Description
The Achtung project is a series of 8 fragrances inspired by the Sacred Geometric Art of artist Rick Barchenger, part of a multi-media series of products that include fragrances by House of Matriarch, original art by Rich Barchenger and fashions by ARONHIX. The collection launches from Seattle, WA on 8/8/13.
Epiphany is the ragrant interpretation of Barchenger’s art piece “Midheaven.”
Notes for Epiphany include the world’s finest boutique lavender, grown and distilled in Washington (Hidcote pink essential oil, plus blue and white lavender concretes), oud, tobacco, amber, lily enfleurage, peppers, honey, coriander and oakmoss. Epiphany was launched in 2013. The nose behind this fragrance is Christi Meshell.
Buhar62 – :
Powerhouse lavender opening that transitions to a gorgeous smokey/spicey floral. I love lavender, and enjoyed the blast of high concentration herbal potency. It’s like pressing a field of lavender plants, with the scent of both flower and leaf consuming the air. This recedes, and underneath is a gorgeous spicy floral that still has the aroma of lavender sap woven into the accord. The whole has a feeling of nature’s strength. Like showing secret power hidden beneath beauty. A revelation, or Epiphany as it were! The drydown transitions again to a powdery sachet-like scent that smells wonderful rising up from my skin. Kudos to nose Christi Meshell. This is one of the most forceful and exciting lavender perfumes I’ve smelled!
ёманарот – :
Lovely and very unusual lavender (as in, not your mother’s or your grandmnother’s lavender). I am a lavender lover, and I am a forgiving scent wearer for lavender because I like it herbal, medicinal, bitter, sweet, astringent—all its incarnations are good to me, stem, leaf, flower. My favorite lavender of all kind is probably not so much lavender as incense and that would be Serge Lutens Foureau Noir—lavender, incense and smoke, Tonka. But like that one, this too is its own thing. HOM Epiphany is a gentle bathing-sweet lavender that borders on a “juicy” lilac—yes, lilac.
I think I pick up a lilac accord (which I’ve heard is pretty much impossible to create naturally) because of the melange of lily, tobacco, and honey mingling with a very low-key, non-herbaceous lavender. It is sweet and mellow, rather than clean and brisk. If you are a lavender-phobe, this may be the “conversion lavender” for you as it is so utterly different. Do not think cleansing products or fresh linens, but a juicy sweet honeyed tobacco infused with a current of Lily behind which Lavender whispers. Oak moss grounds it and keeps it from going into tooth-ache sweetness, and the sweet quality, the honey, is not gourmand at all. In fact, if you have had problems with honey turning “cat pee”—this won’t. It’s not a slather of honey, just a drizzle that wafts in the layers between the Lily, Lavender and Tobacco notes. The tobacco is more fresh cut, green sweet, not “cherry pipe tobacco” sweet. Visually, this scent presents as layers, almost as if one has a fork and tries the top bit of a light cake, then down to a frosted section, then to cake, and back again—its layers are waves of scent on the air.
I pick up a very little, if any pepper, and the coriander is sweet, again, think fresh, but without the spicy “Thai” or “Mexican food” aspect, but a sweet, heavy in the throatl key. Sandalwood adds a depth along with amber, but to my nose they are small-time players.
I now own many HOM. At first, I found some of the scents a bit trying, or very herbal—but others I adore (Bitter Sweet Symphony is a wow).
As I have worn and sampled and purchased these over the last 6 months, I’ve gained an appreciation for the aesthetic and am now a fan, only purchasing on points or during promotions (yes, they’re spendy). And no, many of their scents are not as strong as promotions would suggest nor do they last forever and a day. Having said that silage and longevity on this one is pretty good—I would say moderate for both, perhaps better on longevity—so you’ll get a good 6 hours of wear before it’s a skin scent. Too, just when I think they’re gone, they come back again, perhaps during a workout, or when the temp changes.
Epiphany, however, may be my favorite yet from this house—and the most approachable for many people, and definitely for someone who is on the fence or does not appreciate lavender. Try this—I think you will be most pleasantly surprised. Well done.
Bymer78 – :
I wonder if this is even the same fragrance from the blue bottle I tested; that one started out very mimosa-y (honeyed lily + lavender?), and the smokiness didn’t come out till after.
wci385Unlogrere – :
Great fragrance. The magic happens in the dry down. It becomes so aromatic and relaxing.
The opening is a very pungent lavender but I also get some ylang ylang.
The oak moss carries the lavender so well. I love it!
batmanserg1 – :
This opens with a heavy lavender blast (think Glade air freshener), although it’s a nice lavender. Non-linear, It takes a while to develop and does change a bit. Within an hour or so of the opening, it reveals a more muted lavender, possibly a hint of lily and a slight bit of a smoky effect. That’s it. I don’t pick up the honey effect or anything else that others appear to perceive.
