Description
“LIMITED EDITION release of the bespoke fragrance created for pillar of the fragrance community, Joseph Sagona. The Longing is an ultra-gourmand unisex fragrance with oriental undertones and a velvety amber finish.” – a note from the brand.
The Longing by House of Matriarch is a Oriental Floral fragrance for women and men. This is a new fragrance. The Longing was launched in 2017. The nose behind this fragrance is Christi Meshell. Top notes are plum, jasmine, butter, agarwood (oud) and boronia; middle notes are vanilla orchid, gardenia, orange blossom, honey and osmanthus; base notes are leather, amber, benzoin, vanilla, sandalwood and ambrette (musk mallow).
GTA5bleatb – :
not a fan of natural perfumers but like this one; surprised by how dry it is and not sweet, not gourmand at all; like all the ingredients are dessicated and their essence preserved; a bit bitter, not juicy or flowery, very woody
I went from like in the top to love in the base with this smokey smokey wood. Oud central but without the animalic skank. This is a wisp, a puff, of longing sent up in smoke. This fragrance is the burning and the ashes that remain.
бона – :
The Longing… what an intruiging fragrance.
Reviewers are divided. Vegetal or gourmand? Mouth watering or stomach turning? What is this fragrance?
I need some more time with it, but so far I see a purely talented perfumer behind it. Due to the use of all natural ingredients, skin chemistry becomes a big factor.
I get a very very buttery white floral with heavy sandalwood and a sory of smoky-musky-leatheriness floating about. I dont like the opening, but from 45 min-6 hours I love it.
лехаш – :
I enjoy a wide variety of fragrances, and even if I don’t find something wearable I can at least appreciate it on an academic level. This is one of those rare fragrances that I find unwearable and cannot appreciate on any level.
Rather than the sweet gourmand one might expect, all I get is a powerful stomach-turning vegetal accord. Above all else I smell celery that’s been sitting at the back of your fridge and forgotten about for a couple of weeks. I put a spray on the back of my hand and had three different people smell it, all of which were shocked at the putrid celery smell wafting from my hand.
Against my better judgement, I decided to let it dry down to see if it would blossom into something more tolerable. Spoiler alert – it’s terribleness is linear, and never relented.
There are only a few fragrances I’ve ever washed off of my body, and this one has the honor of joining that rarified club.
Erarialfwaifs – :
I’ve watched many reviews about The Longning and normally I don’t get interested in hyped fragrances. The notes were really appealing to my taste though but I am also not a fan of super sweet gourmand scents. So I wasn’t sure, if I should try it cause the price is very high.
Almost everyone has a different opinion about it so that evoke my interest and I ordered a sample.
I really wanted to smell butter and plum because I’ve never experienced those notes together.
So now about the scent. Firtly, I am quite picky with gourmands. They need to be very well done for me to like them.
The Longning was pleasant from the first sniff. It is the symphony of opulant flowers, tempting and delicious notes and I can surely tell that this is my LOVE. It smells really SEXY!!!
The quality is top notch. Stays on the skin/hair all day long and has nice sillage and makes you feel like a number one person in the world. Selfish scent:)
sergio290177 – :
The Longing is an enigma.
Out of chaos in the beginning spray the fragrance begins to come together into order.
Notes of oud, plum, butter, gardenia, vanilla, jasmine, honey and leather. Its complex. gourmandish, a throwback to the 80s where fragrances were complex, and thus turned to an individual scent for the wearer due to ones personal chemistry.
This is gourmand, but its gourmand if you asked your local perfumer-apothecary to whip up something using natural essences. The aspect makes this a unique offering to the market.
