When one hears the term “American Dream” one thinks of someone coming to America, working hard, realizing their dreams and being free to live them. Nomaterra founder Agnieska (Aggie to her friends) Burnett did just that. Her lifelong journeys around the globe have inspired her to bring to life, in perfumed form, places that have touched her or have sentimental significance; and she has done so with travel and convenience in mind. Born in communist Poland, Aggie came here (to the US) in 1986 at the age of one year old with her parents who said goodbye to everything they knew and settled in New York City. Nomaterra is based out of Brooklyn and is run by Aggie and her biochemist husband Benjamin.

 

Agnieska (Aggie) Burnett

Aggie has traveled the world extensively and has worked in the beauty world for quite some time, at Glamour magazine, and while in college she traveled to both Asia and South America, where she learned about plants and their natures from a shaman in the Amazonian jungles of Ecuador. Her first three fragrances are echoes of her scent memories of the first places her family journeyed to with her. Many of her raw ingredients are sourced from these locations. While her perfumes are not “all natural”, the synthetics used are mostly fixatives (many sugar or glycerin based) and there are absolutely no animal products used and they are 100% cruelty-free and made in the USA.

 

One of the things that inspired the packaging of her company’s products was the problem of having to carry clunky bottles of perfume with her that would leak, get chipped or break. Her fragrances come in 15 ml travel sprays housed in black aluminum sleeves (that twist open like lipstick to expose the sprayers) and come with a 15 ml refill that is easily removable AND replaceable. Nomaterra is also the first company to utilize the “wipe” format for scent (and not just samples). Each wipe contains the equivalent of 6 sprays of eau de parfum and are perfect for the perfumista on the go to freshen up/reapply! All of these scents meet airline requirements for volume and safety regulations.

Miami, with its bright pink label, was the one I reached for first. Having lived in Florida for a while, I was interested to see how she brought such a diverse city to life in a perfume.  Opening with sun-drenched Italian bergamot and tartly sweet pink grapefruit, rounded out with creamy coconut and sweet melon, I feared this would be (or remain) a fruity “tropical drink” scent. It does capture the sun, the warm beach and the sweet heavy air of Miami. Just when you think it might be too sweet-the orange blossoms appear, adding a powdery soft floral musky aroma accented with a dash of subtly spicy pink pepper. The inclusion of warm ylang ylang and full white jasmine flowers results in something almost as narcotic as tuberose, without the dirty, sometimes rubbery, nuance that flower can have.

Please don’t think this is going to be another “fruity floral” perfume. It descends into a dry down of warm amber augmented with just the right amount of vanilla, underpinned with subtle strength and beauty of East Indian sandalwood. Fruity floriental would actually be more a more a propos description of this perfume. Then, when you thought the citruses were gone for good, linden blossom adds a verdant floral lime foliate feeling to all the other notes. What this perfumer has created settles on the skin to something amazing…and anything but ordinary. On first testing this, I thought “nice, but not really my style”. Now, after wearing it again twice, I find Miami to be extremely well-done and will be wafting this on upcoming balmy summer nights. Sillage: good. Longevity: very good (excellent on clothing, detectable DAYS later!).

East Hampton is described as “sophisticated with a Bohemian twist” and I must say I could not agree more! Sparkling notes of citruses fizz and float around you on applying this scent. Bright electric green is the perfect color for the label on this sprayer. The citric accord develops into a heady blend of sultry Egyptian jasmine, milky gardenia, verdant lily-of-the-valley and elegant magnolia. Somehow, despite that roster of players, this is miles away from anything too “ladylike” or overtly feminine-due to the smoky leather note that peeks out, softly surrounding the blossoms, and grows in proportion as it dries.

East Hampton by Childe Hassam

The amazing, yet never overpowering, smell of smoky leather adds the perfect balance to the “marine notes” listed (It made me cringe too, when I read it). Included in the base, these actually capture the seaside quaintness of East Hampton without becoming a watered down aquatic. Patchouli adds hints of Bohemian chic and just the right amount of dark mystery to an otherwise brisk and revitalizing summery citrus-floral accord. Lingering in the base, and keeping the leather from being too much, are soft white woods that capture the trees of Long Island’s South Fork and the seaside breezes that blow across the dunes. Sillage: above average. Longevity: good.

Washington DC I saved for last. Its notes intrigued me; yet I was fearful that this would smell like some politician or business man in a three piece suit. It does not and the press materials reminded me that there are more than politics and power players in this city. Its majestic architecture and its dynamic history come to life in what has become my favorite of the three in this line. Citrus and spice come bursting out of the atomizer (all of these sprayers release a fine even mist) tussling and twisting with each other until the cherry blossoms appear and act as silken flowery mediator. Tempering a combination of black pepper, nutmeg and bay leaf with cherry tree blossoms actually gives this a unique extremely well-balanced aroma that is as unisex as it is magnificent.

The bay shines, bolstered as it is by the peppercorns’ piquancy and the nutmeg’s dry smoothness, complementing the usually delicate and feminine petals with a delightful spiced (but not “hot”) accord. Just when I thought Washington DC couldn’t get any better, a very sensual (non-animal derived) musk unites tobacco leaves and a luxurious vanilla in the ultimate finish without crowding out the beauty that came before it. From its bright, somewhat intense, beginning to its unusual heart and deep dry down of comfortable and rich notes, this perfume has me smiling, sighing and swooning. Sillage: slightly above average. Longevity: quite good.

Nomaterra comes from “nomad” and the Latin for earth making these perfumed memories for a “nomad of the Earth” and I simply cannot wait to see what locale Miss Aggie brings to life next and (hopefully) share her olfactory wanderings.   

Disclosure: Reviews based on travel sprays and wipes sent to me by Nomaterra.

Thanks to Nomaterra we have a giveaway of the 15mL travel spray to one winner. To be eligible leave a comment on which one you would like to win. The draw ends on March 31, 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 spilled perfume.

-John Reasinger, Senior Editor