MASQUE MILANO

TANGO
A mid-summer night. The bower in full bloom, large wooden tables, a liquor.
And music.

Act III scene IV

Whispers all around you, the party is merry. The soft music in the background gets gradually louder. A crescendo. A glass, another glass. Ron y miel. Inebriating, amber nectar. Inebriating as the smell of the blooming jasmine, carried along by the warm summer gusts. A crescendo. You meet her gaze – she whispers a couple of words. You spot it – it is Lunfardo. Your forehead drenched with sweat. Salt melts in the sugar of the liquor. The shuffling Gotan rhythm makes you brave, the night and the tango are on your side. A crescendo. Deafening summons. The air gets even hotter. You are aware it will hurt you. Yet you can’t resist.

You stand up and head towards the dance floor… her face lights up with a smile that brightens the night… That is all you long for, now.

A warm and sensual perfume. Intense crescendo. Amber nectar.

• Head Notes: Bergamot, black pepper, cardamom.
• Heart Notes: Sambac jasmine abs, Damascena rose oil, cumin, patchouli.
• Base Notes: Vanilla bean, tonka bean, melilot abs, amber accord, leather accord, benzoin, musk.

Interpreted by
MACKENZIE REILLY

“SMELL ME” (Head Notes): Bergamot, Ambrette Seed LMR, Clary Sage France LMR, Too Much Black Pepper*
“DRINK ME” (Heart Notes): Carrot Heart LMR, Orris Concrete LMR, English Tea, White Roses (Painted Red)
“EAT ME” (Bottom Notes): Sandalwood India LMR, Broom Absolute Italy LMR, Fleur de Lait (Steamed Milk Accord)

* …and, no, the black pepper is not too much. It is balanced to perfection!

IV – I
LOST ALICE
A frabjous olfactory journey into too much black pepper, white roses (painted red), mad tea and carrot cakes.

Act IV Scene I

The inspiration for Lost Alice comes from Chapter Seven – A Mad Tea-Party,
where one could almost smell the Hatter’s tea, milk, bread and butter, served in a bucolic
setting. Add some scones to complete a very Brit cream tea, and the magic is complete.

Interpreted by
CÉCILE ZAROKIAN

Incense and patchouli. Floral and sweet. Oh so seductive.

Head Notes: Bergamot, Yellow Mandarin, Pink Pepper
Heart Notes: Sambac Jasmine abs., Rose Maroc abs., Luqaimat accord, Fruity notes
Base Notes: Incense, Patchouli, Benzoin, Myrrh, Leather, Ambergris infusion

Le Donne di MASQUE
PETRA
She comes in incense and patchouli…

A mysterious scene… “On a morning from a Bogart movie. In a country where they turned back time. You go strolling in the crowd like Peter Lorrie, contemplating a crime. She comes out from the crowd in a silk dress running like a watercolour in the rain.

These days – she says – I feel my life just like a river running through the Year of the Cat. On a blue tiled wall by the market stall there’s a hidden door she leads you to…

Interpreted by
ALEX LEE

Mimosa basking in the sun and melting into honey.

Head Notes: Mandarin Essence, Sparkling Aldehydes, Cardamom pure Jungle Essence™.
Heart Notes: Mimosa Absolute France, Violette Leaves Absolute, Solar Rays Accord.
Base Notes: Beeswax Absolute, Cedarwood Essence, Musk Accord.

IV – II
RAY-FLECTION
Un fiore alieno, scaldato dalla luce che lui stesso irradiava, sciogliendosi diventava miele

Act IV Scene II

A dream. A flower, with an incredibly intense smell. And huge, humongous. Not a normal flower, one that you can find on earth. This flower was emitting a surprisingly bright light. As the time passed by, and the light grew even more dazzling, the flower starts melting, dripping like honey from a rich and mellow honeycomb.

“For this new chapter of the collection, we decided to create an “alien flower”, a floral perfume that has never been smelled before.”

Interpreted by
FANNY BAL

Floral and sweet like a charming girl, sipping her hot chocolate in Rue de Rivoli.

Head Notes: Chestnut Accord, Chantilly Accord, Cumin Seed Oil.
Heart Notes: Tuberose Abs LMR , Cypress Oil LMR, Geranium Oil Egypt LMR.
Base Notes: Tonka Bean Abs LMR, Milky Musks, Vanilla Pods Extract LMR.

Le Donne di MASQUE
MADELEINE

Il suo profumo evoca in me un ricordo del passato.
Voglia di tornare in quella sala da tè, in Rue de Rivoli.

“Angelina means a lot to me. First of all, it was the name of my mother. And from my mother I inherited the passion for travels and for nice afternoon teas in fancy patisserie. So it was almost natural – when I started traveling frequently to Paris – to feel a strong attraction for this place in Rue de Rivoli. Every single business trip in the Ville Lumiere could not end without a stop at our favourite delicatessen place. And most of the times I ended up eating a chestnut dessert that my mother would cook for me when I was a kid, the Mont Blanc!”

– Alessandro Brun

Stopping at the legendary tearoom – like famous artists and fashion designers did since the turn of the XX Century – means turning back time, bringing back sweet memories that the talented Fanny Bal (the nose behind the creation of Madeleine) skilfully managed to capture in a sweet floral creation that will not pass unnoticed.

Like a charming girl, sipping hot chocolate in Rue de Rivoli.

