Natalie from Another Perfume Blog and I have joined forces to review our favorite MCMC perfumes. Natalie’s pick, Garden, is from Sample Set #1 and my pick, Hunter, is from Sample Set #2. Being a part of MCMC’s Stories Collection, Hunter’s inspiration is the story of an endearing childhood memory, as described by Anne McLain, Hunter’s creator:

When I was younger I had a friend named Harrison, who I liked to call Hunter. He lent me the book Ishmael, and played guitar, and taught me about loving the environment.
Years later, memories of our long friendship and his adventures building maple sugar cabins in Vermont inspired the fragrance Hunter. With tobacco absolute, organic Bourbon vanilla and fir balsam, this fragrance is best when worn with a flannel shirt.

Currently, I am reading Wildwood, written by Colin Meloy and beautifully illustrated by Carson Ellis, with my older son. We are completely entrenched in the adventures of young Prue and Curtis as they brave the forbidden forest just outside Portland, Or. Alongside my son, MCMC’s Hunter has been my faithful companion for this woodland adventure. It’s the perfect pairing, and I love that Hunter was created to enhance Anne McLain’s reminiscence of her dear friend, and now I can claim it as a reminder of reading a terrific tale with my son.

As you probably know, Portland is rainy. Really rainy. But this fall and winter have been unseasonably sunny and dry (save for the past two days which have been a teasing mix of rain and snow). So Hunter’s dry and musky take on a forest of fir melds ideally with my surroundings. The fir note is subtle, but notable, as are the tobacco and vanilla. The tobacco leaves are slightly parched, which enhances their resinous quality in a earthy, gauzy manner rather than conjuring images of jewel toned brocades in a smoking parlor.

There is however, a hint of moisture as a brume of jammy plum, or possibly cassis, lingers in the background. This provides body and weight to Hunter whose dry leaves would otherwise drift away upon autumn’s first wind. I realize that vanilla and fir tinged tobacco sounds inherently cozy, but it’s the depth of a dark fruit’s ripeness that gives it a robustness to withstand chilly days and even colder nights.

Anne McClain’s suggestion of donning a flannel shirt while wearing Hunter speaks to the comfort its fragrance provides. At its heart, Hunter is a musky skin-scent that beckons curling up with a warm blanket, a good book, and of course, a loved one.

For Natalie’s review of Garden, please visit Another Perfume Blog.

From the MCMC FAQ page, a word about product ingredients:

In the MCMC Fragrances laboratory, we use both natural and synthetic ingredients. The Dude No. 1 beard oil is the only 100% all natural product we currently have on offer, however, in all of our products, we do use an especially high concentration of natural ingredients in comparison to mass-market perfumes, which usually contain little (and sometimes none at all) natural ingredients. Because MCMC does not spend money on advertising, all of our cost goes into the perfume itself, bringing you the highest quality of materials and creativity.

Our perfume oil roll-ons come in a base of organic jojoba oil, making the perfume oil products 85% organic and all natural.

Hunter is available at MCMCfragrances.com $45 for 9ml perfume roll-on or $95 for 40ml EDP. If you are lucky enough to live in Portland, you can stop by Una or Nationale to find MCMC’s perfumes.

Image: Something Gathered Along the Way by Kelsey Loomer on etsy.

Disclosure: Samples were provided to me by MCMC. Opinions in this review are my own. I was not financially compensated for this review or any other.