Russian Tea opens with a refreshing mint and tea accord with a hint of fruits peeking in the background.
The mint twists the tea accord and give an exciting accent to the tea notes. The mint is refreshing to the nose but not sharp, which I found fantastic because it does not saturate the nose or aggressive. On the contrary, the mint gives balance and texture to the tea’s smoky facet.
The tea accord in Russian Tea is herbaceous, smokey, and dusty.
It makes me imagine having a cup of black tea in front of a fireplace, quite realistic and intense. The smokey facet reminds me of cade or birch, smelling burnt with a tad sweetness that gives depth and richness in the composition. Simultaneously, there’s a faint fruity facet in the tea’s core, reminding me of real red berries fruits and blackcurrant buds’ green aspects. Both smokey and fruity elements balance each other and in an excellent combination to create a realistic experience of drinking tea.
The mint and smokey tea notes are remarkably persistent on the skin–the profile is linear. However, towards the dry down, the powdery, musky, and woody notes are getting prominent. A hint of violet’s sweet-powdery aspect accompanies the musks; both have a powder texture and smells fruity. The aromatic-mint facet that is now smelling a little bit camphorous adds a cold-powder feeling to the powdery and musky notes, which I find pleasant.
Underneath, the woody accord reminiscent of cedarwood and sandalwood intensifies the smokey notes coming from birch. The birch, apart from smelling smokey and phenolic, produces a leathery accent on the skin. The leather is soft and smelling clean instead of animalic, with a woody-balsamic facet reminiscent of cistus. This combination gives a solid foundation for the tea accord, making it linear, long-lasting, and leaves an elegant dry down on the skin.
My favorite part of Russian Tea is the dry down, where I can find a delightful blend of the tea and the leathery accord.
Although this is not my usual cup of tea, I truly appreciate the interpretation and the formation of this fragrance. The nose, Julien Rasquinet, could perfectly convey the Russian Tea ritual experience in a warm cafe on a snowy day. Moreover, I adore this perfume structure—a remarkable perfume with simple, straightforward, clean, and balance accord. Hats off!
Russian Tea is my first Masque Milano fragrance, and I can’t wait to discover more from this house. Have you tried anything from this house? What are your thoughts?
Cheers,
Gia.
