Masque | The Scented Hound

July 5, 2016
by The Scented Hound 15 Comments

New Release: L’Atessa by Masque Milano

WHAT I SMELL: L’Attesa opens with a flattened bergamot with a slightly soured neroli that feels waxy, slightly yeasty and thickened like a styrofoam cushion. After a short time, a faint iris begins to appear, floating in a thin layer under the rest of the perfume. Soon the iris begins to grow and expand as it takes center stage. This is a warmed iris and a rather creamy one at that. The iris is soon met with a melding of other florals and the perfume starts to feel as if it’s a warmed scarf wrapped around the neck. The perfume radiates, but it’s very subdued and incredibly comforting. After around 10 minutes, a peppered suede wraps itself over the florals. It’s smooth and sensual and as it continues to develop the creaminess moves to a powder and the perfume pulls out all moisture. At this time, there’s a lightly sweetened powdered lipstick edge to the perfume which I really like. Eventually, the perfume settles in this powdered projection over a smooth and hazy slightly soured sandalwood.

From the Masque Milano website:

Act III Scene One

All is set for the rendezvous.

The soft lights seem to fondle the wrinkled sound of the old vinyl disc, and play hide-and-seek in the warm embrace of the jazz singer’s voice. The wide french-window is opened on the terrace. Outside, only the cicadas shrill drowning and the warm summer breeze. On the tea-table, a nosegay of freshly plucked flowers, flooding the room with a cocktail of smells and a bright colour palette. You uncork a champagne bottle and fill the two flutes. The unmistakable flavour of yeast hovers in the air. You settle into the couch, to enjoy this moment, and take a good look around – every single detail is simply perfect. You then close your eyes, breathe deeply, listen to the sound of her steps on the stairs. Can’t help smiling. You wish these moments would never end. There comes a knock on the door.

Head notes: Italian Bergamot, Moroccan Neroli, Champagne accord

Heart notes: Italian Iris abs., Italian Iris Root Butter, French Iris Root Butter, Tuberose abs., Ylang Ylang Madagascar

Base notes: Sandalwood Mysore, Oakmoss, Leather accord

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A beautiful, graceful and majestic Lippizan Stallion.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE L’ATTESA: dramatic, unique, passionate

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT L’ATTESA: Kafkaesque, Megan in Sainte Maxime, Chemist in the Bottle

BOTTOM LINE: L’Attesa unfolds in he most beautiful manner. It’s exquisite in its blending of the warmed iris and florals. My one wish is that it would have remained in the middle state of the creamy florals for the remainder of the perfume. However, that doesn’t distract from the perfume which is wonderfully different and unique. Also, kudos to Masque Milano for their new bottles which easily match the perfume in terms of beauty.

Bone Rating: 4 out of possible 5 bones
Scent: Floral Woody Musk
Nose: Luca Maffei
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $165 for 35 ml eau de parfum

Sample courtesy of Masque Milano. Opinion my own.

May 4, 2016
by The Scented Hound 40 Comments

Sniffa New York!

Let me first say that I am a very deficient blogger…deficient in the fact that when I go to an event and meet the fantastic people in the industry I fail to record meetings, greetings and happenings through pictures. And I have a great new iPhone so there’s no excuse. So let me first apologize for the sparse use of original or borrowed pictures.

Twisted Lily

This past weekend was a perfumed whirlwind centered around the 2016 Sniffapalooza Spring Fling. Friday night kicked off the weekend event with an open house at Twisted Lily in Brooklyn. Let me first say that I was proud of the fact that the Hound and hub managed to take the subway from Manhattan to Brooklyn during Friday night rush hour all by ourselves. This is big, even though I may be lax in taking pictures, I am not lax in ordering Uber. So the train took me off my princess perch. If you have never had the pleasure of visiting Twisted Lily, Eric and Stamatis’s store offers the best selection of niche perfumes on the east coast. Wide and varied, they have an incredible diverse and unique range of perfumes. Even if you haven’t been there, check out their website as you can still order their perfumes online. The open house was PACKED…but that made it all that much more fun. It was great to see old friends and to make new ones as well….two of which included the team behind Masque Milano, Alessandro Brun and Riccardo Tedeschi. We had a lovely chat where they introduced me to their latest release Romanza, a perfume inspired by Oscar Wilde’s Portrait of Dorian Gray. It’s a narcissus based perfume that…well, the inspiration says a lot and I plan to complete a review so I’ll let you create your own picture right now. Additionally, they introduced me to their upcoming release L’Attesa, an incredibly beautiful iris perfume that restored my interested in the flower as a note. More to come on that as well. But they also have redesigned their bottles and I have to say that they are incredibly luxurious and wonderful weighted.

