Description
Forbidden fragrance is based on powerful historical feared, powerful and even outlawed flavors.
Rooted in layers of historically feared and even outlawed aromatics, Forbidden begins with a erogenous absinthe and damiana opening, then sweetly drops into an intoxicating heart accord of tuberose, wild mushroom and papyrus. A smooth finish of precious woods, snake leather and sweet baked earth complete this long-lasting unisex perfume.
Top notes: absinthe, damiana, lantana and cannabis. Heart: tuberose, wild mushroom, cypriol and pepper blend. Base: precious woods, herbs and roots.
Available in bottles of 60 ml. Forbidden was launched in 2012. The nose behind this fragrance is Christi Meshell.
Assence – :
Of all scents in the HoM sampler pack I received, it was to Forbidden and Coco Blanc I attached my little silver sticker and etched a pentagram. (Silver sticker means good/possibly buy a FB, and silver sticker with a pentagram means excellent/buy a FB.
I still don’t know exactly what it is with this one for it to merit FB status (especially at their prices!), but it’s mesmerizing; definitely one of my faves from HoM, and definitely not just for women. I’m a 37-year-old man and I say this stuff is simply incredible. Christi really knows how to make a fragrance ascend.
server_09 – :
This is a spell being cast in a dark forest. It unleashes a fierce wind that blows and picks up all the scents of the wild. Mushrooms, magic and mayhem! A storm of forbidden ingredients that takes me to some of my most enchanted fantasies.
HoM says “Nature is the Ultimate Luxury”. The natural ingredients in their perfumes contain all the nuances that nature offers. Forbidden is a microscope of the glooming, the outlawed, the hallucenogenic. These mind expanding notes combine with tuberose to create a scent that conjures a seductive, bewitching aroma to free your imagination.
vado_077 – :
What a beautiful trip! This takes you for a walk and is nice to look at … type psilocybin!
The notes are many and I can recognize a few separately.
I have the absinthe initial sprint, tuberose bubblegum, clean mushrooms, a strange flower, whiffs of skin, green leaves and maybe tobacco.
In my head it brings me back to memories of school desks and the smell of ink from colored pens … especially the green ones!
Summing up:
The tuberose as a main note and a more botanical and less romantic general approach.
A more versatile thread on a fairly modern woman.
Medium sillage and longevity a little short.
Bello doll-style drydown.
… Magic mushrooms.
9/10
Godfather79 – :
I have tried coco blanc, the longing, orca, black no1 and this from the house. I am a man and I think Forbidden is very interesting. I do not understand why this is categorized as women fragrance at fragrantica? IMO its perfectly unisex. Maybe I like it because it is “forbidden”?
The smell capturing the energy of a sacred forrest with elfs and creatures of light taking care of the holy vegetation. Its not dark night, but the sun is penetrating trough the high treetops. Its very green, but also abundance of flowers and mushrooms. Far away I can hear a small waterfall with crystal clear water. It is mystical and happy forest.
I actually use this as aromatherapy and to alter my state of mind. I get in a very spiritual mood when I smell this. And I can always escape back to this happy place as long as I have the magical portion that opens the portal.
9/10 UNISEX fragrance
Max.front – :
Forbidden – the fragrance containing ingredients that were illegal to use in the past (with cannabis still being illegal all around the world). It smells like the woods in the morning whilst you’re looking for some mushrooms. And this forest is full of them, as they exude their thick fragrance (with the help of tuberose). I really hate tuberose, but here it is done very well, so I cannot complain. However, it is quite daring and I could not see myself wearing this out and about. I don’t want to smell like mushrooms in the public, that is why I would class this as a novelty scent, much like Albatross and it’s smell of a ship port filled with old sea growth. It projects quite well for about an hour and a half, then coming really close to the skin, like any other HoM fragrance. Same as every other review I had of this house, cannot justify spending the $330 for a 50ml bottle just to enjoy the fragrance myself, as nobody gets any whifs of it (not even me, have to bury my nose on the spot I sprayed). If the prices get lowered at some point (I heard that HoM has gotten some commercial success, maybe they’ll attract more customers), I could see myself going for Coco Blanc, but for now… no thanks.
Xeroxeuuvq – :
Even though the notes don’t match at all, Forbidden reminds me alot of Vero Profumo Onda for the first hour or two. It could 100% be my skin chemistry since House of Matriarch uses alot of natural ingredients but I get Onda’s same aromatic topnotes, kind of a mix of medicinal herbs and berries, the scent of organic valerian root extract from Whole Foods. This part will appeal to some even if it doesn’t sound that appetizing from me. Conceptually the whole perfume is very Snow White and the Huntsmen. If you like the idea of a feminine perfume that transforms from poison apples deep in the forest to sunshine on glittering angel wings, you might want to try this. After the edgy absinthe and damiana comes a heart of sweet, marshmellowy tuberose. Very much the opposite feel of the opening. The drydown is peace restored to the village, sunny fields of sweet grass and warm skin.
GerzogX – :
Thumb’s up, only just, because Tuberose Indolic has my stomach tighten, my brain gasping for oxygen as it tries to push it’s way out of my sockets.
I am forced to scrub.
Funny because Jasmine Indolic has the whole of me wrapped up in the rapture of Oxygen rich clouds and an overwhelming calm and Peace.
