Untamable

***If you’re interested in buying a 90-95% full bottle, please message me. I still have the original book-themed packaging and am happy to ship within the US! I took out a small sample to keep, about 5-8mL. Trust me- there is enough juice left to last you YEARS!*** The strongest animalistic fragrance I own. I really wanted it to work for me, but sadly, on my skin, it just doesn’t work. My skin tends to pull fragrances into spicy territory and amplifies animalic notes, so this is just too strong on me with its cumin-animalic combo. This little cowgirl couldn’t stay on this bronco’s back. I’m not going to hate on this fragrance at all. It’s fascinating! It truly is untamable from open in to dry down, and it’s so strong that *one* spray will last you all day. I recommend spraying it low on the body... in fact, I spray on my lower legs and that gives me enough distance to actually enjoy it for what it is. I used to own a horse, and in the opening, I get strong horse, but not just any horse. This horse has been put through its paces and has worked up a lather. I can smell the leather, and it makes me think of an old, well-loved saddle that has had many applications of saddle soap and leather conditioner. Cumin is apparent but does take a second to develop. To me it really shines about three hours in- I gets hints of dry greens and indolic white flowers mixed with the eternally present animatic elements. Sadly for me, this is not a dusty or dry fragrance. There’s something that gives the fragrance a juicy quality, but the kind of juice I imagine would flow out of a cactus if you cut it.

First proper wearing of the latest release from Imaginary Authors, Untamable, a dry, semi-animalic, leather-led blend with notes of tonka resin, saguaro blossom, Texas yellow star, and cumin. It’s fittingly a bit spicy and floral, which keeps it from leaning too animalic, I dare say, somewhat less animalic than Bull’s Blood, its closest logical comp, in my opinion. Still it’s quite intense, the sort-of-dry, sueded leather rather sharply pairing with the smoother floral and spicy components, making for a nice ensemble, a pungent experience that’s not overdone, in my opinion, and I generally regard myself as pretty selective when it comes to leathers than lean animalic. I’d argue that Untamable is the line’s most daring fragrance since Whispered Myths and Bull’s Blood before, not entirely uncharted territory in perfumery but certainly in some respects it is very new for Imaginary Authors. I really like that despite its provocations, it feels sophisticated and balanced among its contributing accords and ideas. And even though I might find a sweeter leather easier to wear most of the time, I think Untamable is an awesome achievement, something I would wear occasionally, particularly with the approaching cooler weather. Untamable is in EDP concentration with the current standard brand pricing of $105/42 for 50/14ml, still an outstanding value in the current market and one that makes it possible to own so much of this storied house without breaking the bank, relative to other companies. 8 out of 10

i don't want to respond so directly to other reviews of this but i do think if the only thing you can come up with to describe the opening of untamable is "piss", maybe you just don't know what flowers smell like. it smells more like putting your nose directly into a flower lesser-known for its fragrance, maybe not fully in bloom just yet. utilitarian florals. up front i get what must be the animalic notes. i've not spent a lot of time around horses but certainly greater than zero. i would describe it as probably a pretty clean horse. some dust, some once-verdant underbrush, some sweat. as it dries a little bit more, the heaviness of that falls away and the dried florals linger more prominently along with the sweetness of sweat and sun. it does seem to project quite a lot. i haven't gone totally noseblind to it but as i sit with it i need to pull my arm closer to smell it but i doubt that would be the case for anyone near me, honestly. i agree with others in the reviews who say it might skew a little older. unfortunately, i don't think this one is wearable *for me*, despite my liking it quite a lot. if i smelled this on someone else, i'd be really into it i think. if you want an adventurous take on warm, spicy florals while still maintaining some lightness and movement, if any of that means anything to you, this could be a great scent for you.