Saturday morning was kicked off with the invasion of the Sniffa group to Bergdorf Goodman. I was introduced to a new line I hadn’t heard of before, The Fragrance Kitchen. This Kuwait based perfume house has been around since 2005, but is new to the US market. They had a wide range of perfumes, but found my favorite to be “The Man from Impanema,” a really nice fresh citrus floral with a happy disposition. How can you not love that name??! I also managed to be seduced by Ex Nihilo’s Sweet Morphine, a vibrant pink floral perfume that spellbound me big time. But of course, I didn’t purchase either of those, but instead was enabled by dear sweet Daisy as we both ended up purchasing a 3 ml bottle of Oud Elixir Precieux from Christian Dior. This perfumed oil elixir is out of this world and one of those perfumes where people around me were wondering where the intoxicating fragrance was coming from as it just seems to not necessarily radiate from the skin, but from the atmosphere. Riccardo Tedeschi from Masque was smelling it as we were wrapping up the purchase and he said it was the most magnificent thing he had smelled that day. I have to admit, it’s like owning a little jewel. And it’s not a heavy oud, but more of a smooth and smoky honeyed intoxicant.

I must have these Diors!

The Sniffa lunch revolved around various speakers…but one highlight was a presentation from Barbara Herman introducing her newly released line of Eris Parfums. Barbara, an aficionado on vintage and classic perfumes and author of “Scent and Subversion” has taken this next step into the realm of creation with a trio of classic, yet modern-inspired animalic perfumes in collaboration with perfumer Antoine Lie and co-founder and business partner, the talented Jacinta Bunt. Probably my favorite from the line is Night Flower…and of course, that’s only a teaser as you’ll soon hear more about it!

Cecile, Mary and The Hound

Saturday night culminated in a wonderful small gathering with Puredistance, the perfume house that’s dear to my heart. Their creations, including my beloved White, are all incredible and this gathering was centered around the introduction to the newest member of their collection, Sheiduna. A stunner that is a departure from the rest of the line, I was told that with this creation they were looking to bridge the elegance of Europe with the sensual and exciting nature of the Orient. Those in attendance had the chance to experience Sheiduna and it was incredible how different it developed on each wearer. All I can say is that this oriental has a beautiful drydown that must be experienced. I also finally had a chance to meet the ever gracious Mary Gooding, the Puredistance brand ambassador, as well as have a chat with Sheiduna’s perfumer, the amzaing Cecile Zarokian. Sheiduna is set to be released some time later in 2016.

Sunday was a day spent with friends so I didn’t get a chance to experience day 2 of the Sniffapalooza, but that’s OK…I managed to pack in a sensory overload in a day and a half.

Next time however, I PROMISE to take pictures. Well…I guess I should never promise should I.

Thanks to Daisy, Ari, Hajusuuri, Mary, Carlos, Michelyn and the many others for making this such a special weekend.

xoxoxoxox Steve

May 5, 2014
by The Scented Hound 12 Comments

New Release: Tango by Masque

WHAT I SMELL: Tango opens with a spicy bergamot that dances with pepper followed soon with this wonderful cardamon which gives it a slight medicinal herbal hue. After a few more minutes, a rather boozy almost whiskey like note is introduced and the fragrance begins to get a bit tangy and sharper which helps to lighten the rather deep opening. It feels like its revving itself up like pistons in an engine getting ready for the fragrance to take off. There’s a little sweetness that lurks underneath the spicy elements of the fragrance that help it to be more playful than sedate. The amber provides for a consistent warmth for the base that makes Tango oh so comfortable, yet incredibly sexy like a form-fitting dress that reveals every curve. After around 30 minutes, Tango becomes pure sex. The heady florals matched with the warm base just oozes off your skin. It’s intoxicating and breathtaking.

Tango note from the Masque website:

Head notes: bergamot, black pepper, cardamom

Heart notes: Sambac jasmine abs, Damascena rose oil, patchouli

Base notes: vanilla bean, tonka bean, melilot abs, amber accord, leather accord, benzoin, muscs

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: As the seductive dance between two lovers; Tango is named perfectly!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE TANGO: lively, nocturnal, peppery

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT TANGO: Colognossieur, CaFleureBon, The Non-Blonde

BOTTOM LINE: Wow! Tango took me by surprise and whipped me up into a carnal frenzy. Tango isn’t a fragrance that’s meant for the office, but is perfect for when you’re prowling the streets at night. Trust me, you’ll be noticed.

Bone Rating: 5 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Cecile Zarokian
Classification: Unisex
Expense: $240 for 100ml EdP

Sample courtesy of Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary