CaFleurebon Profiles in American Perfumery: Christi Meshell of House of Matriarch + Tipping Point Draw

 

 

 Christi Meshell, Natural Perfumer

 

Profile:  I was born in southeast Texas, the daughter of a real cowboy. My childhood was filled with the aromas of Cajun comfort food, wild honeysuckle, mimosa trees and super fragrant pine trees (Pinus taeda) on the smoky backdrop of the Gulf coast refineries.

 

 Christi's Dad

 

Although the family was rooted there and everyone worked for “the Gulf”, my mom yearned to escape to greener territory, so when I was in grade school we moved from port to port, that is “Port Arthur” to Portland”, Oregon where my Dad could still work for a refinery and she could follow her calling to become an herbalist. 

 

 

She opened a health food store, practiced reflexology and folk medicine, went for herb walks and made her own tinctures.  Vacations were spent in nature around the Puget Sound, in the rainforests and on the Oregon coast. It was a great place to grow up: I fell in love with the Pacific North West and have never moved from the area.

 

 

My higher purpose:  teaming up with Mother Nature to heal the world.

Dimensional Warp by Rick Barchengar 

Favorite American Artist:  Rick Barchenger.  Rick creates pen & ink sacred geometric designs.  He was gifted with his amazing artistic talent after a surgery where he received spinal tissue from an organ donor.  What I admire most about his work is the study on contrast; it’s my favorite theme.  There is also the intricacy and the naturalness: you see an occasional “human touch” as it is all done with just a pen and a ruler.

 

 

Star of David by Rick Barchengar

 

In an age where nearly everything is computerized and “perfect” I find the realness of his work very refreshing, (for example Star of David and Dimensional Warp shown above).  The originals are quite large: averaging 30×36.  His art is still obscure; he’s had a few showings, but yet to be truly “discovered”. He is such a prolific artist, I’m sure he will be getting his big break soon.  I would love to see his designs on textiles.

 

 

On American Perfumery: Freedom and unlimited possibility.  What an exciting time to be alive!  Never in all of humanity has a better time to be a perfumer (or perfume fan) existed.  We have access to innumerable materials, enjoy virtually unrestricted trade and new ways of extracting aromatics are being discovered all the time. Its fun shipping our perfumes all over the world and being on the tipping point of the natural perfume “movement”.  I feel so lucky to be doing what I love.  I also feel a huge responsibility to give back in a meaningful way, because I feel so blessed to be in this position. I guess that sounds like America.

 

Christi Meshell, Natural Perfumer and founder of House of Matriarch

 

 

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 For our draw, Christi is offering a 10ml roll-on of any House of Matriarch fragrance, an $88 value. To be eligible  leave a comment about something fascinating about Christi's profile and please state which fragrance you would like to win AND WHY. There are five distinctive fragrances to choose from www.matriarch.biz to peruse the selection. Draw closes March 21, 2012

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume.

  We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume.

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40 comments

  • I am intrigued by her description of the environment under which she grew up, from which she undoubtedly draws inspiration in creating her scents (as apparent in the use of woody notes, tobacco notes and floral notes in her perfumes). I also like her interest in nature, herbs and folk medicine. I would love to win the Carmine fragrance because the combination of notes present is so unlike any of the perfumes I have ever tried.

  • mariotgomez says:

    Thank you for another perfumer’s profile and especially introducing me to House of Matriarch.

    I would be interested in either Epoch because much care and the mystery behind it. Most scent do not age well and I like the idea that it is designed to improve each year. I love the idea when you buy it, it is boxed in a fire proof safe. Talk about the ultimate collector piece.

    I would also be interested in Carmine b/c of the combination of notes. I have been looking to experience a perfume with African stone.

  • I find it interesting that her mother opened a health food store, practiced reflexology and folk medicine, went for herb walks and made her own tinctures.

    I’d love to win Destiny because the description “Sunshine in a Bottle” is exactly what I would love to capture!

  • I love that she says her higher purpose is to team up with Mother Nature to heal the world. That is so admirable! I would like to try Destiny because the fresh floral scent seems perfect for this time of year! I am also very intrigued that this scent can be used to help with seasonal affective disorder.

  • Her father was a cowboy how much more American can you get
    I also think Christi’s choice of artist was interesting Rick Barchenger who she is hoping will “get his big break soon”
    I hope she does too
    I would choose ambre vie with its dragons blood and davana because it sounds very different
    Thank you for the draw

  • I find it fascinating that yet another American niche perfumer is from the Pacific North West. The weather must encourage the arts. I would choose
    Forbidden, it sounds very intriguing.
    Thanks for the article and for the draw.

  • Heather C. says:

    I love that she grew up with a parent in the natural products industry. I have spent most of my career working in health food stores, and I easily find common ground with anyone who grew up around them.

    I would like to try Carmine, as I have never tried any of the head notes in that blend!

  • Great name House of Matriarch. Great notes in Alpha! Sometimnes I believe myself to be an Alpha and at other times…So, I need to verify for sure and this fragrance might help my decision!