While it’s a very nice floral fragrance, personally, I find it far too effeminate to wear, smoky or not.
Sillage and longevity are moderate.
fomin – :
This stuff is great perfect for all seasons and all occasions. The only thing that upsets me is I got the 15 ml bottle and not the 60 ml. A perfect blend of notes indeed. 10/10 in my book.
Rassia – :
I read somewhere that during the decadent phase of the Roman Empire the trendy thing to do at banquets was to take some incredibly expensive, difficult to source ingredient, like swallow tongues and prepare it in a way that it resembled something ordinary like mutton. This is pretty much my impression of most HoM fragrances. There’s always so much going on but the overall impression is of a sort of muddled and wan impression of a generic vintage chypre.
Seriously, I do not get this line.
So I received a sample of epiphany as a gift with my supernatural sampler and it sat there untouched for a year or so. Then yesterday another Fragrantician offered me some in a swap and I thought I should at least try it before I said no.
So I dabbed some on and yep, same deal, loads of things adding up to a wimpy muddle – I moved on.
Two hours later I’m eating dinner and I notice wafts of this incredible, beautiful fragrance which reminds me a bit of vintage Madame Rochas. You guessed it, it was the epiphany!
Then I look at the notes. Lavender! oud! No wonder I didn’t bother trying it. Those two are some of my least favorite things and what a terrible idea putting them together. Eventually when it hit the dry down I could detect the oud and If I tried real hard I could convince myself there was some really mild lavender in there.
Bottom line: this smells lovely but I don’t think I’m sophisticated enough for HoM.
I’ll still swap for it though!
irinaobuxova – :
!!! I love this. i just discovered this line from a gift sample set….pretty sure I want them all now. Faaaaantastic. Each is so unique and masterfully blended.
Epiphany is a beautiful smoky lavender, more than the regular lavender ho-hum you find with most scents, this is lavender with a sexy edginess to it brought by the incense that is completely intoxicating. Definitely uni-sexy.
Aekes – :
Since this is the first scent I’m choosing for the ‘wear the same scent each 2 days of November’ challenge, it’s about time I review it. I’ve rated lavender and pepper the highest, coriander/oud middle, and can detect tobacco, amber, honey, and sandalwood.
I was lucky enough to score a signed 15ml splash of this in a swap (thanks!) shortly after sampling. I LOVE the lavender in this, very potent at the opening, very realistic… and blended with a lot of warm spicy goodness & a very lush lily. Amber warmth mixes with a noticeable pinch of pepper and coriander’s very aromatic spiciness. Just a touch of creamy sandalwood and lily are discernible too, at the beginning. Overall it’s a complex lavender and spiced, deep woods. There is a bit of tobacco and honey, but nothing syrupy or synthetic about it as I’ve come to expect from those kind of scents elsewhere. Very natural and earthy spice/wood impression after drydown and all the way til it fades out of existence. The lavender dies down a lot after about the first hour and more tobacco/pepper and I guess oud (very woody though here, not dank or medicinal at ALL, just rich deep wood w/ maybe a touch of HoM’s type of addictive oud skank).
It lasts about 2 hrs w/ projection on me, 4-6 hours as a skinscent. Which I’m ok with when it’s 6, but 4 is too short lived. If I sweat at all it rises again even hours later though. As for the scent, I love it! Even the modest projection makes me happy because I think were it amped up any more than this the spiced woodsy feel would be overpowering (read: would make my nose itch), but I wish it’d project like this the whole wear. After the first 2 hours I bring my wrist to my nose every half hour or so and take a bit whiff; it’s very grounding and rich if oh-so-subtle now, hmm.
(Boyfriend’s opinion: the spices smell like RedHots at the opening, and it smells like burning wood in the far drydown. He did notice it without my asking about 5 hours after application, but had his nose right in it.) [11.3.14, 3 decent sized dabs]
nulia – :
Smoked lavender, indeed. It’s very well done and interesting that the smokey oud notes are strong in the opening and then in the dry-down over the time the lavender and softer notes come to shine through. It’s very long-lasting, especially for an all natural perfume and the sillage is also quite strong. I find it more masculine but wearable for a woman, depending on the mood of the day. Interesting line.
aleks_666 – :
Great way to finish off my reviews of this collection ending on a high.
I have to say I can’t afford to get more than two of these and I had my heart set on Sexmagic and Gateways but this is giving me food for thought.
Firstly, this scent is infectious it seems to linger inside my nose for a moment like I’m breathing in smoke or a dense fog, that’s not to say its aggressive though the top notes, they are delicate which is probably what allows and adds to the ‘breathing it in’ effect.
