Kintsugi

EDITED March 2026: Revising my initial review of April 2023. Here it is some three years later. I just reordered a 50ml bottle of Kintsugi after emptying a few 100ml bottles over the years. THREE YEARS LATER and I still LOVE this perfume!! I love it! Kintsugi opens with a BIG & HUGE flowery magnolia scent, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE!! Yes, citrus is present, along with some amber. But on my skin I detect mellow, smooth and beautifully bloomed magnolia. And ROSE...beautiful, sweet Centifolia Rose Grasse. Within minutes, suede arrives but in a very soft leathery way. I am NOT a fan of cashmere-suede perfume bombs but this is heck-YES lovely. Sometimes leathery notes can become overpowering. But this perfume is so well done, the leather-suede note adds the perfect balance to prevent the magnolia and other florals from overpowering the fragrance's performance. But make no mistake about it...Kintsugi is an opulent, rich, floral-forward fragrance. Violets with their leaves & stems emerge, along with lots of benzoin, vanilla and patchouli. Kintsugi lands as an INTENSE, mixed-floral, slightly powdery, creamy, fragrance with benzoin, vanilla, musk & patchouli throughout. The rise of creamy, woody, resinous notes provides the perfect backbone for a blend of fragrance notes that is seamless and effortless. This perfume is lovely lovely lovely. Perfection. Longevity is good at 4-6 hours. Silage is moderate and very nice. And despite Kintsugi’s hefty list of dense notes, this perfume is practically ethereal and diaphanous. Did I say "I love this fragrance?" Heaven in a bottle.

I visited Perfumology on a trip to Philadelphia this past spring. Of all the samples I bought and things I tried, it was the spritz of Kintsugi on the back of my hand that was my obsession for the long drive home, and the bottle I needed among the more hyped scents I thought I was there to try. It’s a unique scent. You can see it in the lack of consensus in the "reminds me of"s above. Despite the notes of leather and raspberry, no one is mentioning the Tom Ford leathers. There's rose and patchouli, but no comparisons to Portrait of a Lady. And rightly so - it's not like them. There's a uniquely earthy/mossy quality, floral-sweetened - flashes of purple, pink and white flowers emerging from damp mossy earth, beautiful and layered and naturalistic. The concept of Kintsugi resonates deeply the more I've worn it - the art of repairing broken pottery with the joins and lacquer intentionally highlighted, beautiful in themselves, drawing attention to the repaired nature of the piece. There's no shame in being broken, and you can highlight rather than hide those fractures. Kintsugi may not be a "perfect", crowd-pleasing or obvious scent. You wear it to celebrate your flawed uniqueness and all the scars that brought you there. Also - these Masque Milano bottles are gorgeous, the thick crystal, tactile rubber cap, fantastic sprayer ... total joy!

So I got Russin Tea, Mandala and this Kintsugi and this is by far my favorite. Russian Tea is th highest rated, but I think this smells the best. More proof that you can't always believe the hype. Not getting much suede or vanilla, but getting decent floral and fruits. This smells really high quality. Others that note fruits are an ethyl Maltol bomb. This is really subtle and classy, but does project decently and lasts an acceptable amount of time. I have a few others I'm testing on my skin and those are projecting better, so I'll have to try it on its own to give a more solid opinion. Unisex

This is 'Mitsouko' 2.0. The new chypre fragrance for the 21st century. There is bergamot, some flowers, a fruity aspect, but above all there is a base of patchouli-coeur, which is a wonderful earthy material with green and wet facets. No oakmoss is needed anymore when patchouli-coeur is used this way. Excellent!

Kintsugi is absolutely stunning! The magnolia and bergamot opening is so fresh and uplifting, and the rose and suede heart is just divine. It's both floral and leathery, sweet and slightly tart. I get compliments on it all the time. This is a truly unique and unforgettable fragrance.

Nice lovely unique rose with berries and fruitiness off the top. Truly unique rose, but after some time of wear there’s a mustiness that lingers and becomes stronger than the pleasant opening. Kind of like an old carpet in a basement. I feel self conscious every time I wear this because it smells great when I leave the house but then I’m stuck feeling like I don’t want to get too close to people, cause of that mustiness. Like a shirt that’s been worn for days without washing. That said, the mustiness isn’t necessarily bad...it’s just not what I want to associate my scent with. I still wear this when I’m alone, because it is beautiful. If you are a collector and like to smell unique things, this is a great addition to your collection. Like most of the masque Milano line, they are all incredibly artistic and expertly blended, but a few are challenging to wear and this is one of them. For 35ml bottle tho, it’s worth the try.

I was looking for a perfume that would feel meaningful on the eve of the Lunar New Year. Symbolic of repair and resilience, I thought Kintsugi would be a great fit for a day that is associated with homecoming and reunion in the Chinese culture. I've always hated the smell of cigarettes and was worried about how this was going to pan out based on the reviews, but this turned out to be an earthy floral that feels grounded and comforting. It doesn't smell like anything I've ever tried, although I can see similarities to Bibliothèque by Byredo (fruity-leather accords) and Aged Tea by Pan Seven International (smoky tea accords).

This is a mostly suede fragrance for me, both on paper and on skin. A bevy of soft florals blooms out of the smooth suede, tinged with patchouli and just the slightest touch of amber sweetness. This is a tremendously well-executed feminine leather fragrance, plenty well-balanced for many occasions. I don't quite get the kintsugi reference, unless it's simply about the amalgam of old and new, or the juxtaposition of contrasting elements. The lasting power and projection on this is BIG. This is my black leather pants, hair down, dance floor, make a statement perfume.

