In September 2013, at Pitti Fragranze, Masque Milano launched Masque Milano, and introduced three perfumes that evoke Italian culture and Opera.  Each scent is given a name, and a number which designates Act and Scene. (More about The Opera can be read here on their website). Masque Milano was started by two native Italians, Riccardo (born and raised in Milan) and Alessandro (born in Assisi)  who  desired to create perfumes that capture the richness of Italian craftsmanship. They studied the Art of Perfumery in Grasse and with Italian artisans. These perfumes are the nostalgic memories and scenes of the founders, who worked with Perfumers Delphine Thierry and Meo Fusciuni to bring their emotions to life, using Opera as a metaphor. These artful and artistic perfumes are the nostalgic memories and lovely dreams are also scenes that resonate within all of us.

Founders Alessandro and Riccardo

When a pebble is thrown into a pool, the ripples radiate slowly from the source to the edge of the waters. Masque Milano, although new to the market, has immortalized true beauty in stunning fragrances based on the “opera of our lives”.

Unnamed by David White

Terralba (Act I, Scene I) is meant to capture a walk through the brush while climbing steep hills and ending at the Mediterranean shore. Thankfully, this is not an aquatic scent. It is, however, a delightfully marine one. Clary sage adds verdant and aromatic warmth to the sharp lemon and sour green tangerine. An opening truly reminiscent of crisp bright mornings, complete with fresh herbs growing all around, meanders casually into a robust heart. Delphine Thierry utilized curry leaves and thyme to create a sweet green aura while weaving immortelle and myrtle to soften, yet augment, the aroma with unisex floral undertones. The finish on the skin is warm with mastic gum’s slightly medicinal aroma alongside majestic cedar, sap-rich cypress and colder gin-like nuances of juniper. Though meant to be Mediterranean by its creators, in my “personal” opera, it is the scent of a warmer mid-winter morning. The sun shines, the birds are singing and the grass, still covered with frost, crunches underfoot. Warm rays caress your face, as you are surrounded by a cold crisp breeze and shaded by evergreens. SIllage: good. Longevity: above average.

Montecristo (Act I, Scene II) takes us to an evening in a centuries old Tuscan villa. An opening rich with rum, rosewood and a strange, yet familiar, muskiness immediately relaxes you. Styrax lends a mysterious vibe, as musk lingers, clinging tenaciously as the warmth deepens with golden brown tobacco, labdanum and benzoin. The rum creates a glow from within while the resins rise from without, lending the impression of a roaring fire. Celery seed, just beneath the surface, adds a slightly crisp green dryness that keeps it from becoming too stuffy. Aggressive and animalic hyraceum, with subtle hints of well-worn leather, are paired with a breathtaking accord of guaiac wood, cedar and patchouli. Dark and intense, this perfume has no sweet fruits or bright flower notes, Delphine Thierry has shown us the deeper, more personal side of opulence-that which warms us and makes us feel safe; while alluding to the primordial beast that hides within the “civilized” in all of us. Sillage: excellent. Longevity: overnight.

Chiaroscuro 1 by Declan Cunningham

Luci ed Ombre (Act II, Scene I) is a study in chiaroscuro, the use and interplay of light and shadow in painting, for the nostrils as opposed to the eyes. The image evoked by perfumer Meo Fusciuni (aka Giuseppe Imprezzabile) is one of a dark shadowy wood with beams of sunlight penetrating here and there is brought to life in a novel and exciting way. Instead of top, heart and bottom notes this has a light, dark and chiaroscuro notes. The sharp, cooling and mild camphor of olibanum incense sets the stage for what is too come with a clear brightness tinged with smoky aspects. Indolic jasmine and crisp juicy ginger cut through the shadows created by narcotic tuberose and soft wet moss. These normally intense, often loud, notes blend with each other without truly dissolving into each other. The shadow notes of cedar and patchouli truly ground this without eclipsing it. I would have sworn there was something warm and fruity here as well. After it finally settles into softer tones of twilight it feels (but does not smell like) a fruited brandy. It does not develop in the classic sense, nor is it linear, as it continues its snappy dance from light to dark and back again Sillage: very good. Longevity: excellent.

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Disclosure: Reviews based on samples sent to me by LuckyScent.com.

Thanks to our friends at LuckyScent, we have a US only random draw for three sample packs of all three scents to give away. Please leave a comment stating which Masque Milano fragrance appeals to you the most or  your favorite Italian Opera. Draw closes January 21, 2014.

We announce the winners only onsite 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