Zola Jesus Taiga X Blackbird
Blackbird (2015)

Stardate 20170907:

Dry woods, incense balanced by sweetness of amber.
Very similar to HoM Blackbird.
The notes list Indian incense but I smell frankincense.

Lasts long.
Recommended.

Zephyr1973's description is right on in regard's to this animal. My reaction to it is only slightly different.

There are some similarities of this to HOM's Black No.1.
First of all, both carry a conifer base which used by Northwest Coast perfumers current. It is something I have noticed first in Olympic Orchids offerings, then HOM Black, Durbano Tourmaline and now in Zola Jesus.
Second, they both point to Black Leather.
Black No. 1 points to Polished Cordovans lightly scuffed by the pedals of my DB9 whereas Zola points to Polished Cordovans that have been on a journey through the bush, through the ash of a dry, burned forest, scorched by the heat of a bonfire. Dusty and heavily scuffed.

Zola gets top marks from me as it has opening notes similar to the Snarly Olive oil assaults used by Pregoni.

Zola is a dirty, butchy and bitchy Bobcat.
Black No.1 is cleaner, prettier and purring Jaguar.

Love them both.

May 18,2016
Up my rating on this. Green Peppercorn is true. The drydown is exceptional. I feel as if I have been cleansed by the Conifer, Salt of the Pacific Northwest burn.

Alrighty, then.

Let me begin by saying, on first sniff, I thought this was a possible purchase; it had that House of Matriarch Blackbird feel to it.

But, then I sprayed it on, and all my hopes and dreams dissolved into a puddle of, well, I'm not sure what.

Here's the weird part - if you smell it in just the right way, it is absolutely gorgeous! I mean, I could buy a full bottle! But then, if you smell it the wrong way, it turns on you like that wild lynx you once brought home thinking you were cool and could tame it.

I don't know what happened in the laboratory with this scent - it's confusing. It has all the right stuff, but there is a structural problem that needs to be worked out before I can enjoy wearing it.

It's of course quite possible that when I had the initial impression of HOM's Blackbird, my expectations were raised to an unreasonable height, which left this poor thing flailing, but on it's own, and on my skin, it just doesn't make me run to my savings account and wonder "should I?".

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I never brought home a lynx. It was just a feral cat whose tail had been mangled by some wild animal and had to be amputated. She was pretty interesting, though. First day of my new school in 6th grade, she left me a gift - a bunny she had beheaded. Sweet.