Its a special fragrance and wonderful to me. Well done Christi & Joseph!
siy938speagoessenda – :
Ziggy2012, I had almost the exact same thing, and I thought it must be my skin too. Frankly, I don’t think I can wear this at all. I tried it for as long as I could (probably 5 hours), waiting to see if it would develop into something tolerable on me. Nope. It almost smelled like an “off” Alexander McQueen Kingdom on me, and I actually adore that scent. But I got no plum or floral notes at all, just a very STRONG spice mixed with an unpleasant body odor smell. By the end of what I could take with this scent, I was actually becoming annoyed, and had to scrub it off my body. Oh well, I still love House of Matriarch, and will continue to purchase their scents. And I love finding different scents to mix together to create something better suited to me. Sadly, all I longed for with this scent was to take a bath!
paypegeAbub – :
I am writing this because my experience of this fragrance is completely different to the reviewers below. So much so, that I wondered if the sample bottle from Matriach had been mislabelled.
However, I think not, but it is probably a reflection of how The Longing reacts to my skin type, and there may be others like me.
Someone has compared this to Mitzah, by Dior which is one of my signature fragrances and on my skin The Longing is nothing like Mitzah
On my skin, I get no gourmand qualities at all, it is all about a heavy dose of Benzoin and Leather and a hint of Agarwood with just a tiny amount of a subtly floral sweetness. In the later drydown it softens because of the amber in the base and seems more balanced, but it is not a neck nibbler on me, sadly..lol
So, the message is try before you buy
Shams – :
A lovely fragrance with a little butter you can take in the beginning. Lucious fragrance.Not true gourmand but semi.It reminds one of creation E but with better silage.Dont hesistate to pull the trigger on this neck nibbler lol
aliona-moskva – :
This is a mesmerizing and interesting perfume that I had a strong “like” for. I’m actually wondering whether I like or I love or I’m just intrigued. Hype aside (yes, there’s a lot), the perfume to me is so absolutely NON-GOURMAND. That’s fine. I’m not exactly into the sugar cookies, caramel pralines and fruitchoulis. The occasional gourmand works for me so long as it’s not sweet.
So, I was surprised at my repeated wearings. I got a large sample on special, and have had ample opportunity to wear. On the major plus: out of all the natural perfumes out there, and hers, in particular, this wears LONG and STRONG. It definitely has a natural feel to it, and somehow it definitely strikes one as out of the ordinary, natural and unusual. But is it good? Is it lovely? Or Sexy? Or Comforting?
Hmmmm….as with so many perfume houses, there is a base: Guerlain has their Guerlinade and frequent Tonka; Serge Lutens has his winey autumnal fruited berries and plums, dried pomander, etc.
This is: apothecary. I really am trying to avoid the “Mystical Magik” verbiage, but this smells like walking into a dusty apothecary shop, maybe in the medieval period (what do I know?), and smelling herbs, spices, something exotic, compelling, repelling and foreign. There is a spicy, bitter, pungent herbal quality joined with boozy (whiskey-like) plum brushed with the equivalent of “bitters.” I don’t smell butter. I don’t smell the amber honey goodness much at all, and I sure don’t think this is gourmand. Forget cookie dough. This is NOT like her Coco Blanc which is a lovely, albeit fleeting and soft gourmand with butter. What I like and simultaneously don’t like is some aspect that is extremely pungent that is a note absolutely not listed (I thought, maybe the Beronia since I”m not so familiar with that). It’s not osmanthus or jasmine, and if it’s not listed, it’s not something familiar that I know like lavender or sage. On base notes, one member said this was “hard to describe” and it really is. Now, that’s compelling for me, and disturbing. But is it good? (And yes, many of her perfumes seem to have this “apothecary” quality).
I sometimes felt “worn” by this fragrance. It definitely goes the distance, and it’s not weak. I wore it several days in high heat, and just when I’d think it’s gone–no it’s not. One minute I liked it. The next I wasn’t sure. A minute later, I felt jarred by it. At one time, I really felt that all the notes listed (almost all of them are my absolute favorites, and together, wow! Right?) were jostling, competing, and really not melding together.
