Each Imaginary Authors fragrance is inspired by a novel, and this one, Slow Explosions by Gwen K. Vroomen, is a trip to Goa in India and yet a very sophisticated one at that.

We smell the rose and leather and somehow that impossible ingredient of the Night Market in Arpora, as if we were there exploring the stalls.

In 1980, Gwen K. Vroomen quit a monotonous job, went to the corner bar, and – on the bartender’s urging – threw a dart at a world map tacked on the wall.

She had never heard of Goa but knew immediately she needed to go. Three months later she was celebrating Hindu New Year at a tea garden high in the hills of Kerala, fireworks exploding below. She wrote of that night: “I was resuscitated by color, redeemed by the vibrant unknown.”

Her self-proclaimed “Journey out of darkness,” dotted with unforgettable stories of night markets, river floats, and harrowing moped rides, inspired a generation of young Americans eager to buck the drudgery of ordinary life.

Notes: Saffron, Rose Absolute, Leather, Apple, Benzoin, Cashmeran, Arpora Night Market