Black No. 1 / Blackbird
House of Matriarch (2012)

A sleek, seductive leather that deserves to be in the conversation whenever the best contemporary leather scents come up. It's soft, cozy, and deep - the "cocktail bar" equivalent to something like Clandestine Laboratories' bracingly robust Master.

"Yeah you want to go out cause it's raining and blowing
You can't go out cause your roots are showing
Dye em black
Black no. 1

Little wolf skin boots
And clove cigarettes
An erotic funeral
For witch she's dressed
Her perfume smells like
Burning leaves
Everyday is Halloween"

- Peter Steele,
"Black No. 1"

Evergreen conifers laden with snow. A curl of smoke from dying embers. Black leather. Burnished steel. Spellbinding magic.

The Witcher was here.

A very nice earthy, smoky/sweet fragrance. Can see why it's mentioned when sexy scents are brought up. I don't get the comparisons to Anubis though. I wear Anubis quite a bit, and Black no. 1 is not near as bold or challenging to wear imo. Also, there's no smell of actual cannabis here, which is a good thing to me.

I like to think that perfumer Christi Meshell was channeling the goth-metal legends, Type-O-Negative, when she thought up this small masterpiece–Black No. 1 being the title of their most ubiquitous song– even though I know the scents original title was Blackbird.

This perfume is gothic and romantic, in many of the ways that the Brooklyn band were, in their heyday: classical allusions abound, reimagined in surprising, modern ways. Here leather sits atop a woody, almost metallic lavender before settling down into the House of Matriarch ambered incense base.

The first spray of the scent is pure class. Lovely rugged-yet-refined masculine vibes.

Unfortunately the performance leaves much to be desired, at least with my chemistry. It disappears within 3 hours with just traces left on clothing.

The composition is entirely natural so the price point is VERY HIGH. A tough sell for a short experience. But undeniably beautiful and a must for any fans of smoky mysterious leathers, like Papillon's Anubis.

A thumbs up with caveats for price & performance.

Edit: The travel atomizer bottle leaks in every position, even standing straight up. For this much money I should get more than 6 wears out of it(especially when the tester sample size gives you 2-3 wearings easily). Disappointed.

Earthy and dirty, yes. Brooding. Unique and intriguing. To some without a doubt. I'll admit...my thumbs sideways because it's not accessible to everyone. Being odd and expensive makes it difficult to give a sunny endorse. BUT if u love dark and dirty...even a little metalic, this is a great performer. HOM does not skimp on quality.