Black No. 1 (Fka Blackbird)

When it first opens, Blackbird smells like chemically treated, oily leather. There's almost a searing quality to it, as if some kind of toxic chemical was used to tan the hide and it hasn't completely dried yet. It's odd, but it smells good, and is restrained enough as to avoid an overbearing presence. It's black, and hardcore, the color of crude oil. Then, this really peculiar, salty seaweed accord creeps in and blends with the leather. It's a kind of a cold, marine, coastal smell and you can almost feel the salty moisture in the air. This is a really cool phase of the fragrance, and I've never experienced, or expected to experience leather and seaweed together. But here they are, in a quirky, symbiotic relationship creating something new and previously unheard of. It's worth mentioning that this is also the most realistic 'sea salt' note I've encountered. The cannabis in Blackbird plays the edges, and gives a nice "Kinski-esque" accent to the composition. And there's a dark green, piney forest element that lives in Blackbird as well. It provides some familiarity in an otherwise strange and unusual scent. Finally, Blackbird settles into its base with a natural, high quality oud that is resinous, a bit animalic, and a little dirty. This is real oud, as it appears in expensive oud oils and attars, and its unmistakable. There is a similar oud in the base of Vikt (by Slumberhouse), but other than that, I've rarely experienced this in mainstream niche perfumery. Hats off to House of Matriarch for including real oud instead of the industry-standard synthetic, as there's an enormous difference between the two. With wear, other little facets of Blackbird blossom, appear, and disappear. While it maintains the basic structure described above, subtle shifts pop up throughout its duration. It's also important to note that the leather settles into a more personable role as the fragrance develops, and finds some comfort after its industrial and rugged beginning. I was surprised by how wearable and pleasant I find Blackbird. I was expecting something big, foreboding, and nuclear. But it's not. It's much more compressed than I had expected, less expansive, and not intrusive at all. It projects about a foot and leaves a light, though firmly present sillage. I like this about it, and it makes the wholly odd and interesting composition easier to digest and enjoy. And in some ways, without analyzing it up close and in depth and thinking about it so much, this is just a very enjoyable masculine leather fragrance. I received a few comments on it and basically they could be summed up as, "Oh, that smells nice." So it's not like you're going to go around freaking people out when you wear this. But it will maintain your interest, and you certainly don't own anything else like it. Longevity is very good.

I bought a 16 ml bottle and I, a fool, disregarded the warning on the tin and kept it tipped over so it leaked and evaporated out. For years I was left with the ghost of this scent in the bottle- rich, dark, incense and pine and resin and cannabis and the deep, dark ocean. There was a sale recently, and I picked up a 50 ml and I haven't worn anything else since. Someone earlier said it was perfect for a woman with a leather jacket in the Puget sound, and that's exactly the vibe I get. This is old Seattle in the winter, a port city, diesel and grime, working-class leather boots, the richness of the forest, before the glass palaces were built and everything looked shiny and new. Especially in that bombastic intro. There's a sharp tang to it I can't place- is it peppercorn? The greeness of the cannabis balances the heavy leather-pine intro reminding me of misty hikes I've taken through the Olympic forest. It's hard for me to pick out the seaweed, but every so often I get a whiff of marine wind. And then, a few hours in, it's sweet and rich and cozy. A cashmere sweater near a fire burning with amber. It's the cabin at the end of the hike, deep in the forest, a hint of caramel, a hint of sugar, extremely inviting. Is here tonka bean in this? Don't be fooled by the brief notes listed- this is a complex scent that unfolds in surprising kaleidoscopic ways. Sometimes I pick up rich dark chocolate. Other times, black truffle. Occasionally a fruit? Sometimes a whiff of flowers? Deep rich soil? A bit of peppercorn? It's strange, luxurious, sensual, unisex. Don't listen to people who say it favors one sex over another. If you like them dark, a little sweet, a little smoky, a little mysterious, this is for you. It's like a fine aged scotch. I can't wait to spritz it on my partner, if he'll let me, just to see how it unfurls with his chemistry. I also genuinely don't understand when people say this isn't a complex scent. Personally, I believe it's a masterpiece. It shifts and changes as time goes on, going from a big piney intro to a soft cozy cabin, to leather jackets and rain. It's at once clean and dirty, that combo of pine and soil and cracked pepper. It reminds me vaguely of Victor and Rolf's Spicebomb. But in my opinion this is much, much better. Richer. Deeper. I'm nonbinary, wear leather frequently, live in the Pacific Northwest. This scent was made for me, and I can't imagine my life without it, now.

Black No. 1 is the fragrance that supposedly has around 300 ingredients. It is a beautiful mix of leather, oud, fir and some cannabis. Interestingly enough, I get some berry/fruity tone on the side in this fragrance (reminiscent of The Vagabond Prince Land of Warriors), might be some pommegranate. Though the oud and cannabis mix reminds me of Black Afgano by Nasomatto. So I get this sweet, fruity leather mix with dark oud + green notes. Undeniably beautiful, however the projection is modest at best and it lasts on my skin for about 5-6 hours. Due to the factor of it's price and not smelling very unique (at least to my nose, it's still very unique in comparison to many designer scents), I cannot recommend it. This could be a great expensive gift for a fragrance lover's birthday (if you have deep enough pockets, I know I don't). I feel like all of my reviews regarding this house will end up with the same note, they're all great scents, but definitely not worth it. I see that HoM have some sales going on from time to time. This time it's 40% off as of 06/06/2017 with the code SUMMERSUN. So if they can just do a flash sale like that, selling any fragrance for almost half the price, you can definitely see that their regular prices are inflated to the maximum. Almost feels like a scam...

Now available at select Nordstroms (and Nordstrom dot com) as Black No.1 in the beautiful cobalt blue flaçon with repurposed antique copper overlay and new HoM branding complete with sacred geometry... Also available at Nordies with new packaging and already in the Fragrantica database, showing older custom colored bottles (the other 13 ultra-naturals and older creations still available, for now, by request from Matriarch, while supplies last): SexMagic (formerly Achtung! collection) Coco Blanc (formerly UltraNatural line, still 100% natural BTW) Devotion (formerly Achtung! collection) Forbidden: (ultra natural line, same formulation) NEW MATRIARCH titles released 11/21/15 full formal launch 1/16/16- Madrona: fantasy fougére Trillium: teas, floral notes, sake Orca: marine Amber Albatross: aquatic leather, cork, creosote Click on link to brand at Matriarch's Fragrantica page to go to the new site and see the videos for the New Nine. Smell swell & be well...

What can I say, this is so costly, but also a masterpiece. A warm marine breeze ushers in the sweetness of both cannabis, leather and the echo of roses in its lower register, creating something so smooth and languid it could be a refined gourmand, like molten salted caramel. It is at once recognisable for its ingredients as masculine, but surprisingly unmacho, it has strength without the concupiscent posturing often associated with leather or oud fragrances. Quite akin to a statue with a powerful physique hewn from brazilian rosewood rather than monumental marble, its sinuous striations coursing with flashes of amber when viewed at every turn. Despite the cannabis I find nothing green about it at all, this is all warmth and sweetness to my nose. Although the price is a little crazy (I got my bottle during a rare sale when they were moving premises I think), I doubt this could be replicated cheaply; if anyone begs to differ, I warmly welcome suggestions!