Before I scrubbed I was able to recognize a pleasing Woody Base, hints of fungi and of course a intoxicating blast of dry Absinthe.
vadym – :
Forbidden’s opening is a wower with its blast of green and straight-froward indolic tuberose. There’s also an overall mushroom-y vibe going on but it’s nowhere close the incredibly realistic (and slightly off-putting) one in, say, JAR’s Jardenia. The fragrance then morphes into a tremendously solid green white floral that’s thick but not overwhelming. Well refined and bold without the heaviness which is often typical of tuberose-centered fragrances.
A fragrance that pushes the boundaries of floral perfumery as only Lutens or Vero Kern have been able to do.
Heady, narcotic and completely tremendous.
Rating: 7-7.5/10
mendrov – :
Forbidden is my favorite fragrance of all time <3 If I had to wear only one for the rest of my life, this would be it for me, hands down. Brilliant! Dark & seductive. Makes me feel like a femme fatale on a mysterious mission. A truly brilliant composition that is truly intoxicating. One of a kind.
victo-1970 – :
Very luscious, bold absinthe. It’s different from every fragrance I have and everything I’ve sampled. I only tried it because I thought it was neat to see a lantana note, since I love it in a garden.
But. I hate licorice–both black and red. It’s a disgusting, inexcusable, plastic substitute for candy that engenders the absolute worst bad breath. Here, I love it. LOVE. Forbidden pairs straight-up black licorice perfectly with tuberose and a subtle lantana. Green freshness with a downright subversive depth.
Next, I don’t usually care for boozy fragrances. Like patchouli, the only thing that stays on my skin is the bourbon or rum. Not successful to date. This however is classy, retro-glam absinthe. It is NOT absinthe at a Gatsby-themed party with cheap, anachronistic costumes. It’s delicate glassware with a filagree’d spoon, lipstick and beaded fringe. No trace of irony.
It’s glorious. Grown-up. Long-lasting, particularly for natural perfumery, and especially if you spray it on clothing in addition to skin. I don’t think it projects very far. But, I keep snuffling my wrist and if I think about tuberose, I smell it. If I focus on absinthe, I smell that instead. I’m feeling way classier than my jams this morning. And I’ve been very happy to re-discover it on scarves I’ve worn over the last few weeks.
zLou – :
I got this lovely fragrance as a free 3.3ml sample when I bought Coco Blanc from their website. I ended up giving it to a friend who immediately fell in love with this expertly made concoction. While this wasn’t a favorite of mine, the scent was nevertheless enjoyable. To me the scent made me feel as if I had stepped into an old forgotten forest in the middle of fall right after a downpour. I kept getting hints of tuberose mixed with wet earth and a subtle saltiness from the mushrooms. The silage is moderate but turns into a skin scent around hour four and longevity is about average at 6-7 hours.
vinster139 – :
I guess not many people tried this yet -perhaps because the list of notes is filled with potential stinkbombs??? Whoever has ever even touched a Lantana will know what I’m talking about. Of course cannabis doesn’t help attract the masses either… or mushroom, or wormwood.
The opening is vaguely familiar. A bit strong, herbal and fruity at the same time. After squeezing my head for days I think I can safely say it reminds me a cough syrup from childhood (no my mom did not slip me pot for the cough! We are very respectable!). It is a very quirky opening but nowhere near stinky or… illegal. In reality, the whole composition is arranged around an accord of tuberose and papyrus (nagarmotha). This is the central theme and peeps through the top a few moments after application and never leaves the stage after. Tuberose here is not portrayed as narcotic or voluptuous as we have come to expect but it plays out its hidden medicinal aspect. Papyrus is green, earthy and raspy, and scars the silky petals of the flower. In this battle however the flower ultimately prevails as in the drydown it seems to be more prominent than any other note (strange I know).
This is definitely the strangest tuberose fragrance I have ever encountered because of the unexpected route Christi Meshell chose to follow. It was a submission for a natural perfumers guild project and her theme was an interpretation of Ophiuchus (not Oephiucus, I’ve had it with the misspelling and mispronunciation of Greek names on the net lately) the “serpent bearer”. If you keep that in mind then the quirkiness of the perfume immediately makes sense. This tuberose is the serpent. Its white glistening skin is reflecting the moonlight as it moves through the mossy vegetation. The trail it leaves behind smells of poison, but a poison that can also be used as a remedy. The duality of poison and cure is evident in Greek culture as the snake, a universal symbol of danger and death has become (through the mythical doctor Asclepius) a symbol of cure. The same stands for the essences used in this perfume. Most of them have an intoxicating effect deemed illegal but have been used in shamanic rituals as means to attain cure.
On with the practical stuff. This is strictly a nocturnal perfume, ideally worn at an outdoors event, garden party, stroll in the woods, seduction on mossy surfaces (!!!). Unisex yes, but seems to have been designed with an occult priestess in mind so if you want to showcase it, evoke the power of the serpent, wear a white revealing dress and a mask and lure your mate with a dance in the moonlight. Use him up and then throw him away before the perfume magic starts to fade (I get at least 6 hours from this with very light application but it is quieter after the first hour or so. I can still detect traces of it after 10 hours).