Reviewing every scent from Immortal Perfumes
A deep dive into the Seattle indie brand.
At the start of every January, Immortal runs their annual sample sale, in which you can buy their entire collection for only $1 per sample. It’s one of the best deals I’ve ever come across, and I really commend the perfumer, Jen Siems, for the amount of work it must be to pack and ship that many 1ml samples in such a short amount of time. Everybody clap for Jen.
Jen is also here on Substack, diving into perfume history and sharing her glittering wealth of knowledge (and her incredible collection). Go give her a follow!
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Immortal’s scents are all inspired by history, literature, and mythology. They have six collections in total, and I’ll be breaking down my reviews by collection. I’ll keep my reviews somewhat short, and I’ll be giving each scent a rating out of 5 stars. My thoughts and opinions are pretty wildly varying, and they’re all subjective (as is the case with all art). Favorites will be marked with a ❤️.
One thing I will note is that these are all oil-based perfumes, and there are a number of scents in their collection in which I pick up the carrier oil on the dry down. This tends to happen for me with oil-based indie houses that use fractionated coconut and jojoba oils as their carriers. It doesn’t smell bad, but its presence can obscure the notes of a fragrance enough to lower my overall rating. Your mileage may vary, so don’t take my word as gospel. (As of writing this, Immortal has started rolling out EDPs, which is super exciting!)
Let’s get into it:
Dead Writers
Dead Writers
Notes: Heliotrope, tobacco, vetiver, black tea, musk, vanilla, clove
Inspired by: Old libraries
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Starting off strong with black tea and tobacco, two of my favorite notes. This is tannic, lightly dusty, and tinged with bitter clove. You’ll find that Immortal’s scents often feature clove, and it can come across rather strong, so you have to have an affinity for it or at least be open to the possibility. I picture this scent wafting out of an aisle in an old study where a seasoned archivist, elbows clad in leather, pens their magnum opus on yellowed parchment deep into the night.
Death in the Afternoon
Notes: Bay leaf, tobacco, fennel, bergamot, champagne, sandalwood, Egyptian musk, clove
Inspired by: Ernest Hemingway
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I’m loving the savory herbs in the opening, especially fennel, which is criminally underused in perfumery. The Egyptian musk and sandalwood give it a clean, skin-scent base that feels very put-together. My only critique is that it’s really close to the skin, so I have to bury my face in my arm in order to smell it.
Dharma Bum
Notes: Cedarwood, patchouli, coffee, sage, opium, bergamot, clove
Inspired by: Jack Kerouac
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While this didn’t work for me, I do think this perfume fits the mythological ideal of Jack Kerouac. I can picture his scent trail wafting across the plains, following him as he tramped across the country, black coffee in hand. The opening is a pungent, medicinal, headshop patchouli mixed with dark roasted coffee grounds. It becomes more of an herbal outdoorsy scent in the dry down. Ultimately I found that the notes clashed too much for me on my skin.
Lenore
Notes: Moroccan rose, oakmoss, clove, dragon's blood
Inspired by: Edgar Allen Poe
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The clove in this is rather bracing, and the rose is spicy and deep. It reminds me of some Arab rose oils I’ve tried in the past. Resinous and pungent with a gothic tinge from the clove. The dry down smells vintage, like something my grandmother had on her vanity. I’m just not a rose person so the rating is mid, but worth a try if you like spicy, vintage-y roses.
Pemberley ❤️
Notes: Rosewood, hyacinth, peony, honeysuckle, cedarwood, vetiver
Inspired by: Jane Austen
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A green, Springy floral that brings to mind fresh flowerbeds, wet soil, and dewy petals. The most beautiful flowers in the garden threw a party for themselves and invited nobody else and they’re all laughing at you from inside the club. It’s plants all the way down. I’d enjoy it more if it had a more earthy, woody base (perhaps more vetiver and cedar). But overall gorgeous! A must try if you like photorealistic, green garden scents.
Sylvia ❤️
Notes: Cedarwood, black tea, vanilla, clove, cassis, fig
Inspired by: Sylvia Plath
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I actually got this one years ago in a swap and am still so charmed by it. The fig is purple and sweet, with a gently bitter kiss from the clove and black tea. The opening smells weirdly like bubblegum to me, and the dry down gives me licorice. It’s delightful. A fitting balance of sweet and spicy. This one feels the most “me” out of the entire collection.
