Black No.1 Blackbird House of Matriarch 2012 Extrait de Parfum
5
Helpful Review
Brilliant Blackbird...
Blackbird opens with a grassy green, relatively fresh cannabis accord before slowly transitioning to its early heart. As the composition enters its early heart the grassy green cannabis remains, now joining pine in support of an emerging coupling of burning coniferous fir and oud wood. During the late dry-down the pine takes on the starring role joining the remnants of the cannabis and the burning fir and Oud incense tandem now fading to the background through the finish. Projection is average but longevity outstanding at over 15 hours on skin.
Blackbird is a composition that has received excellent word of mouth and press alike. Its fan base, while maybe just a select few (due to the composition's lack of widespread distribution) is near rabid in its support. In the case of this reviewer, I went in with a blind buy, keeping my fingers crossed that the near-universal praise was warranted and having now worn it a few times on skin I can happily say it is. My favorite part of the composition is its fresh grassy green cannabis open that smells quite pleasant and wholly convincing. Unlike many opening notes that fade in a matter of seconds, this open lasts for quite some time before the burning fir and Oud wood driven incense accord takes control of the mid-section's development. I am not the biggest fan of burning Oud wood (preferring the oil) but can certainly appreciate a well-done implementation and Blackbird absolutely has it. The combination of the burning fir and Oud wood incense is somewhat reminiscent of a cross between bone-dry burning rubber and rugged leather. The grassy green cannabis hangs around in support to give the incense a sharp green facet, adding to its distinctiveness. The late dry-down is a gorgeous pairing of coniferous woody pine with the remnants of the stark incense and the cannabis. In the end, the composition is innovative and quite skillfully put together by the talented perfumer Christi Meshell. The bottom line is the $300 per 60ml bottle Blackbird is quite pricey in relative terms, but the composition is skillfully executed while distinctively innovative, earning it an "excellent" 4 stars out of 5 rating and a solid recommendation.
Blackbird is a composition that has received excellent word of mouth and press alike. Its fan base, while maybe just a select few (due to the composition's lack of widespread distribution) is near rabid in its support. In the case of this reviewer, I went in with a blind buy, keeping my fingers crossed that the near-universal praise was warranted and having now worn it a few times on skin I can happily say it is. My favorite part of the composition is its fresh grassy green cannabis open that smells quite pleasant and wholly convincing. Unlike many opening notes that fade in a matter of seconds, this open lasts for quite some time before the burning fir and Oud wood driven incense accord takes control of the mid-section's development. I am not the biggest fan of burning Oud wood (preferring the oil) but can certainly appreciate a well-done implementation and Blackbird absolutely has it. The combination of the burning fir and Oud wood incense is somewhat reminiscent of a cross between bone-dry burning rubber and rugged leather. The grassy green cannabis hangs around in support to give the incense a sharp green facet, adding to its distinctiveness. The late dry-down is a gorgeous pairing of coniferous woody pine with the remnants of the stark incense and the cannabis. In the end, the composition is innovative and quite skillfully put together by the talented perfumer Christi Meshell. The bottom line is the $300 per 60ml bottle Blackbird is quite pricey in relative terms, but the composition is skillfully executed while distinctively innovative, earning it an "excellent" 4 stars out of 5 rating and a solid recommendation.
1 Comment
ScentFan 11 years ago
Splendid review. I adore Blackbird.