The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Imperial arrived in 2025 as part of Riggs' Prestige Collection, and the name carries weight. Imperial doesn't whisper ambition, it states it, and the composition backs the claim with a structure that leans into warmth without tipping into sweetness overload. The opening introduces a crisp interplay of apple and coconut that lifts the top, adding an unexpected tropical brightness before the spicier elements settle in. The heart deepens quickly, layering cedarwood against the clean, green-white character of lily of the valley, a combination that pulls the fragrance away from anything too obvious or generic. Cinnamon runs through multiple layers, threading the composition together rather than dominating any single phase.
What's interesting here is the restraint. A warm composition with amber and musk in the base could easily collapse into something heavy or overly sweet, but the apple and coconut at the top and the lily of the valley in the heart keep things from going soft. The white floral adds a clean, almost soapy edge that prevents the warmer elements from cloying, and cedarwood lends a dry, woody backbone that keeps the whole composition honest.
The evolution
The opening introduces apple and coconut at the top, a combination that reads fresh and slightly tropical before the warmth starts to build underneath. Cinnamon is present from the start, sharp and dry, threading through the early stages of the wear. Don't mistake the opening for the whole story though. As the heart develops, the composition shifts noticeably, and the temperature begins to climb. Lily of the valley emerges with its cool white floral character, undercutting what could otherwise tip into heaviness. Cedarwood settles in alongside it, lending a dry, slightly pencil-like woodiness that adds structure rather than softness. By the time the drydown arrives, amber and musk have fully taken over, and the fragrance settles into what it was always trying to be: warm, resinous, and quietly sweet.
Cultural impact
Imperial sits within Riggs' Prestige Collection and resonates particularly with wearers who gravitate toward warm, sweet-amber compositions. The fragrance builds its profile through the interplay of apple and coconut at the top, lily of the valley and cedarwood in the heart, and amber and musk at the base, a combination that feels familiar in genre while remaining its own thing in execution.