LIke a typical American, I often think a little is good, more is better, and all these accords at once shaken, not stirred, together has gotta be fantastic. But perfume doesn’t always work out like that. Putting in everything and the kitchen sink sometimes leads to confusion, and there was that quality in it. Yet, I was still compelled by it and I’m thinking about it a lot–to me a sign of evocative art. The price is certainly prohibitive for many of us, but it’s definitely a unique, interesting smell. It is not gourmand (to me). It is not sexy. It is not exactly a warm, comforting blanket. It is artistic, intriguing, thoughtful, powerful, mysterious, and….
Sidebar: I wore this to meet my caterer for my upcoming nuptials. We were sitting outside in the California vineyard I’m getting married at, later afternoon. She starts swatting at insects. Little bugs are biting her, obviously, on the ankles and attacking her, gnats, mosquitoes, possibly some ground fleas. Now, I am normally a tasty treat for all things that fly: mosquitoes LOVE me. This perfume was wafting off of me in waves, and I was trying to listen to her, watching her swat at the insects and hearing her curse about it, and I was simultaneously so aware of this perfume, and then it hit me: I was in an insect-free zone. Nothing was flying around me or biting me. My caterer exclaimed again, and I mentioned my perfume, as I sat calmly, watching her jiggle and swat. We both thought that might be it: this has insect repelling qualities. Not one bug was coming near me, and that is a very lovely thing indeed!
arktat – :
This was a blind buy with no reasoning other than I got a decent deal with a coupon on it, now on to the scent:
If you have had the ability to smell Cadavre Exquis by Bruno Fazzolari (in collaboration with Antonio Gardoni), you will immediately pick out the similarities to this fragrance and that one.
Both are hybrids of the typical gourmand category, laden with heavy spices and not so dessert smelling as it is an exotic smelling dish.
CE had a large “beef bouillon cube” smell at the beginning to me, where this kind of surpasses that notion and gains more of a dried plum smell mixed with the spices and abstract sweetness.
I am aware neither fragrance indicate many spices, but there is at the very least notes recognizing the smell of anise/licorice, cumin & maybe some cardamom.
This in all is a sweeter concoction due to CE being a very dry, spicy sorta gourmand along with dark chocolate.
There is also some sort of a sweetened cereal note I also pick up in this, possibly due to the “butter” note.
It is a very well done fragrance, smooth and will appeal to people seeking out a twist on the usual sweet-tooth fragrance family.
sasa.larin – :
No overhype here. This is a miraculous fragrance. PEROD.
sulim-nsvu – :
A little over hype with this fragrance… reminds me of creation-E… bummer…
very well done fragrance but this is the reason you don’t listen to hype and blind buy!!
andrei.andres2011 – :
Anyone who knows me, even in passing, knows I am rarely at a loss for words. I have always had the good fortune of being able to muster up words for any situation whether it be personal or professional; in fact, I have been a sort of a wordsmith for most of my professional life. So finding myself in this situation, well, you will have to bear with me as a stumble reaching for just the right phrases.
How can I accurately describe this fragrance which for me evokes a reaction; one that became part of the human condition thousands of years ago? In the beginning of recorded time and even before, humans sought answers for things they didn’t understand. They created rituals and symbols and later organized religions. We sought to define what was holy, what was sacred. And with the notion of that which was sacred came a counterpoint of that which was profane.
Neither the brand description “The Longing is an ultra-gourmand unisex fragrance with oriental undertones and a velvety amber finish” or the extensive list of notes (Top Notes: Plum, Jasmine, Butter, Agarwood, Boronia; Heart Notes: Vanilla Orchid, Gardenia, Orange Blossom, Honey, Osmanthus; Base Notes: Leather, Amber, Vanilla, Benzoin, Sandalwood, Ambrette Musk) does this fragrance justice. In this case, the whole is more than a sum of its parts.
I get a balance between the sacred and the profane. I get a soft, angelic plum mixed with white florals. I get the insistence of the profane spoken through leather and hinted animalistic musk. I get a unashamed penance sought with overtones of incense. I get innocence and desire; heaven lost and reclaimed.
