House of Matriarch: The Longing (Christi Meshell and Joseph Sagona)

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 an 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)

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