If you haven’t already noticed, Pacific Northwest based perfume line, House of Matriarch, has rebranded their line and extended their distribution to the Seattle-based department store, Nordstrom. This is huge! More and more retailers understand that many of us want more interesting options! At first, I was a little skeptical because I thought that the formulas would have been compromised. But, they haven’t. I’ve sampled them all and the brand is better now than ever.
Albatross is one of the new perfumes in the High Perfumery line. It’s a perfume inspired by cold seas, the Salish Sea (to be exact, between Washington and Canada). As someone that has a tendency to be drawn to niche Neo-Aquatics, I couldn’t wait to try Albatross.
Albatross opens with evergreens. I’m not kidding and I know it’s not just the marketing copy, but Albatross really does smell like the Pacific Northwest. This smells like where old forests meet the sea. It’s a forest floor of cedar chips and anise-like evergreen needles. There’s a hint of briny, cool saltwater in the opening that is like a Pacific Ocean mist. I never want the opening to fade, but like all great things in life, it must. The heart is woodsy, wet and slightly charred like wood-tar creosote. On my skin, most of the wear is the dry-down. It’s warmer and drier with evergreen woods and a balsamic musk.
I’m starting to think this is one of my favorites from the brand. It’s more than a perfume. It’s a feeling and a place. The cool evergreens and briny sea air reminds me of the natural beauty of where old growth forests meet blue seas. Out in the distance you just may see snow-capped mountains on the horizon or a pod of whales swimming the seas.
Notes listed include salty breeze, cork, pinoin pine, poplar, sea fennel, charred oak and balsams. Launched in 2015. PERFUMER – Christi Meshell
Give Albatross a try if you like neo-aquatics or woodsy scents. Or if you like perfumes like Blackbird Pipe Bomb, CB I Hate Perfume At the Beach 1966, Montale Sandflowers, MiN NY Dune Road, HEELEY Sel Marin and/or S-Perfume.
Projection and longevity are average.
The 1.7 oz bottle retails for $330 at Nordstrom. The .17 oz bottle (pictured above) retails for $39. Samples are available for purchase at House of Matriarch.
Victoria’s FInal EauPINION – Briny, cool evergreens. I’m such a sucker for perfumes like this. I want everyone that thinks they don’t like Aquatics to try something like this.
Want more reviews? Try…
Fragrantica – Ida’s reviews
*Disclaimer – Sample provided by the brand. I am not financially compensated for my reviews. My opinions are my own. Product pic is mine. Sade pic from fanpix.net. Post contains an affiliate link (Nordstrom). Thanks!
This sounds interesting – I wish I had a sample. I love how the HoM scents are so inspired by the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. I’m also interested in trying Madrona, which I’ve heard is beautiful and smells of the northwest. I’ve tried Orca and Coco Blanc. Orca reminds me very much of Washington beaches, without the forest. OO Blackbird is actually the only fragrance I’ve tried with pine-y woods. How do the pines compare to those in Blackbird?
Madrona is good. It’s a drier, woodsy fragrance. I also like Orca but it’s more of an amber on me. Coco Blanc is one of those that makes me like coconut!
OK, so I can see how someone that likes Blackbird, would like this one. The woods are similar but in a different setting. Blackbird is more like a forest at night. While this one has more light and more moisture. However, they seem related (they have Meshell’s touch). My husband actually wears Blackbird as his “signature” and his second favorite is Albatross.
Actually, I should have been clearer in my prose – I meant Olympic Orchid’s Blackbird! I actually haven’t tried the HoM Blackbird (I think it’s been renamed to Black no 1?).
Orca was very salty/oceanic on me with just a little bit of amber – and I don’t get ANY coconut from Coco Blanc! Well, I’ll have to retry it, but mostly it made me think of dark chocolate! I’ll have to try them again, and maybe someday I’ll be able to try Albatross, Madrona and Black!
Oh! No problem 🙂
Yes, that one has been renamed but smells exactly the same. I actually have only sniffed OO’s once and if I remember correctly it has a lot of fruit? I also think the pine may be greener.
