Russian Tea by Masque Milano

Fascinating fragrance: black tea, leather, mint, and raspberry, a super fresh and elegant blend. It’s a hidden gem in perfumery; I’ve tried it and the compliments I’ve received are many. In tastings I’ve organized, Russian Tea won among many jewels. No one expects such a wonderful scent with those notes, not even I did. Longevity: 9/10 (approx. 10h). Projection: 10/10, beast mode (2-4 meters). Scent: 10/10

Great fragrance with a strong opening of tea and raspberry, with leather notes in the dry down. After about twenty minutes, the statice and magnolia become more noticeable, combined with raspberry, tea, and smoky notes. Exquisite perfume, totally unisex.

This perfume dazzles with elegance and cleanliness. It starts with green tea and leather, something spicy due to black pepper. After ten minutes, you can smell smoke and mint, dirty leather with a touch of statice. In the end, it smells a lot like Amouage Enclave, keeping that leather base I love. It’s interesting and mature: it goes from bright at the start to something darker later. Intense for the first two hours, then it sticks to the skin. Adequate longevity; on my skin, it lasts around 10-11 hours with moderate sillage. Unisex, a bit more masculine-leaning, suitable for all year except extreme heat. Best for dressing up. Olfactory nerds will appreciate it. Scent: 9.5/10, Sillage: 8.5/10, Projection: 8/10, Longevity: 8.5/10

They aren’t identical, but they’re very similar to L’Occitane’s FRAMBOISE & THE VERT MATCHA. Both have unique aromas. I need to test them side by side to see just how similar they are and their performance. I think L’Occitane is the perfect substitute if we look at price per volume: Masque Milano costs around $150 for 35ml, while 100ml of L’Occitane is about $125.

This review is born out of frustration. It’s one of my favorite perfumes; I always had it on my radar, but now that they’re trying to replace the 100ml bottle with a miserable 35ml version (25€ cheaper), it feels like an insult and a slight to the consumer, especially since it’s a bestseller that’s always out of stock. Sorry, I haven’t written in a while, and it feels bad to start off on such a sour note.

A good Masque fragrance, just not for me. I appreciate the quality, but I can’t see myself wearing it. It opens with strong black tea and a touch of raspberry; I notice quite a bit of pepper and a slight minty freshness. It also smells a bit like honey, very soft; it must be the tea making me think that since it doesn’t actually contain honey. Then it calms down, and the leather, birch, and some incense appear. Here it stops convincing me: it’s a good scent but not for everyday wear. It becomes too dry, projects little on my skin, and the longevity, both times I’ve worn it, has been very short… It seems like the perfumes from this brand and I just don’t understand each other; I already had the Tango and I never got used to it either.

I’d been wanting to try Masque Milano for a while because of the packaging and the reviews, so I ordered samples of 5 fragrances. Russian Tea left me speechless: it starts with black tea, sweet raspberry, and mint, then moves to a smoky touch of magnolia and incense. The dry down is soft suede-like leather with warm birch wood, everything very fine and elegant. Perfect balance that takes you to Russian folklore. Impeccable work by Rasquinet. Rating: 8