    Been to Austin, Dallas and San Antonio but not in a cowboy way (no roughing it).

    But, I have a brother living in Portland.

    So…let’s do it!

  • I am thinking I would like Carmine, too. was a choice between Carmine and Destiny, but I think the Carmine has more notes that I like.
    I love that Christi’s mom opened a health food store, practiced reflexology and folk medicine, went for herb walks and made her own tinctures. She might have been a “hippy” in her day but she was so on the right track to living right. A good read and a great draw. thanks

  • I love the amazing descriptions of each scent! The pictures are lovely on this site–especially Christi with the flowers and butterfly. I appreciate the respect of Gaia, the family roots in Nature, the higher purpose of healing, and the honoring of the feminine! Christi- you rock!
    I would choose Alpha–because I love the woodsy, cedar, earthy scent

  • How much fun to grow up under the tutelage of a loving mother and herbalist! And Oregon is the place to be an herbalist by all accounts. This was a really great insight into Christi’s roots.

    I would love to try Forbidden. A unisex “unlike anything else in the world”, chocked full of herbs and a housemade root-herb tincture. How could one coming from an herbal background resist!

  • I am not familiar with this line and it was enjoyable to read about Christi. I liked how she is interested in the study of contrasts, which is evident to a certain extent in some of her perfumes.

    The one calling my name is Destiny.

  • I find the Dimensional Warp by Rick Barchengar fascinating pattern, I would love it especiallny on the clothes and scarves. I would choose Carmine – the composition is very exotic and bold. Thanks

  • Herbalist mother? I guess it’s true what they say about apples. I have sampled carmine and I find it amazing. The oppening of hiba and davana gives me the impression of drunken wood. I’d love to have a bottle

  • Tourbillion says:

    I find interesting that her mom is a herbalist. I think I’d like to try Ambre Vie.

  • It’s the first time I hear about House of Matriarch. It’s an interesting choice of name for a perfume house and I think Christi was inspired to become a perfumer by his mother. I love about her that she seems so down to earth and she can still appreciate simple things.
    I would like to try Carmine.

  • I have to admit to just discovering the existence of House of Matriarch. But through several sentences throughout this article I feel that Christi and I share the same sensibilities..The fact that she “teams up with Mother Nature to heal the world” is exactly how I felt when I started my adventure in perfumeland.
    Thanks for the draw.
    i would love to try Christi`s aptly named Forbidden

  • Smells have such a power and naturalism especially. Today, in the age of high technologies, unfortunately, nothing remains very natural. I am very glad to hear about natural perfumes being created more and more often. As Christi Meshell says, “being on the tipping point of the natural perfume “movement””. Ms. Meshell seems to be very inspiring and responsible personality, caring about the women and their future. I imagine it is so nice to create perfume from natural flowers, herbs, plants, it is never ending process. The field is so wide for the creativity and various mixtures. She is doing a really god job, wanting to heal the world. I wish the best of luck to her! She is an idol to follow.

    I would love to try Destiny, since I love summer, fresh air, light breeze, dresses, juices, ice-cream… and all things inspiring and lifting up.

  • I love Christi’s boundless enthusiasm and passion for what she does. That acute awareness of our place in the larger order of nature and the individual’s responsibility to give to others and to preserve the future is refreshing and contagious. I would guess she’s a wonderful mother. I am most intrigued by the fragrance Amber Vie, because of the tantilizing description and list of notes; dragon’s blood, ambreine, 100 different essences and a “reverse drydown” all sound fascinating. Thanks!

  • I learned that she wished to “team up with Mother Nature to heal the world”. I admire that. I would love to try Destiny-“Sunshine in a Bottle”-that’s for me!

  • I strongly feel as a healer that I am always tapping into Mother Nature to heal, so I loved hearing that she feels the same way… “teams up with Mother Nature to heal the world”. All of her scents sound beautiful but I have a special love for white copal so I am most interested in Carmine.

  • I found the move from Texas to Portland to be fascinating – what a massive change for the family! I’m most interested in Ambre Vie; she had me at “three kinds of frankincense.”

  • I found it interesting that Christi thinks that this is the best of times for perfumers and perfume fans. You wouldn’t expect that, given that there are so many restrictions nowadays. But she’s not the first great perfumer who claims that. Very interesting.
    I’d chose Alpha, ’cause it’s heavy on the incense, according to the notes list, and incense is always a winner with me…

  • I really like so many parts of this profile! “port” to “port” move (My dad’s major move was brook to brook) and loving where they moved so much she stayed.
    I like that she wants to work with Mother Nature to heal the world, that she grew up with a mom who made her own herbal tinctures (House of Matriarch, indeed!), and the whole part at the end:
    On American Perfumery: Freedom and unlimited possibility. What an exciting time to be alive! Never in all of humanity has a better time to be a perfumer (or perfume fan) existed. We have access to innumerable materials, enjoy virtually unrestricted trade and new ways of extracting aromatics are being discovered all the time….