I’ve never heard a song in my head when I’ve used any fragrance but The Longing has placed these Melissa Ethridge lyrics squarely in my head:
I’ve crept into your temple
I have slept upon your pew
I’ve dreamed of the divinity
Inside and out of you
I want it more than truth
I can taste it on my breath
I would give my life just for a little death
So I’ll come by and see you again
I’ll be just a very good friend
I will not look upon your face
I will not touch upon your grace
Your ecclesiastic skin
The Longing has brought both the light and the dark together. For me it is a reminder that even with the basest thoughts there remains a spark of the divine. “What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!” (Shakespeare)
vavani444 – :
I have been awaiting The Longing for two months now. You know that feeling when you’re hungry and you’re imagining the taste on the tongue, the warmth of sustenance to quell your hunger that is growing stronger by the minute as the aroma wafts from the kitchen? When I got the notification The Longing had been delivered, if my nose could growl, it would have.
I eagerly tore open the package, bracing myself for the gourmand heaven and sexiness touted by other reviewers. I smelled….meh. I definitely get the vanilla and plum and a healthy dose of new leather. After the dry down, I could detect none of the gardenia. The sandalwood is apparent but not attention seeking.
As with with another recent release from HOM, Destrier, this fragrance on me projects mildly, and I catch a definite whiff of alcohol; it’s perplexing to me as I know this house is known for it’s top-notch ingredients, but the juice doesn’t vibe with my chemistry. Overall, not one I would repurchase (this was a blind buy), if I could return this and get Black #1 instead, I would. Black #1 gets me.
As for The Longing, for me it is aptly named, though I am not certain that was the original intent.
galym6 – :
I have to admit this fragrance was quite a bit different than described by many fragrance reviewers. While it is really a very nice fragrance, I feel The Longing is being over-hyped (free bottles for favorable reviews perhaps?) within the fragrance community IMO.
I got to experience this scent on two occasions over the weekend on my gal pal. Although it was very nice, I did not find it overtly sexy…I did not want to eat it off her arm…nor did I find it to be a gourmand lovers type of gourmand fragrance.
Instead, it reminded me of shades of Dior Mitzah. No, it’s not identical…but it has that Mitzah spicy oriental vibe (spices, incense, honey, etc.) but a bit creamier/butterier and with a deeply muted fruity and floral tones. Someone described this fragrance as smelling like full-on Church Incense. While I don’t share this opinion, again, I do feel it has a noticeable herbal-spiced incense accord. Personally, I’m detected a lot less floral notes than listed and a whole bunch of balsamic notes that are not in the notes pyramid.
Performance is rock-solid in that The Longing lasts 12-hours, projects about average, but leaves a very nice scent trail for 3-4 hours after being applied. I may actually like this one as much, or better, on my gal pal than Mitzah. So it really is a very nice fragrance and it is a strong like on my end. My issue is that it’s not a sexy-seductive fragrance IMO. Instead, I would describe it as being interesting, enjoyable, and even assertive. Is it worth the money? You be the judge.
Limon – :
I did not think this was unisex at all. It’s overly feminine. This is getting a ton of unwarranted hype in the community. This fragrance is nothing out of the ordinary and I found Mr. Sagona’s review to be quite misleading. The main review is a stretch of the imagination, to say the least. This happens to be the trend lately especially a connection with some Indie Perfumers and their customers who over exaggerate, especially when there are free fragrances headed their way as a form of “compensation.” House of Matriarch is making frags for several people I have noticed. Those people then overload the community with excessive hype. What exactly is going on here ??
Дракоша – :
I tried it and all I got from the opening is this Catholic church incense burner smell with a hint of fruity note and later on, the fruity notes went away and all I smell is incense burner.I did not get any gourmand notes at all.
For me, it smells like lighter version of interlude men
hqx273intitytek – :
In the opening the Plum note I find is more subtle, but darker, and a little dry, it’s actually quite aromatic in the opening, and I get an almost soft sense of spices even though spices are not listed..