Again a natural, realistic floral this time with something called hidcote pink lavender and lily
And I must say it’s a fantastic combination…this is a floral that is definitely suitable for a man to wear. I’ve just noticed the first reviewer here saying the perfumer described it as ‘masculine floral’ and it is! In fact the first I can honestly say I genuinely like a maybe would wear.
It’s certainly an epiphany too as I can’t believe how much I like it! You can detect the oud as it dries down, getting a little earthier on me and yet more masculine but still retaining the awesome lavender (which I like anyway but this has to be the nicest and least intrusive I’ve ever smelled) along with lily which again I love but can go a little muggy…this doesn’t have that and just captures the lovely initial fragrant bouquet.
Something I haven’t mentioned a lot is the silage, projection and longevity on these perfumes is absolutely MASSIVE!!! I’m not used to such concentration they are insane.
House of Matriarch have created a very artistic and thought provoking series here and have made something worthy of attention and intrigue. I like continuity in art, narrative if you like which leads you through whether you enjoy all the content or not and this has that.
konffetkaby – :
Guys (and ladies) this is
Best.
Lavender.
Ever.
Smokey, some pepper, layered lavender sensation, bit sweet too. Some tobacco pepper and bit honey, blended with light silky aoud.
Lavender smoke. Just wow combination.
Smoke mellows and spiciness over time at end of 7 hours is lighter version of original, less smoke allows more this great lavender show with some faint honey.
Thank you to Gardenia sharing this, is new favorite! Cannot believe this smelling so incredible right now, cannot stop smelling ha. Immediate made top 5 favorite list and FB.
timon174163 – :
Gorgeous!!! Men or women, it is unisex-y!
This starts off as a bright but dirty smokey lavender. Forget everything you know about lavender from mainstream scents or even real botanical essences, and just try this. It is guaranteed to blow you away. (*From someone who until now felt “meh” about lavender)
Enter light parting clouds and shining on this scent, you might say this was my ‘Epiphany’ moment of lavender.
I did a double take equivalent with my nose first waft of this.
It is smokey dirty yet the true quality of the lavender soon shines through into a heart of beautiful lavenders used. They truly are quite stunning both types you get both the sharpness and the follow up sweeter natural soothing qualities in each inhale. The tobacco combination also adds a certain understated bold charm yet remains as a supporting note in the background. It lasts over 6 hours and at this point…(smelling) it is a skin scent and is sweet, gentle lavender, no more smoke at this stage (still very appealing but in a soothingly sweet different way.)
Edit: im hooked , I crave to smell this in the day, everyday
skyns69 – :
Beautiful spicy start. Spicier than just pepper bordering the hotness of pimento. Beautiful lavender with a smoky vibe. Deadidol described it as a dirty lavender and I feel that rings true. A sweetness lulls around in the background and then fades away as this gets spicier on my skin. The smoke relaxes a bit as the spices hover.
Really a very interesting take on lavender. It’s funny extrait21 feels this leans more to the feminine side and as a woman I feel this leans more to the masculine side. So let’s just say this is a beautiful compromise…a little masculine…a little feminine.
I’m so glad. I love lavender and a lot of lavender scents come off so masculine that as a woman, they can be tricky to wear. But this my dears can go either way and for that I love Ms. Meshell. Very unique and yet very wearable!!!
enginer – :
This opens with serious intensity—a very strong, natural, yet dirty lavender. There’s the cumin-type note that invades many of her scents, but there’s also smoke here at the outset. Smoky lavender! Pepper and coriander create a bit of a spice rack effect, and there’s a touch of candied sweetness to it as well. Twenty minutes, the smoke and dirtiness subside a bit, and the lavender becomes more foregrounded. This was actually a little disappointing to me, as smoky lavender is not something I’ve run across before, and I was getting a major kick out of it; it seemed so contradictory, yet it worked well. Once it settles into its main stage, you’re getting the powerful lavender, with a touch of remaining smoke. The two combined, alongside the semi-sweet base, produces a little bit of a cotton candy effect. So, dry lavender, powerful spices, and some dirty smoke is what you have here.
Ekaterishka – :
I absolutely love Epiphany! The lavender, which Christi said was all Washington sourced, is to die for. Even though it is listed as a unisex fragrance I feel this leans more toward the feminine side. As a rule of thumb, I generally do not wear fragrances that are more feminine, however Epiphany begs to be the exception. I wore it the other day at the Achtung launch party and could not get enough of it! Christi described it as a “masculine floral”, which is a term I have never heard, but since she used the word “masculine” then I guess it’s okay for me to wear it. 😉 Two thumbs up!!