell, but there's also that hint of IA's signature "dusty old book" scent that reminds me a lot of a secondhand book shop in my city. Truly a work of art.

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!

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

It's super cute, but pretty short-lived, you'll get a 5-minute blast of grass and then only traces of the greens close to skin.

a very light grassy scent, one that i coulf actually see myself wearing unlike other more rooty grass scents

A tennis balls accord? That would be a mix of linden and lime blossom with vetiver and lemon.

It's giving sunscreen, meadow, fresh breeze, laundry, daffodil.

I bought the travel spray of this years ago after trying it on in a store and falling in love fast. I wore it every now and then for a brief moment, but stopped not long after buying it and rarely came back to it. I think I designated it as something I could only wear in warm weather, outdoors, so it'd just sit on my shelf, unused. I was probably reading a lot of Luca Turin at the time, who seems to have a distaste for Imaginary Authors. I think I might've just taken his word as gospel on some level and decided this wasn't for me. Years later, I'm learning to trust my own judgment on scent, and that Luca Turin is full of shit sometimes. I decided to put the Soft Lawn on yesterday and reminisce about the brief, slightly idyllic period where I wore this a lot. I quickly remember what charmed me so much about it on my first wear. I love that it's so immediately a spring scent, but that it conveys this without relying on more obvious and immediately pleasant floral notes. This is warm and green in such a weird way that's clearly not trying to be realistic at all, but isn't totally off-putting. This is man-made spring, "nature" with all the grit stripped away, and the protection wealth provides from the outside world, which fits the backstory perfectly. It does smell like luxury to me, but not an inaccessible one— the kind you can at least pretend to inhabit and understand for a day by going to a tennis court. It's like an advertisement of old money, the slightest peek through the fence, a vivid picture that still keeps you at an arm's remove. I absolutely get that tennis ball feel from this, and I see why people pick up a weird pickle note from it. That might be what makes this hard to keep on after a few hours, because this perfume clings to my skin for dear life. I could still smell trails of it maybe a full 12 hours after spraying it on. After a few hours, it becomes clear that it isn't really going to evolve beyond that tennis ball / pickle zone, and it gets a little stale. I do think that slightly sour dryness strengthens the backstory of a growing discomfort with the trappings of wealth, and why someone within that world might decide to walk away from them. It kinda makes me wish it were a real book! Despite the Soft Lawn testing my patience a little, I do still like it and definitely don't regret buying it. It's an extremely unique and confident perfume, and it's a shame to hear that the 2021 reformulation seems to be shying away from that. The fierce longevity of the original makes it a dream for anyone who smells it and thinks, god, I'd love to smell like this all day . This will give you a huge bang for your buck, and I admire Imaginary Authors for making the luxury of niche perfume so accessible. It's interesting and kind of endearing that a perfume about wealth would be so affordable and long lasting. The full size bottle is an even better value, so it's actually really easy to justify purchasing this— or at least it would be, if they still sold this version. I am more than a little curious to see how the reformulation compares, so maybe I'll try a side by side comparison someday.

For me, the marketing behind a perfume has always been an important part of the experience: of course, the scent is the main thing, but I'm aware that my perception of it can be influenced a lot by seeing (or rather smelling) it in the light of the surrounding storytelling: how it's named, how it looks, the mood or history it's supposed to convey. And I don't mind this influence at all: a good marketing campaign or a suggestive name can make a good experience out of a mediocre scent, or add extra enchantment to a good one. In that context, it's no surprise that I'm a fan the Imaginary Authors house, which has this whole thing as its very core. I have three full bottles of theirs already in my collection, and more decants; and this Soft Lawn might just be added to that list. As with the others, I have to admit I'm not 100% sure that I would have really liked this scent without the backstory, although I think I would: it's green and fresh and slightly sweetened by soft blossoms, a simple and very pleasant spring and summer fragrance, the kind that always lifts my mood. Totally unisex as well, and with average longevity and projection - just the way I like them. But it's the extra layer of depth that's added by that wonderful name and the corresponding imaginary novel that lifts it to wishlist status; although I never would have guessed the "tennisball" accord in a million years without being told it's there, I can easily buy that it is, and being transported whenever I smell it to that soft lawn a hundred years ago, lush and full of beautiful young rich people, certainly makes boring my office days a lot more enjoyable.

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.