Magnolia is as sweet as honey, slightly powdery and heavy, then slowly turns into a rose fragrance with reduced sugar content but the same heaviness, and finally a warm air mixed with vanilla and violet leaves that exist from beginning to end The diffusion is good when it is first sprayed out. After 2 hours, it becomes a body fragrance around the surrounding area, and it becomes close to skin after about 3 hours. Rose version similar to Fresh Cannabis Santal, may be better to wear in winter

Delightful fresh (and cooling) rose with fruity and herbal undertones. It also has an interesting twist in it, something animalic, but still nice and clean. Probably it’s some sort of unique combination of patchouli and leather. It seems simple, but in reality has multiple dimensions like all of Masque Milano perfumes. Follow me on IG: scent.guide

Testing my sample; this is a fruity and herbal rose, but it leans cool and refreshing, complimented by a leathery and musky suede for balance. I've seen mentions of Tuscan Leather and I agree, this is a lighter more uplifting version that's much easier and less overwhelming to wear in warm weather. Quite strong with great projection.

I don't see any mention of this below, but there's a stale cigarette smoke layer to this. It smells like a fun middle-aged lady who chain-smokes but only outdoors and who douses herself in some fruitchouli to cover the smell. She's fun but a bit overwhelming and at some point I have to start breathing through my mouth.

This is probably the most well-blended pretty leathery perfume I have ever smelled. It has a dated quality to it. The floral notes are apparent but not as front and center as the suede note. A lot of projection. I think this would smell great on a man but it’s giving grandma on me.

a more fruity Tuscan Leather type without the unpleasant sour leather side

Got a sample of this for free with an online purchase. Honestly I'm not sure who this is for. Don't be fooled by the "unisex" rating on this site. It opens with a very intense rose, mixed with preserved fruit – a scent you might encounter an middle aged/older lady wearing. Very feminine, very sharp, honestly not a huge fan. But then, about 1 hour in, it changes to something super masculine instead – a primarily tobacco/leather scent, and stays that way for several more hours. As a man, that's more my thing, but I get how smelling like tobacco can be polarizing still. But here's an issue: if you're a man and you'd like the leathery tobacco fragrance, the rosy fruity opening would look very out of place on you. And vice versa if you're a woman looking for a rosy fruity perfume. Only towards the end, when the projection is already at skin level, do these two components mix forming something finally unisex and balanced, floral, leathery. But at this point no one will smell this on you, so why bother? Overall, to reinstate, I really don't see which demographic this would be suitable for. Not repulsive but I just can't see the point.

I totally agree with the first reviewer. The perfume starts with a creamy rosy tone, maybe with a solid creamy-balsamic ground but that’s not the leading role here; Almost at the same time, a raw starchy note jumped up to the stage, it smells like some sort of vegetable tuber, like a freshly-cut raw potato; then we quickly head into an abstract creamy-floral-synthetic juice mixture, that cool-tone starchy note retreat to background, but it never disappears, it persists like a gold line in the whole story. Perhaps that’s what they mean by kintsugi: this is a craft repairing broken ceramic pieces by gluing it back with gold glittered natural paint, usually leaving a gold line on the repaired surface. After all the flowers gone, we got a dull-looking (almost ashy but not really), still starchy, balsamic-Amber base.

Kintsugi opens with a nice blast of bergamot coupled with a mish-mash of florals; magnolia, rose, violet-leaf, that can be quite overpowering. I disagree with the reviewer below that it only lasts two hours, this is a beast of a fragrance that lasts for an entire day projecting with merely two or three sprays. There is something fruity in the background but you get the feeling that there is too much going on. It's almost an acidic smell and makes it unwearable. It's a miss for me. Composition: 2/10 Longevity: 10/10 Projection: 9/10 Value: 4/10

I am fascinated with Masque Milano. I love the concepts, the bottles, and the atomizers, which are the best I have ever seen. I appreciate the artistry of Masque Milano's Kintsugi, but it ultimately smells like a dirty ash tray to me. I imagine that Lucille Ball, who has been called a human ashtray, would have smelled like this. Not my taste, but it is definitely worth sampling to see if it is right for you.

This is a perfectly beautiful chypre with some sweet fruit. But - there is a horrid dirty note that takes over in the drydown! What is it - notes look perfectly innocent - the suede? Lasting power and sillage are good which is a problem for me as this fragrance makes me feel a bit sick. This house is really hit or miss and I applaud them for not conforming.

Starts as a great rose-violet chypre with a retro patchouli touch and the greenness of magnolia. Moist candied violet as in Dans Tes Bras, with some earthy leathery Bandit undertones which soon starts to dominate. I have rarely experienced a scent that transforms so radically. 15 minutes later, it's already a mix between Quorum and Narciso Rodriguez for Him (a quotation itself), a bittergreen concoction where magnolia and violet keep humming their after-the-rain chant in the background (more stems, less flowers), and the rose is totally gone, at least on my skin. Two hours later, magnolia reappears on stage less green, more waxy and creamy, a sensual feminine counterpart in this play. I can see a lot of influences here, more than usual, I can't even spot them all : the already quoted Cabochard, Mitsouko and Magie Noire are all contributing to different facets. I would also add Apres l'Ondee, Vol de Nuit, classic Chanels maybe... and a lot more. There is in fact one possible set of references for the opening of the scent, then another one for its later development. And I have the feeling that this is deliberate, that this has been the starting point of Kintsugi (great name, by the way): a nod to different classics, a recombination of classic elements, the intention to "rethink" some relics from the past with a bunch of new, state-of-the-art ingredients, to make them live again here and now. Colorizing old black and white photographs, cutting classic dress silhouettes with some hi-tech fabrics. Too much visible effort though, too complicated, too many postmodern cultural layers for me, almost killing spontaneous joy and appreciation.