With White Whale, Masque Milano unveils the finale of its olfactory opera that has grown over ten years! Composed by perfumer Christian Alori, the interwoven sounds of another literary classic, dedicated to the theme of the dream, unfold and describe the hunt for the mythical white whale translated into scent. Moby Dick, the wooden whaler Pequod, and the salty waves of the ocean are found in this melange alongside book pages illuminated by soft candlelight. [...]

The smell of candles, ropes and the vastness of the ocean form in White Whale's opening of olibanum and black pepper alongside a complex salt accord. They head towards a fragrance centre of hypnotic ambergris and osmanthus, violet and orris, in keeping with the image of the gigantic whale. The base of White Whale is the energetic meeting of whale and ship. Composed of woody notes, vetiver, cistus and labdanum, the image of the whaler's weather-beaten planks and sails emerges.

White Whale Fragrance Notes: 

Candles, Ropes, and the Vast Ocean, Olibanum LMR (Eastern Africa), Salty rope accords, Black Pepper Madagascar LMR
Ambergris accord, Osmanthus China LMR, Violet Flower, Orris Concrete Italy LMR
Cedarwood Virginia, Patchouli Indonesia MD LMR, Vetiver Haiti MD LMR, Cistus Labdanum

Interpreted by
CAROLINE DUMUR

A rose in full bloom.

LOVE…: Rose oil Turkish LMR, Geranium oil Egypt “for life” LMR, Love Skin accord (Ambrette Absolute LMR, Rose oxide)
…KILLS: Rose absolute Turkish LMR, Patchouli Oil Molecular Distillation Indonesia LMR, Love Scars accord (Cedarwood oil, animalic musks, Ambrarome)

Interpreted by
JULIEN RASQUINET
Perfumeur

Mint, black leathery tea and raspberry jam.

Head Notes: Mint, Black Pepper, Raspberry,
Heart Notes: Black Tea, Magnolia, Everlasting Flower.
Base Notes: Leather accord, Incense, Birchwood, Cistus-Labdanum.

I – III
RUSSIAN TEA
Day faded; on the table, glowing, the samovar of evening boiled… (A.Pushkin)

Act I Scene III

Out there, the snow-covered Nevsky Prospekt, and a sumptuous Art Noveau building. Inside, a large bookstore. And, on the first floor, an elegant cafè. As water is poured in the cup, the infusion unleashes its most characteristic notes. Black tea, heavy and intense. A floral note, sharp and biting. And that unmistakably dry and smoky aftertaste given by the caravanserai campfires, meant to keep the precious tea cargo dry in the never-ending journey through Siberia. The fresh mint leaves give a pleasant fresh touch to the hot water.
A teaspoon of raspberry preserve sweetens, without altering it, the bitter aftertaste of leather and birch. We sip it slowly, gazing out of the wide window, towards the beautiful cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan and beyond. The Russian Tea Ritual today carried us to an unexpected journey in remote lands, full of mystery and fascination.

Interpreted by
DELPHINE THIERRY
Parfumeuse in Grasse

Mediterranean shrubland and fresh sea breeze.

Head Notes: Clary Sage, Lemon, Green Tangerine.
Heart Notes: Myrtle, Thyme, Curry Leaves, Everlasting Flower.
Base Notes: Lentisc, Juniper, Cypress, Cedar Wood.

TERRALBA
In front of you, the sea. Behind, Mediterranean shrubland..

Act I Scene I

You are in such a transition area in which the smells of shrubs and the heath mingle intimately (and indistinguishably) with the saline odor of the sea. You walk cautiously on the rocks of the medium pathway leading to the beach, following – almost chasing – the sound of the waves, finding your way through the thick vegetation.

It is a narrow and steep pathway. You touch the branches of the bushes. A bent branch bleeds a dense and sticky resinous liquid, whose strong and bitter odor doesn’t want to leave your skin. And – in front of you – deep blue. The horizon expands and you abandon yourself to the sounds and the view of the mighty ocean sea.

Interpreted by
MEO FUSCIUNI
Aromatario

A luminous and energetic incense – and dark, animalic incense.

Light notes: Incense. “Cradle and Karma of soaring light”.
Chiaroscuros: Ginger, Tuberose, Jasmine, Moss. “In the heart of the Opera, the emotional continuum of the human being, between desire and perpetual quest of oneself”.
Dark notes: Incense, Cedarwood, Patchouli. “Wounded body, human lymph, deep and restless truth”.

Interpreted by
DELPHINE THIERRY
Parfumeuse in Grasse

Old mossy walls.

Head Notes: Cabreuva, Ambrette Seeds, Rum.
Heart Notes: Tobacco Leaves, Celery Seeds, Cistus, Benzoin.
Base Notes: Golden Stone, Styrax Gum, Gaiac Wood, Cedar Wood, Patchouli.

I – II
MONTECRISTO
In the livingroom of an old villa, in the Tuscan countryside.
It is the close of day.

Act I Scene II

Every single element of the interior contributes to the warmth and reassuring comfort. The floor of old robust wood planks, aged and worn with the use. In the massive fireplace, coals are still burning. The comfortable couch is made of the best leather, once stout and rigid, and spotlessly tanned, is now soft and worn, and the colour is fading away. A deck of used playing cards abandoned on the coffee table. The tobacco leaves of the hand rolled cigar. A glass of rum.

Interpreted by
VANINA MURACCIOLE

A modern, bright chypre.

Head Notes: Bergamot E.O., Magnolia China E.O., Savoury Amber.
Heart Notes: Golden Suede, Centifolia Rose Grasse abs., Violet Leaves abs.
Base Notes: Benzoin Siam, Raspberry Leaves abs., Patchouli Coeur, Vanilla abs.