Alessandro Brun and Riccardo Tedeschi of Masque Milano
“Where there is tea, there is paradise’ (old Russian saying)….Masque Milano was founded in 2012 by Alessandro Brun and Riccardo Tedeschi, two handsome and dynamic young chaps who met as student and teacher at the Politecnico di Milano where they were mutually impressed by one other’s obsessions, knowledge and desire to do things a little differently. They decided to immerse themselves in the knowledge, techniques and pursuit of olfaction. Masque Fragranze – An Opera of Life in Four Acts is an ambitious undertaking to roll out a multi-layered assemblage of high quality and challenging scents. Opera is masque, performance and charade; acts and scenes of love, loss, life and continuance interpreted by perfumers as masks that we might wear in our own daily performances, moving through words, emotions, moods and time.
Alix of Hesse, the future Tsarina Alexandra of Russia drinking tea with Queen Victoria and the British Royal family
The guys want us to experience the various scenes of a scented life, with different noses interpreting the operatic briefs, using vocal and theatrical metaphor, counterpointing it with carefully chosen and beautifully pitched musical imagery to create a scentscape of textures, weathers and backdrops. This is akin to the rolling scene changes and illusory techniques used in theatre to support voice and performer, in this case, nose and perfume. There are five fragrances to date,Masque Milano Montechristo,Terralba, Lucie ed Ombre , Tango and now Russian Tea, each one representing a different scene from the continually evolving opera. Masque noses include Delphine Thierry, Julien Rasquinet, Meo Fusciuni and Cécile Zarokian.
Photo: Samovar and Tea TSF
The inspiration behind this singular scent was drinking tea in a bookstore café on the famous Nevsky Prospekt thoroughfare in Leningrad. Pouring the boiling water over the fumy leaves and finger-crushed mint mashed together a duo of opposites: darkness and playful verdancy; this heady infusion further enhanced by a spoonful of raspberry jam, a traditional additional to Russian black tea. This visceral shock of smoked caliginous leaf, berry and rubbed herb started the Masque Fragranze duo on an olfactory journey toward perfumer Julien Rasquinet of IFF and Russian Tea. Interestingly Julien’s wife Irina is Russian, so the marriage of olfactory ideas seemed a touch more perfect.
Two Russian men drinking tea c1890
No one has socialised tea quite like the Russians. It is the national beverage, introduced to the country in 1638. The scalding liquid lubricates social interaction and passes time; pastries, cakes and biscuits are consumed, gossip and news is exchanged. The heart of this is the samovar of course, literally a ‘self-boiler’ an item we traditionally now associate with Russia. It is used to concoct a concentrated form of tea called zavarka, which is then in turn diluted into cups by very hot water from the ever-boiling samovar. Sugar, honey and jams are often spooned into the tea as sweeteners and the liquid is sometimes doled into saucers and slurped to cool it down.
Masque Milano Russian Tea by Perfumer Julien Rasquinet art -TSF
Russian Tea by Masque Milano is an enthralling mix of raspberry, mint, smoke and tea that smells strange and unorthodox. It shouldn’t really work, but it does, an evocation of ritual and familiarity that has me quite spellbound.The mint note in Russian Tea is huge, bitter and violently released, the peppered facet to the exhale brutal. This is the moment in the tea ritual when the boiling water inundates the tea and mint leaves, exploding the conflicting odours outward. Then the raspberry, a moment of wild sugared soothing, a spoon of red-berried gloss sliding off a tarnished spoon. You can almost smell the metal. A whiff of feral leaf cuts through the smokiness of the tea as a ghostly magnolia blush plays out over the quiet central section of this complex perfume.
Masque Milano Russian Tea Art by TSF
There is a lot of wood in Russian Tea, echoing the stoking of old samovar fires or silvered birch forests. Apparently the smokiness associated with classic Russian tea blends has its roots in the long, slow journeys across the Siberian steppes. The tea was obviously transported on animals and over time, the combination of nightly watchfires and close proximity to animal hide imbued the tea leaves with powerful, redolent aromas.
Anna Pavlova in Costume drinking tea
Building a palpable sense of mystery into perfumery these days is well nigh on impossible, but Riccardo and Alessandro have achieved something rather deviant: a collection of embellished and aesthetic perfumes that engage, astonish, arouse and seduce.
Disclosure: From my own collection
–The Silver Fox, Sr Editor and Editor of The Silver Fox
Thanks to our friends at Twisted Lily we have three samples of Russian Tea for three USA winners. To be eligible, please leave a comment with what you enjoyed about TSF review and if you have a favorite Masque Milano Fragrance . Draw closes 12/23/2014
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