Scorching sun, red dirt, horse hair, worn leather saddle, resinous chewing tobacco. It all comes together in what at first smells like deliciously warm and filthy vanilla, but quickly expands into a story as you take it in. This scent rings extremely masculine to me and those who I asked to sniff it on me. If testosterone had a scent, I imagine it would smell like this. Although given its "dirty vanilla" quality, it would certainly appeal to feminine wearers too. After testing this fragrance in store with only one spray per skin and arm, I was amazed at how long it lasted. The cowboy endures, immune to soap and laundry liquid. Took about two days to come off my skin, and on my coat, it remains strong even after a solid week. Only 50ml in the bottle, but I can see why, you'd only need about two sprays a week at most. I can understand what people mean when they refer to a "piss" smell, but in all honesty, I never thought of piss until I read the reviews here. It is, however, a dirty smell, the scent of sweat and saddle. Someone who's returned home after a long day's work under the scorching sun. But it's dirty in the most sophisticated and pleasant way. I am in love with the immortal cowboy.

🐎 Horse Sweat, Worn Saddle and the Final Shot 🌵 The hot air trembles over the bone-dry earth, and the thick, suffocating scent of a mount heated to its absolute limits immediately hits the nostrils. It is the pure, uncompromising, and physiological odor of a galloping animal, ruthlessly mingling with the tart aroma of sharp cumin and human sweat. I sit deep in a heavy saddle made of thick, raw leather that has absorbed wind, dust, and the scorching sun for years. With every powerful league of the steed, this old leather releases a deep, animalic, almost barnyard scent. The cactus patches passed in the gallop release their stuffy, nectarous sweetness for a fraction of a second, but there is no time to catch a breath. I catch up with him at the very edge of a dried-up canyon. The horse rears up, sending a dense cloud of desert dust and animal dirt into the air. I pull the trigger. The roar of the gunshot tears through the dead silence, and Harry The Black Stobe slumps from his saddle with a hollow thud straight into the dry sand. All that remains is smoke and the untamed, brutal aroma of the Wild West. Visual archive on TikTok / IG: @the.scent.files

Untamable is an apt description of this fragrance. On first spray I literally said outloud "Wild". This fragrance is undeniably animalic. When I first sprayed this fragrance I was excited to wear it. Then I became a little afraid. Once I decided to wear it to work, there was no coming back from this. I have never gotten more complaints with any other fragrance. I was told it smelled like dried urine and old musty clothes. One person was astonishingly correct and said that it smelled like horses in spring. He said he was like being in a horse stable and a mare peed on the floor. I was banned from being near him for the day. Another coworker said it smelled like racoon urine. I was also given the description of some wild animal. One person said it choked them when they smelled it. I absolutely love this fragrance. To me it smells strongly of indole and tonquitone. At first there is a beautiful sweet and soft floral/fruity smell. Then you smell the cumin and tonquitone. Once the cumin dries down you get a very strong indole smell that mixes with everything else. This is strong, artistic, unforgiving, and unforgettable.

The previous reviews make me wonder if they’ve ever smelled leather-centered fragrances before. This is BEAUTIFUL. I’ve been searching for an upscale (but not fussy) western-centered leather scent for years and found hope in wonderfully skanky ones like Boadicea “Complex”, IA’s own “Cobra and the Canary”, Smell Bent’s discontinued “Fashion”, Etat Libre’s “Tom of Finland” and “Rien.” But reduce the bite, add in more purse and open desert and you get “Untamable.” You get a golden hay-leather upon spritz followed swiftly by a small but indeterminate bouquet of florals. These aren’t juicy. Many people aren’t used to hay notes in scents, so it could be this that triggers them. The horse and bridle roll up at a fast trot (cumin, animatic notes, leather) and then stay through the length of the fragrance, but they’re equestrian- not mustangs. This smells like what I’d imagine Hermes could have wanted in purse perfumes back in the early days of the brand. It’s very unisex and wonderful for both day and night, white tee or dressed up. I’ve easily worn this on public transport and to dates and received compliments.