Vacillating between like and love with this. The best of all the IA perfume line that I've tried to date. Like most of their scents, it stands out, it's individualistic. But unlike most of their other scents (on me), it is not so overpowering a narrative to be worn. I suppose, what they set out to do - to tell a story with fragrance - they achieved. But sometimes that renders them rather inaccessible for the daily user. (you: "Hey, I'm telling *my* story here!" perfume: "SHUT UP AND LISTEN, BUB!" -- a certain synchronous synergy is needed to coalesce the narratives). I'm still glad they did it. This whole line up is a tremendous experience of possibilities. And I've learned that, while few of them suit me, they tend to be incredible perfumes on men - and maybe a woman with the right chemistry for it. I longed for a number of these, and some thousand-eyed angel swooped out of the stormy heavens and bequeathed them onto me - a boxed set of 8. It was a carousel of wonder mingled when with the essence of said comrade, but left to my own devices, I feel shallow in them, like an indie musician who wears non-prescription glasses for effect. The Soft Lawn is the best. You can smell the tennis balls & fresh cut grass. I wear it when I want to be a Heather. Or when the aroma of country club is incongruous enough to be funny.

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.

The backstory fits this fragrance perfectly! The scent of wet, cut grass is what I pick up immediately when I first spray this, but it then quickly dries down and develops into a sweet green scent that lasts for a while. The vetiver and oakmoss notes follow later, rounding out the sweetness, and settle the fragrance down to pleasant, lightly fresh and earthy scent. While this is labelled unisex, and can absolutely be worn by everyone, I do think it leans just a tad more towards women, at least on me. The green sweetness lasts for a while, and is mostly what I'm able to smell during the day. I do think it's a great summer option for men, though, as the earthiness of this scent grounds the sweetness a bit! I think this is going to be the one green scent that I keep, as I'm almost addicted to smelling this. Greener fragrances don't really "fit" who I am as a person, but there's something different with The Soft Lawn, and I honestly think it's the backstory. There's a weird juxtaposition between the sweet greens, fresh spiciness, and the earthiness of this fragrance, which on its own could be confusing, but paired with the story behind it, it becomes a truly unique scent that I don't want to let go of.

I bought a sample because the concept of perfume that smells like tennis balls seemed like the funniest thing in the universe to me at the time. In my defense, I had been anesthetized earlier in the day for dental surgery and was extremely loopy. While I like the scent, I don’t find it particularly wearable. I’ll be damned if it doesn’t smell exactly like a yard after it’s been mowed. Takes you back to being young and your dad mowed the lawn on a summer Saturday morning, or going back to school with a window opened in early September while the landscape guys did the lawn. It’s very green and fresh- so much so that it might make you sneeze if you have a grass allergy! I don’t really get anything particularly tennis-ball-like, but there is a rubbery smell in the dry down that I think is the tennis ball accord. It’s unique, but definitely seems like it’s more intended to be appreciated, rather than actually worn. If you do intend to wear it, it is about average performance- four or five hours, moderate silage. It’s quite unisex.

This is a charming green fragrance, mostly with the honeyed sweetness of linden blossom (which may be the source for the dill-like scent a few people smell--though it is only a very faint part of the smell) and the richness of ivy, blending with the vetiver and the oakmoss. This is less like the smell of the tennis courts of the Ivy League than it is the wet lawns of the English countryside; it's a pretty, flowery green smell. The tennis balls that reviewers say they smell in this (more than any other note!) are almost certainly fantasy--there's nothing in here that smells of either rubber or felt. The perfumer for Imaginary Authors, Josh Meyer, likes to list fantasy ingredients in his ingredients to evoke the stories behind his fragrances, and this is one of those. But it shows the power of the imagination involved in determining scent just how many reviewers swear they smell actual tennis balls in this.

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.

The opening is a strong yellow floral. I usually stay away from strong florals, but these yellow ones are really pleasant and fresh, not overly sweet and nauseating. There is something sharp and bitter in it that I cannot identify, maybe grapefruit? Sadly, I cannot smell the grass. I was super disappointed not to smell the tennis balls, but now sometimes I kind of do? Maybe I need to wear it a few more times until it will really click. My BF said it is very masculine and smells like some axe sports deodorant. I don't get that at all, but I agree that it would be amazing for sports, especially outdoorsy ones.

This one surprised me. I anticipated it smelling much more fresh and medicinal/clean and I'm relieved at how earthy it is. Something about it reminds me of fishing with my dad as a kid, like putting the rubber lures on the line while sitting in the wet mud among the dandelions and forsythia. The camphor gives it a slight bug-spray note. If you told me this was a scent from Lush I'd believe you. It's sort of vaguely in the vein of Grass and Shade. I didn't expect all that nature from the marketing. I like it but can understand why it's divisive.

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!

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.

