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!

I don’t know what got into me but I blind bought a 100ml bottle during a sale, for some reason I was sure I would like this scent even though I usually don’t like leather frags. I have the new blue bottle version. Each time I smell this on me I can detect different notes. Sometimes it’s green (like weed), sometimes it’s sweet, sometimes leather, sometimes like wet forest. It’s an odd scent. I really want to love this but longevity is very poor on me so far (fades quick and barely there an hour later) - will update after a couple of proper wears. EDIT: Yeah, this one didn’t last 7 hours. Overnight it faded and it is barely noticeable on my skin now. For the price (and the fact that it’s supposed to be Extrait), longevity is weaker than your average EDP, so I am quite disappointed. Especially because I bought this believing a couple of reviews claiming it was the most long lasting perfume. Oh well.

This is one that I love, but its not for me. It is a very simple linear composition which primarily comes down to being a leather scent. The Cannabis is there at the very top but subtle, it lends a menthol quality to the leather, the pine is way in the back which gives it a masculine edge. And the Leather sits atop a light wearable soft/round oud, not the sharp balsamic kind that I have in other oud's. Longevity is great, its a very subtle fragrance in a good way, you can actually smell this at arms length in whafts and when you are in close proximity to others, they will smell it on you, but it will be very soft, its kind of unique in this way, it projects, but in a subtle way, which is truly perfect for a fragrance like this. Again, at the end of the day, this is leather

Absolute Masterpiece for me. My favorite perfume. Good longevity. Not a projection monster but wafts in and out to let you know it's still there. Such a unique blend of seaweed, leather, oud, pine, and MANY MANY other notes that could turn this into a mess but somehow she pulls it off. Despite price, find it on sale and try it!

Dark, mystical leathery fragrance. It's a very gothic fragrance. Like it's name, I see the color black when I smell it. It has an insence and ink vibe to my nose. Very nice fragrance, well blended. Maybe not everyones cup of tea, but it is a great fragrance. It has a mysteriousness to it. I love it.

The name matching a Type O Negative song is no accident... This smells like wild rock n roll nights, mayhem and elegant decadence. Sure, the notes listed are all there so no need for redundancy. Well, all notes except happiness.

Smells intensely of a log cabin for the first while; pine trees, soil and wood shavings. It then slowly morphs into a rich, black leather. There's also something slightly camphorous, like herbal medicine, or some sort of tincture drifting in the background. All the while the seaweed breathes a cool, lucid freshness that lifts the weight of the woods and keeps things alive. I had prepared myself for a dirty oud note to appear somewhere, but thankfully "Blackbird" never visited that territory; It smelled surprisingly clean. I felt a tarry richness that I would attribute to oud, but none of the awful fecal qualities I have experienced with the pure stuff. This does make me wonder if it really is 100% natural as they claim. If you can imagine a less sweet, more woody and 'rough around the edges' version of "Tom of Finland", then you will have a good idea of what to expect. It's also more potent than I had anticipated, since being disappointed with the performance and longevity of some of the other titles from this house. I might recommend "Blackbird" to anyone who likes perfume to evoke a natural landscape, and then probably only to men, just because of the 'logger' aspect. With that said, I can't imagine wearing it to work, or any kind of event. It's more a scent to be worn alone, for nostalgic contemplation IMO. There's also the question of the crazy price. Charging highly to account for "natural" ingredients doesn't sound so reasonable when there are high quality synthetics that are actually more expensive than the real thing. It also lacks the kind of structure you expect from a high grade perfume; There's no top-middle-base, rather it all just kind of stews together. Ultimately, I like the smell, but I wouldn't pay that kind of money for something that is linear and not suited to regular wear.

this opens up with a coal black leather note and some oudh and pine and smells like wet wood in a forest, mixed with leather. after a bit the pine seems to disappear somewhat and the cannabis and seaweed become more noticeable. this reminds me of a perfume i had by aroma sanctum called russian leather, but that was slightly sweeter and more boozy. on the drydown this makes me think of guys in leather jackets in a forest. i like this quite a bit. ETA: we FINALLY got a cold winter after 3 years of warmth and now i see how blackbird can really shine. beautiful foresty leather. i love it especially in cold weather.

Bitter fir, and seaweed leather It starts with leathery fir, and pine tree, with a hint of tingly salty seaweed, The colder it goes the more seaweed appears, and some cannabis. This is quite impressive as a new kind of leather. Beautiful. Edit (1 hour in) now i begun to detect chocolate within the notes, spicy chocolate with bits of chilies, & hints of pepper. Impressive.

Nice smell but at its current price tag in Nordstrom (300$), not worth buying. There are other alternatives in the market. The dry down reminds me of Penhaligon's Sawira but much smoother and refined. Stays on your skin for hours but for a $300 frag, you expect better projection. Not for me.

At first it smells like a smoother/calmer Sex Magic, but then the leather comes out and the fragrance warms up. The dry down is definitely the star of the show; much more distinctive than the opening and lasts 18 hrs!

oud in the top then lots of leather and some balsam fir, very dry like a rubbery, smokey leather scent but smooth and rounded with no edges, almost soft for harsh notes

Glad I discovered this one now, it’s great for early spring!

This perfume is the perfect example of a scent that is probably incredible on a person who could rock it, but man it's really got to suit you. This was probably MADE for someone out there, ya know? I don't hate it but I would never wear it, not would I give it to my husband to wear. It's extremely powerful black leather and weed to my nose, and it smells like something one of the vampires in Near Dark would wear. I don't know if this is a perfume someone could wear while being employed at a "regular" profession. I think you've got to /dress/ for this scent. It's a powerhouse, not for me but I think if I smelled it on the right person I'd be wowed. If you are perhaps a member of a gothic rock band or a vampire who frequents dark alleys, this will really complete the getup.

Finishing off a small decant before the rest evaporates away... I like the scent itself a lot, but the longevity is embarrassing for an extrait--I find it difficult to detect 2 hours later on well-moisturized skin. Whaaaaaaaat? Part of the reason I am able to afford the size collection that I have is because I am a hunter of deals and bargains. I have yet to find 50 mLs of this for less than $300 USD, which is a little too rich for my blood. For a fraction of the price, I'd rather layer TT's Ecstasy and a splash of Black Afgano and call it a day. What would be a "love" in terms of scent get a hard knock down to "okay" due to high price and subpar longevity.

I bought the old bottle which I think had a lower price then the current blue bottle. A very well balanced and striking herbal leather fragrance. Does evoke black leather, forest and all sorts of dark imaginations in between. Actually tells an olfactory story to me. I've not tried the current formulation. Personally I won't pay USD 330 for the current bottle (its good, but not that good). One of the better creations from this house.