everyone who says this stinks is lying to you <3 i've been on the hunt for something that smells like the southwestern deserts where i grew up, and untamable doesn't have the parched-sunbaked-creosote-and-dust realism that i'm looking for, but it bottles up the *idea* of the american southwest like nothing i've ever smelled. it's like the olfactory equivalent of a mark maggiori painting. intoxicating, delicious, heady cumin and strong cactus florals and hot, sweet hay with a hint of musky horse undercurrent. none of the piss & balls stink that everyone else seems to pick up on. i think maybe you just have to have the right body chemistry for animalics to be able to wear this. but watch out: it's STRONG, the projection is immense, and it'll last through a shower. i apply it a full 12-24 hours before i'm gonna go somewhere to give it the chance to settle down. (personally, i think it smells best sprayed on clothing that's left to sit in a corner for 3 days before wearing.)

Absolutely filthy. Sweet like sweat and dirt and dehydrated piss fucking lord. I love it. The only leather I'd imagine smelling like this are beat to shit, needs replacing, chaps. An old friend of mine got lost in the desert riding his mules for over a week and this is just about what he smelled like at my doorstep. There is some dry, green, brush like florals blooming in here it's so comforting as a desert dweller. I really dislike cumin in fragrance but this musty, human, bodily facet it has is incredible. On open, so vividly, I see clumps of red dirt mud caked onto horse hooves and boots. It dries off quite a bit but retains some damp heat. Some sweaty, gross humidity that I find so alluring. Love love love. IA surprises me again. Also! Note of caution. This stuff projects like nothing I've tried in the past. I had to step out and away from the spot I sprayed it in for fear of choking. How fun is that.

I will defend this slightly gross perfume to my dying breath. Is it a bit too strong? Does it smell like you rolled in a lot of mud and a tiny bit of urine? Yes and yes, but it's got soul. It's like the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron in a bottle. The scent of freedom and hard work, as cheesy and patriotic as that sounds. At first you smell the leather, then the cactus a while later, and then it dries spicy. The cactus fruit is my favorite part, being something I don't smell often. It also resonates pretty far, while you need to be closer to smell the leather and spice. thesuperultra (a handful of reviews below this) put it perfectly; "it’s a very dirty horse fragrance and it’s not to be confused with cowboy. you’re getting the horse, the whole horse and nothing but the horse." And I LOVE being the horse. Neigh. 🐎

i have no idea what the people who say it smells awful are smelling, this is one of my favorite fragrances. and i've gotten compliments wearing this fragrance so i know it's not just me. it's sweet and vanilla-y without being overly so, and there are undertones of honey. it leans masculine and is definitely on the older side but it's tasteful, mature but not grandpa vibes. it is strong and very long lasting, one spray will last a full day easily and you can still smell it on the skin into the next day. for me this makes it a good value since you don't need to use much to get good coverage. it leans fall/winter to me but i think it is versatile enough to be a good year-round scent, and i would recommend it to anyone who likes a classic vintage scent, or anyone looking for a rich fragrance that's not too sweet.

Great scent, versatile, different - buying a bottle. It was that simple! 22/1/25 - I'll add a post-edit .... wore it to the supermarket, twice, in our Summer. Absolutely no problems, quite the contrary. Differentiating, statement making, but in a subtle, dare I say understated, and steadying way; without over the top animalics (care with the sprays of course). Don't bother leaving a review on this if you haven't experience in animalic scents, spent time with them, or aren't prepared to fess up to that first if you haven't. Love the interplay of spice and florals around that earthy , leather base. Grounding alternative to tobacco in the Autumn/Fall. POST EDIT - the more I wear this the more I agree with Patric's take, in his review, that this is in essence a floral expose. Well spotted. Incredible.

pungent, dusty, and extremely raunchy. starts powdery and spicy, and settled to a very animalistic skin scent that stuck to me for days. i showered twice, and was still smelling this on me after over 48 hours. the dry down is very musky and piss-adjacent, like a dirty horse stable that had been baking in the hot sun. it conjured memories of my time at girl scout camp, trefoil ranch in northern utah. i was transported to hiking to the stables on dirt roads, affixing the tackle and saddles, gossiping with my camp mates using made up names, and of course, riding the beautiful animal. i still don’t know if i love it, but it intrigues me enough that it is worth wresting with. this fragrance harnesses raw power, beauty, and disgust, and for that, it feels a very honest and apt homage to the horse.