Orca is a salty amber, which I love. I like briny scents.
That’s why I like Coco Blanc! It’s like the coconut for people that don’t like coconut 😉 It’s like chocolate chai or something.
I think the brand is available in quite a few Nordstrom doors now so it’s possible to sniff them in person. I actually don’t know which stores carry them but Nordstrom has a nice search feature on their website.
I love that they have smaller (and cheaper!!!) bottles for sale. At this point in my perfume collecting, space is becoming an issue and the price point of this brand had always scared me off. Albatross sounds very refreshing and calming. It’s great that a scent can so encapsulate a place.
I know! Gah, my space is so limited right now and I truly just do not have space for full-size bottles! Yes, I should probably weed my collection, but I don’t want to 🙂
Price is crazy. So many niche perfumes are now over $300 and that makes me feel so old. I remember when I thought $150 was crazy expensive!
It’s small but when you have a lot of perfumes, this size is perfect IMO. Now if you wear it daily, it’s a terrible value. But, for people like us, these small things are great and are a better value for us.
I’ve tried three House of Matriarch perfumes, and they all last about 15 minutes on my skin. For her prices, I find that to be utterly scandlaous.
I’ve heard other people say this, but I haven’t had the issues with longevity. They last on my skin all day. My husband’s signature is Black (or whatever it’s called now). He applies it in the morning and smells like it when he comes home 10-12 hours later.
Now the prices…I’m just not the type of person that spends more than $160 on a full-size bottle of perfume. That’s an entirely different topic/post, but seriously most of the stuff that I wear is “cheap” when compared to niche perfumes.
Victoria –
I suppose the trolls will always be a-trollin’, but I’ve managed to find my way through some of your back archives and perhaps discoveed why you abandonded your YouTube page. I’m sure I’m one voice among many on this point, but let me assure you that you were one of the most stunningly beauiful reviewers to ever grace the perfume reviewing schtick on that site. (I have to at least thank you for leaving your reviews up. I always find them so thoughtful and informative.) Pretty much a tie with Katie, I’d say. I hope you consider coming back, but if you don’t, now I know where to find you.
Love the blog!
Fragrant Hugs from Texas,
-John
John, thank you so much for your kind words. This past month, in particular, has been so stressful. I’ve had family things going on, etc. I’ve really felt overwhelmed. Perfume has been on the back burner. Your words have been really encouraging and I didn’t realize I needed to hear them until you said them. Thank you.
Maybe one day I’ll get back on Youtube. I will say that there were trolls and those people are everywhere. Overall, the perfume lovers that I met on that platform are awesome people, very supportive and clever. I shouldn’t let a few bad apples ruin the bunch, right?
I know that it’s sometimes easier said than done, especially with the baggage of real life weighing you down along the way, but yes … that’s where I was trying to go. Then again, there’s always passing by the mirror in the morning and telling yourself, “I look better than those bitter bitches any day, with no makeup and one hand tied behind my back.” Then do a triple-snap in Z-formation. It always makes me feel better. 🙂
I hope things are on the mend and that you’ll be back soon.
Fragrantly Yours,
-J
🙂
BEAUTIFUL FRAGRANCE…I NEED A FRAGRANCE THAT LAST.I NEVER CAN FIND ONE THAT WILL THIS SURE SOUNDS LIKE THE ONE I NEED!!!
It’s always good to try before buying. Everyone is different. For me, these last but I know that this isn’t the case for everyone 🙂
They don’t last too long for me, but it’s still one of the best things I’ve ever smelled so I just reapply.
[…] House of Matriarch Albatross EDP – This is one of those Neo-Aquatics that wears like a cool ocean breeze. It’s a fresh evergreen fragrance with a saltiness over woods. Retails for $330 at Nordstrom. Review here. […]
[…] Aquatics”. Don’t get me wrong, there are interesting aquatics in niche (like House of Matriarch Albatross, CB I Hate Perfume At the Beach 1966, etc.); I just think there is a genre that more niche brands […]