Photo of Masque Milano Russian Tea by Olya Bar
The scent of Christmas feels like magic in the air and brings some of the fondest memories of all. It will be slightly different for each of us based on where we come from, yet specific olfactory threads are woven into many of our pasts. A time of peace and slowing down, enjoying the little things, and preparing to step into the new year, is the best time to look back with gratitude on all the precious memories we have acquired. We are what we believe. Two fragrances signify Christmas for me and both are from Italy:
Laboratorio Olfattivo Mandarino by Olya Bar©
Master Perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena was in Italy when creating Laboratorio Olfattivo Mandarino which transports me to the childhood days of large gatherings around the table overflowing with what one may call a feast of delights and the scent of champagne bubbles in the air. We would decorate the whole dining table early in the morning with a massive bowl of ripe mandarins and holiday taper candles. The mixture of the juicy tart aroma of the mandarin mixed with the scent of fresh fir balsam coming from the Christmas tree is forever a scent of winter holidays and happy days in my mind. Mandarins would serve as a decoration on the tree and be picked by all the kids at the party, savoring the juices running down the happy rosy cheeks. One may think of the Italian coast in the heart of summer while composing this, while for the other, it’s a day filled with warmth and celebration in Moscow covered in clouds of snow. The magic of fragrances lives in their abilities to immerse us in memories we hold dear to our hearts and the precious moments we hold on to for the hope of reliving them again.
Laboratorio Olfattivo Mandarino Notes: tangerines, black currant, white musk
Photo of Christmas Tree Olya
Where there is tea, there is paradise…an old Russian saying
Masque Milano Russian Tea by Julien Rasquinet is my second trip down memory lane. A fragrance inspired by the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg. In the very first days of St. Petersburg, it was simply the beginning of the road to the ancient city of Novgorod, but it quickly became adorned with beautiful buildings, squares, and bridges. It became the very center of the bustling, rapidly growing city, in addition to the many different denomination churches that line Nevsky, which prompted the French writer Alexander Dumas to call it “the street of religious tolerance.”
You see, while Moscow is the cool cousin that everyone wants to meet and be like, St. Petersburg is the cultural heart of Russia, its true soul. One may escape the cosmopolitan buzzing streets of Moscow into its warm cozy bookstores and courtyards of St. Petersburg, as one would escape London for Paris. You stumble upon little cafes and hidden bookstores where the owner would treat you to a cup of steaming black tea. That’s what Masque Milano Russian Tea smells like, a feeling of warmth hitting as you come in from the freezing cold, into a little cafe where the walls are lined with shelves of curiosities, a sweet-smelling bowl of raspberry preserve you sweeten your tea with is waiting on the table for you. It is an ancient custom to put the preserve in the tea, letting it mix with the bitter aftertaste of leather and birch. You sip it closely, watching the snowflakes dance widely outside of your window, and the warmth of the tea slowly takes over your body. You don’t have anywhere to be for a few more hours and will be home in time for Christmas. For now, you wrap your hands around the teacup, inhale the dry smoky aroma of the tea, and let your thoughts drift. After all, the magic of life is in little moments like this.
Masque Milano Russian Tea Notes: Mint, black pepper, raspberry, black tea, magnolia, everlasting flower, leather accord, incense, birchwood, cistus-labdanum.
Disclaimer: My thanks to Masque Milano for my Masque Milano Russian Tea bottle and Lusso Collective for the Laboratorio Olfattivo Bottle. The opinions are my own
Olya Bar, Senior Contributor
Photo of Masque Milano Russian Tea by Olya Bar
Thanks to the generosity of Masque Milano we have a draw for a 35 ml bottle of Masque Milano Russian Tea for ONE registered reader in the EU, UK, USA .You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Olya’s Christmas Eve memories, which perfume will you be wearing during this holiday season, and where you live. Draw closes 12/28/2021
From all of us at ÇaFleureBon: Be festive, be happy, be safe, and smell great. Merry Christmas !!!
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