Of the IA lineup, The Soft Lawn is a bit of an outlier, having none of that coconut/marshmallow/toasty/resinous coocoonishness that I've found in the others I've sampled from the collection. There is nothing warm and comforting about it- it's cool and sporty, structured like a classic bro cologne, but just tart/effervescent enough to be true unisex. Lots of skeptics in the reviews, but I do smell fresh rubber. This fragrance wears 100% linear with moderate projection on my skin.

I get the tennis ball reference. The opening was grassy, a bit synthetic, clean with hints of incense and citrus. Dry down smoky and savory but fresh and sweet at the same time. The more I think about it the more connection to the tennis ball I get, but maybe it's just in my imagination?;) It lasted on me for about 9h, but stayed rather close to the skin. Can't really find myself wearing it for any occasion, it's unique and interesting for sure, I'm just not the target audience.

This came as a little "emergency bottle" with another IA purchase and that .5ml bottle is the ideal size for this type of fragrance. I just can't justify spending that kind of money on something like this. It smells exactly like what you would expect. And while pleasant I can't see how or why you would wear this. I can't even imagine how you would layer something like this. Wish they made this into a candle...

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

Starts out very nice and green (fresh, not sharp), but like others have mentioned, it slowly sours as it dries down, creating an unpleasant middle stage. I think it's still very wearable, but the base accord in that phase reminds me of chemicals such as chlorine. Thankfully, that isn't the final drydown. The final drydown is quite nice and fresh.

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.

This is such a lovely, pleasant fragrance. Seems to capture the mellow, lackadaisical vibe of a Saturday afternoon. It's charming, effortless, and doesn't make any bold statements. The Soft Lawn knows what it's about. I can see where some folx get the dill note, but luckily this doesn't swerve in that direction for me.

Wow! This smells just like a grass tennis court! Fresh, earthy, and slightly rubbery. It’s so original and aromatic. And yes, it smells a bit like tennis balls, fresh out of the tin. But it also kind of reminds me of a cologne or an aftershave, in a very nice way. Wonderfully unique.

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

It's giving fresh cut grass, bug spray, and citronella candles but in a way that slays? I've worn this in the spring on rainy days (would not recommend) and in summer during warm days (would recommend).

I like the crisp scent. Perfect for summer. I mainly get vetiver, and, linden, and, a touch of bay leaf. The other reviews have me curious about something. What precisely is the scent of a tennis ball?

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.

If the game Pikmin had a scent it would be similar to this, very green, floral, and synthetic. Yes you can smell the tennis ball, but its not as obvious as the breakdown would make it seem.

This is a really interesting fragrance. The linden blossom brightens the otherwise dry fragrance. It has the texture of a tennis court and a grassy greenness that i enjoy a lot!

so you watched challengers and now want the perfume version huh? (but seriously a very enjoyable scent that reminds me a bit of Sundrunk from Imaginary Authors as well)

like it for what it is an artistic perfume green bitter scent but unique not bad, i picture it a good sig scent for people who loves playing balls games

Smells like tennis courts, sweet grass and tennis balls in the best way possible. Very pleasant. I like it but nfbw for me. no dill water detected -

Mostly fresh yellow florals. A bit of grassiness and tennis balliness in the opening for me but it fades to pretty much just yellow florals.

Total vetiver scent, herbaceous and green

Testing blind the opening was clear green and fresh. There's a hint of spice as it dries down but more so I got the impression of pistachios for a bit but it didn't sit there's but kept morphing into a more earthy-bent version of itself. Very pleasant with an almost citrus rine element. Looking at the notes now I'm a little taken back... I get no 'tennis ball' but it's been quite a while since I've smelled a freah one. Are they scenting them now? This is far more fresh and natural smelling then what I would think a plastic ball would smell like. The other notes tell the story more so. The lime seems the most dominant, followed by the ivy, with the others adding character (including the 'ball' I guess). Unfortunately, the longevity was mild, and sat more as a very intimate skin scent after a few hours. I think one would have to over apply to get something more than 4 hrs. This makes it a bit tougher to go full bottle unless you are ok with such an intimate skin scent after a few hours. Lovely serve, would like a longer match!

Opens refreshingly green, like a tennis ball sliced through a mint leaf. The linden blossom avoids the usual floral traps—nothing sweet, powdery, or cloying. Just cool, clean air with ivy on the breeze. It had me hooked. But the drydown crashes the fantasy with a familiar face: Abercrombie Fierce. That sharp, synthetic swagger shows up and overstays its welcome. A real heartbreak, because the opening was almost perfect and had potential to be THE warm weather signature scent for me. On the plus side, two sprays lasts all day and will absolutely announce your presence on or off the court. MOVIE MATCH: Rushmore — quirky, preppy, and unexpectedly bro-y by the third act.