This post is all about my fairly recent discovery of the world of House of Matriarch High Perfumery line. I am excited to share my thoughts on Christi Meshell’s creations. My fellow perfume lovers will probably appreciate just how happy I feel about finally being able to get my nose on these very luxurious natural aromas!
It is the end of August already, can you believe it?! Hope you all had a fabulous summer so far! A lot of exciting things happened over the last month but, apart from posting an odd Instagram picture, I have not been able to write a single blog post! Well, it’s the long Bank Holiday weekend here in Britain, so I have plenty of time for some writing on here: I have plenty of catching up to do!
One of the most exciting discoveries for me this summer, without a doubt, has been the House of Matriarch. I have heard of this Seattle-based perfume house from Fragrantica and other various online perfume communities. I was curious to try them but have been putting it off for months, as there is no easy way of getting hold of the samples here in the UK. Ordering directly from the House of Matriarch website is still the only option for us in Britain.
Eventually, after watching a few YouTube reviews of Christi’s perfumes, I decided to go for it and ordered a collection of original perfumes and sample 2ml vials of Kazimi and The Longing. So here it is, after a week’s wait, it finally arrived: my precious parcel!
A parcel from America – my first order has arrived
Despite the distance – orders are shipped from the West Coast of the USA as the House is based in Seattle, Washington – it was fairly quick (around 7 working days), and USPS allows you to track the parcel so you can keep an eye on it, and then the Royal Mail delivers it here in the UK. Also, the postage is free!
My first order from the House of Matriarch
I was so impressed by the packaging – it is beautifully designed, very pretty and neat. Christi has kindly included three samples from her High Perfumery collection. All three are beautiful fragrances too, but I have not yet fully sampled them so watch this space!
The two little boxes of Kazimi and The Longing contain 2ml vials and they cost $20 each. I have been really curious about the Kazimi in particular: I am a big fan of rose scents and I really wanted to try it and see if I should buy a full-size bottle.
2ml vials of Kazimi and The Longing, and samples
The original fragrance collection contains thirteen vials of perfume extract: full strength all-natural blends of undiluted essential oils, raw and potent. They are beautifully presented in this sleek red box. It would make a gorgeous gift for someone who loves perfumes! $180 may seem like a steep price to pay but it is a luxury set of potent perfume extracts made of natural materials, so it is totally worth it, in my opinion!
The perfumes in this collection include Alpha, Ambre Vie, Bohemian Black, Carmine, Coco Blanc, Destiny, En Tendre, Forbidden, Francesca, Lucid, OM, The Maj and Woo.
What can I say – all of these fragrances are beautiful and it is really hard for me to choose which is the best. But as soon as I got to sample the Kazimi and worn it on my skin for a few hours, I have gone ahead and placed an order for the full-size bottle. It arrived on a cold, rainy day, I was so tired after the long and stressful day at work and it brought so much happiness to me!
It is so beautiful, I will not be without it now.
The vial of Kazimi – a masterpiece for rose scent lovers
I do love roses – I grow a few English roses from David Austin in my garden, and I love the natural scent of rose in skincare products (do check my post on my favourite lip balm!) Kazimi ticks all the boxes for me: it is very beautifully rosey as well as spicy, beautifully earthy and it lasts for hours on my skin. It is so unique and special, it simply blows my mind!
A nearly year old bottle of Kazimi
According to the House of Matriarch’s website, Kazimi includes the following notes:
Top: Hints of white ginger, Ruh Gulab (an attar style rose oil), Edward Rose and Rose Bourbania.
Heart: Rose Apothecary Concrete Tincture, Rose Otto, White Rose India, Wild rose, red cedar heartwood, Green Heart Wood.
Base: Opoponax, Oakmoss, Oud, Africa stone and Ambergris, Exotic spices.
For the full description, please check the link to Kazimi page here.
The bottles are really beautiful too – I love the combination of the dark blue with copper, they look simply stunning!
In my opinion, this indie all-American natural perfume house does deserve all the hype that is there in the Fragrance community. Love it or hate it, House of Matriarch’s creations are special and different to most luxury perfumes I have been lucky enough to smell or own. From Christi’s original collection to her most recent High Perfumery line, I have been enjoying the smell of them all. There is, I think, an unmistakable common base shared by all Christi’s fragrances, her signature, but each scent is unique, too. This is, without a doubt, the start of my life-long love affair with the House of Matriarch!
Please share your thoughts with me in the Comments section! I would love to know if you have a favourite rose perfume, or if you like House of Matriarch perfumes!