    Carmine, Ambre Vie, and Forbidden all sound very me–I like deeper earthy warm spicy mysterious fragrances (Alpha also sounds great too…). Even Destiny, which is a clean fresh energizing floral, would probably be right up my alley! So hard to choose, they all sound wonderful!
    In the end, it’s a toss-up between Carmine and Forbidden, which both sound lovely and unlike anything I have or have sniffed before… I love discovering new scents!

    Carmine is my choice because the notes sound wonderful and interesting, and because of the
    description: Nature is the Ultimate Luxury…Carmine offers something strange and unique to the perfume connoisseur.

    Thanks CFB and Christi Meshell for the draw!

  • First of all, thanks for the great insight into the life of a very talented (and beautiful, inside and out) perfumer!

    I find it fascinating that Christi’s mom was an herbalist and was out to “heal the world”. I think it is wonderful and so cool that she followed in those footsteps and continues to “heal” (body, mind AND spirit) with her perfumes! *sighs*

    After much hemming and hawing (and dissection of notes and descriptions) I have decided that, should I be blessed enough to win *crosses fingers and toes* I would choose DESTINY. It is one thing to have a fresh floral and another to have a floral chypre…a FRESH FLORAL CHYPRE just sounds so very wonderful!

    Thanks Christi (for all you do) and keep on perfumin’!!

  • One thing I learned about Christi was ” I feel so lucky to be doing what I love. I also feel a huge responsibility to give back in a meaningful way, because I feel so blessed to be in this position.”
    I would like to win Carmine, it sounds very mysterious!
    Thanks for the draw!

  • I love her description of the Northwest and nature surroundings that influenced her love of art and fragrance. I had the pleasure of trying Ambre Vie,,,,and it’s the smoothest and most complex Amber I’ve ever tried. Absolutely stunning!! Lasts an extremely long time. If I win, I would love ANY and ALL of them,,,but I have an affinity for chypres,,,so Destiny it would be!! Thanks!

  • I found Christi’s choice for her Favorite American Artist fascinating as there seems to be a real connection between both of them to use their “gifts” from the universe in such sacred and righteous ways. I choose Carmine because it is created in an ancient tradition and offers something strange and unique… perfect!

  • It really is an exciting time to be a perfumer, what with the natural materials from all over the world joining newly minted molecules and other scientific wonders.

    I would choose Destiny because it’s the only perfume listed for which I am familiar with every listed ingredient.

  • I found it fascinating to read all about her uprbringing, I’m rather jealous of her family vacations which consisted of travelling to exquisite rainforests and the Oregon coast. I hope that these memorable experiences have made their way into her compositions.

    I would choose Carmine, as its complexity sounds very intriguing and beautiful.

  • I loved reading about the wide variety of scents that Christi grew up with from Louisiana to Oregon, and the influence of her mother’s herbalist training. Her perfumes sound amazing! I would love to win the Ambre Vie. Thanks for the draw!

  • TimeaZsofia says:

    I loved that Christi said about her childhood: “It was a great place to grow up: I fell in love with the Pacific North West and have never moved from the area.”
    If I win, I would love to try “Ambre Via”, because I really like amber.
    Thank you for the draw.

  • TimeaZsofia says:

    I loved that Christi said about her childhood: “It was a great place to grow up: I fell in love with the Pacific North West and have never moved from the area.”
    If I win, I would love to try “Ambre Vie”, because I really like amber.
    Thank you for the draw.

  • I love Christi’s take on American perfumery! She makes me feel excited about the rise of natural perfumery as well. I am a huge fan of Chypres, and feel like if I want to know the house of Matriarch, I should know their signature scent. I would love to win Matriarch. Thanks for a fascinating interview, the spotlight on this perfumer, and an opportunity to try one of her fragrances!

  • I loved reading the story of your life Christi. I envision the lush, green beauty of where you live. I can only imagine! I live on the East Coast (literally!) and would love to visit that area someday. What a beautiful environment to create such lovely things. What inspiration! And I love how you describe the “movement”, I feel the same. 🙂
    I had the opportunity to try the Ambre Vie recently…oh my, DIVINE.

    If I won I would be delighted to try Carmine. The notes in it are among my very most favorites and can only imagine how fabulous it must be.
    Thank you for the chance! 🙂

  • I like christi’s comment “teaming up with Mother Nature to heal the world.” I would like to try Destiny because the scent sounds like a welcome to spring and I love the turquoise bottle.

  • Nature truly has lots of beauty and power. Great to learn about Christi and her herbalist mother!

    I’d love to try Forbidden – tuberose and wild mushroom! Oh! Two of my most loved scents combine! Sounds divine 🙂

  • I loved that Christi grew up with a mother that owned a health food store. I would love to try them all 🙂 I can’t choose between Ambre Vie, Carmine and Forbidden right now. Anything with Tobacco grabs me right away.

  • Christi and I have written to each other, and spoken on the phone, yet I never realized her Texas roots. What a wonderful path she has followed, healing and scenting the world in a loving manner. The winner of the draw will be a very lucky person indeed, as all of her perfume are beautiful.