After just a minute I get a rush of butter, vanilla, honey and jasmine that meld together, for me it’s mouth watering, but not a typical “gourmand” Extremely sexy smelling in my opinion, but that’s subjective. Very addicting and hypnotic! I found the honey and jasmine note to almost peak a couple of hours in, almost smelling like a gorgeous warm rich caramel like note, it gets a little darker in the end of the dry down, with resins and a sense of leather with a rich dark woods and smooth clean oud, that’s still there 24 hours later. I find it totally unisex, some might find it leans feminine depending on taste. One of the most delicious smelling floral gourmands I’ve ever smelled. It’s not gourmand in the traditional sense, but it’s very tasty. I actually wanted to eat my hand testing it, and it makes my mouth actually water!! Very sexy, very tasty! I am loving this one.. I hope it gets put in to the full collection and not just a limited edition! I bought a full bottle straight after testing my sample! I get around 10 hours longevity and 2 hours softer projection – but still faint on my hand 24 hours later – I would consider it one of my best purchases in the last year… I am a fragrance reviewer on YouTube, FragranceView, but unlike the comments above suggest, I paid for my sample, and my full bottle myself in full.. and I am not aware of anyone being gifted a free bottle of this..It’s quite wrong to accuse honest reviewers of that.
I don’t know why people presume reviewers are lying, because someones opinion isn’t exactly the same as ours… Taste is very subjective!
jaja777 – :
I’m getting sweet warmth with a sexy, heavy metal vibe. I can’t stop sniffing my wrist. I just read where it’s a limited edition…which makes me kind of anxious. Bravo Joseph Sagona!!
Mecqj210InsuffBooni – :
In the Summer of 2016 Perfumer Christi Meshell of The House of Matriarch and I went back and forth about creating a fragrance for me, to share with the world.
I gave her some of my favorite notes that I wanted, and she went to work, then in November of that year she sent me a prototype to see if I wanted any changes, it was instant love,,,, and so it begins.
THE LONGING
A spiritual chant I hear echoing in the distance, a mystical rhythm that pulsates through every fiber of my existence, a sensual dance of an erotic essence.
Flowers of the divine sooths the darkest of souls, fruits picked from the fragile shrub as pure sweetness unfolds, an everlasting beauty that longs to behold.
A tussle of sweet honey slides down your wet lips, dewy skin is a temptation I cannot resist, a balmy, musky, climax of love, tenderness and butterfly kisses.
A longing for your aroma and fragile touch, is a blessing of pure heavenly lust, a warm purple hue that blossoms through in my vivid dreams of you. Joseph Sagona (2016)
I get a sweet, delicious, subtle, waxy, dripping plum, that brightens a slightly animalic, spiced, with a touch of green jasmine, and a fresh, slick, nectarous, candied honey.
Then a tropical tinged, floating in the sea and air gardenia shrub, liquefies into a blackened, new, glossy leather, a milky, sublime, sandalwood, and a light hearted, sugary, succulent vanilla.
I get the Plum, Jasmine, Gardenia, Vanilla, Honey, Leather and Sandalwood, it opens up with a dark, juicy plum and a ripe, fleshy jasmine, the plum is soft, the jasmine is strong.
After fifteen minutes the plum dissipates, the jasmine softens, in comes a silky, sticky honey, and a bright, intoxicating gardenia, the honey is soft, the gardenia is mild.
After five hours the jasmine and honey dissipate, the gardenia softens, in comes a dark, glistening leather, a rich, creamy sandalwood, and a sweet, seductive vanilla, the leather is mild, the sandalwood is strong, the vanilla is mild.
The Longing is a very soft yet rich, plush white florals, lush, gourmand and amber nuances, slightly powdery, unisex, it leans more feminine Floral Fragrance.
This would be gorgeous in the Spring and Summer, I get average projection and average longevity, this is a beautiful fragrance, amazing job Christi Meshell, 5/5 Stars.