I guess I'm lucky with how my skin chemistry works with this one? It was definitely more "pissy" on the paper tester but that also might be the alcohol + top notes to my nose. It didn't smell that pungent on my skin. I did one spray and it stayed close to my skin - after the immediate floral drydown, it settled into the leather and floral for an hour or two, and then it got to leather + tonka bean giving it a smell like sweet tobacco. I love it on me but after the reviews I made my partner double-check I wasn't just noseblind and Secretly Pissman all day... confirmed that I was safe, thankfully. This definitely feels like more of an "old cowboy" smell after the first couple hours. The dudes in your life who have strong opinions about denim and country music will like it.

I agree with the many reviews, it does smell like piss in the opening. There is a powdery sweetness from a distance. The animalic opening stays around for quite a while, as in several hours. It has tremendous longevity and the sillage is definitely strong. That said, the long dry down, as it begins to fade, the funk goes away and you are left with a very powdery floral sweetness that reminds me very much of Amouage Gold Man. I have to laugh though, I have a dried down spray on my left hand, and I sprayed Amouage Gold on my left forearm for comparison, and then a fresh spay of Untamable on my right hand. After smelling Gold and how similar it is to the dry down, I smelled the fresh spray of Untamable and the straight up piss smell was a shock! OMG. Lol.

everyone saying this smells like piss or whatever is so overdramatic, sorry 😭😭 another one i smelled in toronto and became obsessed with!! ordered a sample along with everything else they had to offer at the same and i still love it just as much as i did the first time i smelled it!! the floral notes and tonka help give what would possibly be a very stinky, dirty frag such a beautiful, sweet, well-balanced depth. i’ve been told this smells less like horses and more like grandma, which i love to hear. :)

To be honest the opening on Untamable could be a little off putting to some, but to me this is a fragrance that you really need to give that 15-20 minutes to settle down with that said the opening does have a sharp herbaceous and ammonia-like smell. When it dries down it's warm, spicy, very rich and musky. You'll get a slight woody undertone with herbaceous notes in the background. Overall I think it's a really nice masculine fragrance, with great longevity 12+ hours and moderate-strong sillage

Bro why are certain parties so pressed about this juice why is a brother full telling people to go to the doctors if they like it get a life fr are you not embarrassed 💀💀 For my part gawsh I love this to bits. Cumin doesn't read as entirely spicy or pissy to me; it's warm body that leans spicy. I do get some florals but it's light and not sweet. Weirdly a little powdery. Very leathery! Like if G&B Purple Suede rode into a dusty, sweaty sunset with its rough and tumble cowboy lover.

I've gone through the whole Imaginary Authors Collected Works set and this is the one that stuck in my mind the most. Animalic but in a very approachable way, floral, spicy, and musty - like the settling of dust from the trail at the end of a long day. Lasts and projects well, which is good because it's addictive - I keep going back to sniffing my wrists. Straight to the top of my shopping list from their collection, along with Cape Heartache and Every Storm A Serenade.

Oh wow. I didn’t think I was going to like this. The reviews didn’t sound like my cup of tea. But I love this house so I bought a sample. It’s delightful!!! It’s a very dry, honey-floral sitting on hay and I’m here for the almost creamy leather dry down!!! Very much an autumn scent. Can’t wait to wear it for all the fall festivities!! Another brilliant work of art by Josh Meyer. I will update about longevity tomorrow.