Fictions: Cruelty Free Perfume

Fictions Cruelty-Free eau de parfum: She Called But He Was Unreachable – Los Angeles

For me, the first month of a new year is always hallmarked with equal parts reflection upon the past year and preparation for what is desired and what shall perhaps come in the months ahead. 2016 was a dreadful year for many for a number of reasons—plus it’s impossible to navigate December holidays and their associated obligations without awkwardness or discomfort—so the moment the clock struck 12:00 to officially welcome us to 2017, I immediately felt a lightness about leaving so much of what happened in the prior days behind. (Plus, I was stoked to start 2017 with head bunny Jen and her fiancé Gregg whilst playing pinball at a bar/arcade in Downtown L.A.!)

It’s been a bit cloudy and rainy here in Los Angeles at the beginning of 2017, so I thought this time of contemplation and intentional openness to new opportunities and experiences would be a great moment to introduce a new scent into my daily life: one inspired by moments of reflection but which also folds a bit of crispness and light into these deeper, heavier moments.

Fictions, Publishers of Fine Perfume, have created a line of eau de parfum scents inspired by different facets of feelings related love with varying cities around the world as each feeling’s backdrop. The grouping includes: She Listened for His Whisper (influenced by the feeling of “Unspoken” love in Istanbul), She Found Quiet in His Wild (“Unexpected,” Sydney), She Met Him in Secret (“Unauthorized,” Paris), She Knew he Was For-Ever (“Unconditional,” London), and the one I was able to try—She Called But He Was Unreachable (“Unrequited,” Los Angeles).

The L.A. scent launched in July 2015, and the landscape and atmosphere here are a perfect match for this particular phrase and feeling—the expanses of the mountains, nearby desert, and vast ocean…difficulty in navigating distances because of the miles between neighborhoods…temperate weather that causes days to blur into weeks that blur into months…not to mention an endless number of diversions and seemingly good opportunities serving as cause for distraction and interruption when trying to find and sustain love.

Specific notes introduced by perfumer Josh Meyer—complementing feelings of longing and summoning moments when this now unrequited love once burned more brightly—include: bergamot, lemon zest, linden, orange blossom, ambergris, and sparkling musk. I’ve been spritzing the perfume in the morning as, given these notes, for me it’s most fitting as a daytime or weekending scent. I experience it as firstly floral without being overly heady…then come the spice and citrus tones…with an overall aura of warmth, brightness, and lightness. The scent also lingers (like the feelings!) for quite some time—I continue to smell it on my wrists hours after application.

The design elements of the product are gorgeous as well!  This makes the package a perfect gift and, I think, a great deal for the price point. My 0.5 fl oz sample came in a beautifully designed paper tube (featuring work from watercolor artist Marcel George) which includes a miniature map inside with five recommended “Best Spots to Disconnect” in the Los Angeles area. Fictions perfumes are presently available exclusively at Anthropologie and Anthropologie.com.

Written by Morgan McCann McGuire. Morgan is a lifelong girly-girl who was introduced to beauty products at an early age by her mother. Her hair was always done up right, whether it was crimped all over or just her bangs froofed with a curling iron and gobs of hair spray. Over the years Morgan has grown more concerned with and interested in knowing from where her consumer products come, whether these things are food or beauty-related, and she loves discovering new cruelty-free products (particularly those with fun packaging). She also loves bright colors, music, and dogs, and is employed in post-production.