Kintsugi bowl lifegatge.com
“Ring the bells that still can ring; forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in.” ~ Leonard Cohen, Anthem
Kintsugi (golden joinery), also referred to as Kintsukuroi (golden repair), takes the broken and not only repairs its fragments with gold /other precious metals – but renders it whole in an entirely novel fashion. This is pottery or lacquerware, mind. As a Japanese philosophy and practice it draws imperfection to its bosom: wabi-sabi. Masque Milano Kintsugi, Masque Milano’s latest release – is likely among the finest fragrances I will smell in 2019: nothing else resembles it with its umami deliciousness, singularity and wearabilty as an artform.
stock photo
It is with loving wryness that I note the relevance of Michelyn assigning Kintsugi to me for review: I’ve often mirthfully referred to myself as the Cracked Vessel of the Divine (emphasis on ‘cracked’) – not, of course, as a work of art. Acceptance of one’s myriad flaws in this age of “60 Is The New 20” is absurdly confounding. Humbling inescapable physical evidence of the passage of time is irrefutable; all one needs is a mirror, a stealthy glance at the detritus of a life lived fully. It etches itself upon your visage, your corporeal self as surely as if it were tattooed upon the fleshly canvas. Reviling oneself yields precious little. It makes more sense to attempt to embrace what exists in its fractured, reconfigured state. Masque Milano Kintsugi, created by Vanina Muracciole comprehends this and offers us their aromatic interpretation.
Vanina Muracciole via Instagram
For Creative Directors Alessandro Brun, Riccardo Tedeschi and perfumer Vanina Muracciole, chypre as genre (and an oakmoss-free portrayal of it) was foremost in their collective mind. They worked with red algae from Japan, an overdose of patchouli coeur (a fractionated material which showcases patchouli’s earthy beauty sans 1960-70s headshop weediness); the inclusion of raspberry leaf for its complex scent profile: usually French in origin, it possesses jammy, tart, leathery facets. Violet leaf (a classic addition) graces Kintsugi, its earthy, leafy tones shimmering with a flash of limpidity and metal.
via JennaMorello.com
Notes of creamy, voluptuous magnolia and the venerable rose de Mai from Grasse – honeyed, curvaceous, succulent – provide a magnificent foil for this chypre-gone-Japonesque umami perfume, a blooming generous heart. They, along with Evaluator (and our colleague) Ermano Picco) envisioned a Japanese salty/savoriness “the texture of raw porcelain” and “salt shining in the light” as desirable fragrant attributes, and the synaesthesia of it filters through in one’s experience of Kintsugi – along with the burnished gold of a tangy palate-tempting amber grazed by vanilla but more salty, barely bitter than sweet. When a golden suede tone is mentioned I think of Safraleine and similar materials which lend themselves so readily to the perfumer’s hand; they contribute more metallic sheen and diffusivity of a warm dry nature which feels savory all by itself.
via Hermag.co
Masque Milano Kintsugi is its own creature, more than simply the sum of its parts. Shot through with gold and salt, it epitomizes the allure of the jolie-laide. This is a beauty with brains to match and plenty of soul, a perfume which will satisfy and intrigue the wearer and entourage. It leaves one with plenty to ponder – but au fin, its undeniable strange beauty cobbled from the unusual is compellingly truthful.
Raw Materials used in Masque Milano Kintsugi photo by Hernando© The rose de mai was grown in Vanina Muracciole's husband's garden
Notes: bergamot essential oil, Chinese magnolia essential oil, savory amber, golden suede, centifolia rose Grasse absolute, violet leaf absolute, benzoin Siam, raspberry leaf absolute, patchouli coeur, vanilla absolute
Samples graciously provided by Perfumariē and Alessandro Brun – many thanks! My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Senior Editor and Natural Perfumery Editor
Michelyn with Alessandro at Perfumarie photo Hernando
Art Director: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief with Ida
Hernando Courtright, Marianne Butler and I had the pleasure of learning about both the creative process and the raw materials used in Kintsugi at Perfumarie on March 12, 2019-MC
Thanks to the generosity of Masque Milano we have a 5 ml advance sample of Masque Milano Kintsugi for one registered reader in the EU, USA or Canada. The fragrance will officially launch in May 2019
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Choose a discovery kit of all 10 Masque Milano Perfumes: Masque Milano Terralba, Montecristo, Russian Tea, Times Square, Luci ed Ombre, Mandala, (homage to) Hemingway, L’Attesa, Romanza (Victorian Narcissus),Tango and Kintsugi. Don't forget to Register here. To be eligible, please tell us what appealed to you about Ida’s review of Kintsugi and how you embrace your own flaws… Draw closes 3/22/2019. Please be sure to leave in your comment, which you would like to win… the 5ml or the discovery set.
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