Unhallowed Art
Notes: Tonka bean, smoke, oud, jasmine, rose, violet, musk
Inspired by: Mary Shelley
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Based on the inspiration, I was looking forward to a Weird Girl scent that was as romantic and eccentric as its namesake. Think indolic jasmine, acrid smoke, deep and confident oud. Something to set the mood while you write poetry in the cemetery. However, this scent reads to me as… dryer sheets? A clean, fuzzy, slightly soapy laundry musk. Fine, but not at all what I was expecting.
Coven
Carmilla
Notes: Black cherry, plum blossom, blackberry, Peru balsam, cedarwood, marshmallow, cinnamon, Bourbon vanilla, jasmine, dried roses
Inspired by: Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
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Cherry and I are mortal enemies. It will ruin a scent for me 98% of the time. Still, I always hold out hope that something will come along to radically alter my perception. Sadly this ain’t it… but I can see someone else really loving this! It’s dark purple and jammy, thick with a languid syrupy gothic glaze, cloaked in velvet and dusky candlelight. It would smell so sumptuous and enticing on someone else who isn’t me. If the cherry wasn’t there, it would have been a favorite.
Crystal Gazer ❤️
Notes: Black oud, smoke, opium, woodsage, osmanthus, black cardamom
Inspired by: John Dee, astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I
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Screaming crying yearning and fiending for an EDP. To me, it’s mostly a fragrant green cardamom on a bed of sheer musk. I don’t get any smoke, just a wisp of musky incense. This would be 5 stars if not for the carrier oil that comes through in the dry down, but still so so gorgeous. The opening has me in a trance. It feels very chic and modern despite its namesake being a Tudor-era mystic.
Oceans of Time
Notes: Gunpowder, oakmoss, vetiver, ocean mist, crushed roses, tomato leaf, smoke, amber, sandalwood
Inspired by: Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
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Count Dracula gets up, showers, splashes himself with a tasteful aftershave, and then broods for five hours in the garden. This is definitely a misty, shower fresh green scent that could be mistaken for a vintage men’s cologne. I enjoy the herbal tomato leaf note, but this is a bit too heavy on the rose for me.
Maître du Mystère
Notes: Chai tea, bergamot, smoke, Peru balsam, oud, coffee, tonka bean, cedarwood
Inspired by: Harry Houdini
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Coffee and woods and a bit of oud. I get a big dose of bergamot in the opening. It’s not reading as chai to me, but I think that’s just due to the coffee being more prominent. I’ve seen others say this one leans more masculine and I can see it. Honestly really enjoy this, just wish it lasted longer.
The Widow Paris
Notes: Black cardamom, saffron, sage, rose, jasmine, palo santo, cedar
Inspired by: Marie Laveau
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A woody, aromatic cardamom with dried herbs and flower petals. Witchy in the best way, like an old apothecary selling love spells and questionable potions. Love the prominent palo santo. Sadly it fades rather quickly to the oil base, so I would definitely love to try it as an EDP.
Literary Lovers
Catherine
Notes: White musk, amber, English Ivy, frangipani, rain, white patchouli, heather
Inspired by: Wuthering Heights
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Really not into this, although I’m not exactly sure why. It might be the ivy note. I could also be anosmic to the white musk/ambers used. All I’m picking up is like a weird metallic water smell, like water in a sink. You can’t win them all.
Heathcliff
Notes: Amber, leather, labdanum, white patchouli, cedar, myrrh, saffron, chocolate
Inspired by: Wuthering Heights
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Dark, mild, and quiet. Remnants of tobacco and leather and chocolate, like the lived-in scent of an older relative’s favorite sweater. Its faintness makes me feel nostalgic, as if it’s being recalled through memories. I do not get any resinous notes, but rather something akin to the smell of unlit cigars. After a while it settles into more of a smooth dark chocolate scent. And then the dry down lowkey smells like a smoker’s old couch… but in a good way?
Jane Eyre
Notes: Vanilla, orchid, almond, black jasmine, forget-me-not, Indian sandalwood, snow drop
Inspired by: Jane Eyre
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Delicate fresh flowers and their tiny green stems, gathered in the warm embrace of sandalwood and vanilla. I adore the smell of orchid and it really stands out here. Fresh and Springy, pure and uplifting, sweetly innocent. The wildflowers Alice lays in before she goes to Wonderland. I pick up the carrier oil, otherwise it would have been rated higher.
Mr. Rochester
Notes: Mahogany teak, smoke, musk, ambergris, rose, coriander, saffron, cedar, clove
Inspired by: Jane Eyre
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This has a nice “refined older dandy in his study” vibe, but it reminds me a lot of Lenore with the combination of rose and clove. This one is slightly woodier, but they are so similar to me otherwise that it’s hard for me to make any further distinction between them.
Hades
Notes: Belladonna, amber, oak moss, orris, opium, cypress, narcissus
Inspired by: Greek mythology
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This reminds me of my mother’s closet with all of her clothes from the early 90s still intact. I can’t explain any further. I think the narcissus might be throwing me. This is a good time to mention that sometimes our ties to scent are so powerful that otherwise normal, nice perfumes can be completely overshadowed by our memories.
Persephone ❤️
Notes: Ylang ylang, sweetgrass, white musk, sandalwood, pomegranate
Inspired by: Greek mythology
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A sweet, juicy pomegranate fragrance with the sugared, artificial pinkish glaze of red dye 40. It’s not totally candied though — the other notes plant it firmly on the ground and give it an air of maturity. There is a grassy woody element in the dry down that I really enjoy. Overall, it’s fun and femme and cute!
Muses
Artemisia ❤️
Notes: Hawaiian sandalwood, sea moss, geranium, succulent, cedarwood, ylang ylang, sea mineral
Inspired by: Artemisia Gentilleschi
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Ylang ylang typically falls somewhere in the middle in my rolodex of notes. This is mostly ylang, which would not normally stop me in my tracks, but the creamy sandalwood in the dry down sold me. It’s a soapy floral, a bit humid and tropical, a bit watery and green. I do like that it has a slight saltiness as well. I initially rated this as mid, but kept finding myself smelling my wrist over and over. It’s got a wonderful sandalwood base.
Frida
Notes: Black jasmine, musk, cactus, tonka bean, black leather, bourbon, smoked sandalwood, black orchid
Inspired by: Frida Kahlo
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It’s giving me fancy hotel body wash. Refreshing and expensive. The cactus comes across as watery and fruity. I’d probably wear this if I wanted to smell luxuriously clean on a hot day. Not typically what I gravitate toward taste-wise, but I’ll try reaching for it in summer when I just want to smell Good.
Pomp and Circumstance
La Reine Antoinette
Notes: Moss, rose, bergamot, jasmine
Inspired by: Marie Antoinette
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Quite a lovely, billowy floral with a bright bergamot tang. Feels very regal and fancy in a springtime wedding type of way. I find that I can tolerate rose pretty well when it’s paired with a strong jasmine. This is one of many in the collection that feels very frilly and opulent and Rococo.
Boleyn
Notes: Civet, champagne, dragon's blood, violet
Inspired by: Anne Boleyn
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I don’t get much out of this other than soap tbh. It’s nice, just soapy, I presume from the violet. Like a milky, pale soap the color of periwinkle.
Georgiana
Notes: Black tea, lavender, jasmine, amber, bergamot
Inspired by: Duchess Georgiana Cavendish
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A cup of Earl Grey in a porcelain teacup at a Rococo picnic, sprinkled with lavender pods and jasmine petals. Something about the opening smells fruity to me in a sort of candy-sweet way. Like eating gummy fruit snacks out of a silver dish with your pinkie out. Afterward, it becomes much more floral, and the lavender and jasmine join forces to become the main characters.
Ka'iulani
Notes: Hawaiian sandalwood, tuberose, fern, pink jasmine, coconut
Inspired by: Victoria Ka’iulani Cleghorn
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Beachy coconut scents are my wooden cross, my necklace of garlic, my reason to hiss and smolder and retreat into the shadows. I can’t wear anything that reminds me of sunscreen. I’m paper white and I burn easily and wearing sunscreen feels like a job rather than a fond memory. But that’s a me problem. You might have better luck. I do really enjoy the tuberose and jasmine in this, though.
Gatsby
Zelda
Notes: violet, sandalwood, tobacco, vanilla, amber, cardamom, magnolia, rose, cedarwood
Inspired by: Zelda Fitzgerald
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Like many of the scents in Immortal’s arsenal, the Gatsby collection is heavily vintage-inspired. They’re all composed of a nebulous kitchen sink of notes and nothing can be entirely pinned down. Zelda is a lovely blend of woods and florals with a coy violet protagonist. Sometimes violet can come across as too metallic/soapy for my liking, but it’s nice here. I also really love the way Immortal uses cardamom. It’s zingy.
Beautiful Fool
Notes: Sunflower, bourbon, tobacco, sandalwood, magnolia, white patchouli, tonka bean, champagne, prickly pear
Inspired by: Daisy Buchanan
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I just realized in the middle of testing this that I just don’t like sunflower as a note. I’ve never met a sunflower perfume I really enjoyed. I perceive it as a screechy mix between earthy and soapy. So I wasn’t into this one, but I think it could be someone else’s favorite.
Gatsby
Notes: Lime, tobacco, ambergris, tonka bean, juniper, white patchouli, champagne, grapefruit
Inspired by: Jay Gatsby
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I love a good vintage men’s green scent. This has lime and patchouli, with the juniper berry giving it a sort of cold bite. Smells like a splash of aftershave in a brand new suit. The opening is great but it fades pretty quickly. I’d love this as an EDP.
Fitzgerald
Notes: Sea salt, cedarwood, saffron, bourbon, black tea, sandalwood, smoke, Moroccan rose, chai, coffee
Inspired by: F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Big time coffee. Dark, deep, and rich. Black coffee with a dash of cardamom and nutmeg and whiskey and a little bit of cigarette ash. Moody and beautiful, but fleeting.
Seasonal Catalogue
Baby Vamp
Notes: Tonka bean, dragon’s blood, smoke, labdanum, orchid
Inspired by: Theda Bara
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A warm, gummy, witchy concoction of occult-store resins and sweet tonka. It lays on thick, commanding your attention, and wraps you up in a web of winged eyeliner and gauzy black batwing sleeves and jangly silver moon-shaped jewelry. Wear this while hypnotically waving your arms to “Cities in Dust” by Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Lady Day ❤️
Notes: Tonka bean, opium, Hawaiian sandalwood, lily of the valley, white peach, gardenia
Inspired by: Billie Holiday
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Peaches and gardenia and sandalwood and lilies. What a dream, no? Nothing crazy, just a lovely peachy floral. One that I’ll be wearing a lot this summer. It’s a gorgeous tribute to Billie, a true original whose songs forged the most effervescent beauty from the most wretched pain. I’d like to imagine this scent as the trail that tumbled from her hairdo as she swayed, mystifying her audience by their ears, hearts, and noses.
Madame Moustache
Notes: Musk, Fire, Vanilla, Tobacco
Inspired by: Eleonore Alphonsine Dumont
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Madame Moustache, if you’re out there diva, I hope you’re still hustling men out of their money in the afterlife. The perfume is everything what I wanted By the Fireplace to be. It’s a gently smoky tobacco and sweet vanilla; cozy with a bold, confident air. I do get the carrier oil after a while though.
Untamed Lady
Notes: Almond, ylang-ylang, French vanilla, carnation, peach
Inspired by: Gloria Swanson
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I was so surprised to read the notes because to me this reads as very lemony, sparkly, and effervescent. It’s strong and fruity, and reminds me of a lemon drop martini chased with peach tea that you sip on the patio with friends. A fun, summery cocktail that makes me yearn for warmer weather. Cute!!!
VIII ❤️
Notes: Ambergris, belladonna, Peru balsam, clovebud, tobacco, bay leaf, fire
Inspired by: King Henry VIII
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Don’t ask me why but the opening of this smells like something baking in a wood-fired oven, like cinnamon rolls or carrot cake. It’s sweet and vanillic, and the clove meshes well with the other notes. It dries down to a kind of smoky tobacco. I like that it’s a gourmand in cologne’s clothing. Like a Renaissance still-life of a slice of cake.
It was fun to explore a house’s entire catalogue at once and really immerse myself in the perfumer’s body of work. After a while you start to get a sense of their preferences and biases toward certain notes. I especially like reading about the historical inspirations behind these scents and how the perfumer interprets them through her own lens. It adds to the mythos of these already larger-than-life historical figures and characters.
I was surprised to find that I gravitated toward a lot more fruity scents than I typically do. My ultimate favorites, the scents I’d consider full sizing as EDPs once I finish my samples, are Artemisia, Sylvia, Crystal Gazer, and Lady Day.
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve tried any of these.
See you next time!
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hi can you write about scents you dont like i really want read something like that also i love your work
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