Terralba

Masque Milano’s line is divided into four “acts” of increasing complexity; this is how they were introduced to me by director Alessandro Brun during an event at Perfumology. Terralba is the first perfume from the first act (hence the “I:I” on the front of the bottle and the top of the rubber cap), so in that respect, it’s among the most accessible and perhaps easily satisfying of the line, though it’s quite interesting and nuanced to me. The inspiration behind Terralba is the coast of Sardinia, the marine smells mixing with the terrestrial. It does very effectively what I like in a handful of other fragrances: it’s a marine smell that has hints of dirtiness. Its opening is what I find most distinctive, the blast of fresh citruses and dirty green clary sage, which evolves into a floral, herbal heart of myrtle and thyme and then into a woody base of juniper, cypress, and cedarwood. It’s really on-target for me in terms of conjuring an island coast, the richness of the vegetation at play with some of aquatic whiffs, somewhere at the intersection of fresh and dirty. The bottle is especially lovely and practical amongst niche designs. Practical innovations included the bottom-heavy design of the bottle, rubber composition of the cap, notation of the act and fragrance number on bottle and cap, and custom image (designed by Alex’s students) for each fragrance. The overall feel of the design is personal and lovely, and it’s among my very favorites. I’m rarely so enthusiastic about presentation but Masque Milano’s looks and feels like true artwork. Terralba is the first I (and probably numerous others) smelled from the line and it was so obviously an instant winner for me. I more naturally gravitate toward heavier, more wintery fragrances, so I’m always keen to find more unique warm-weather-friendly offerings that pique my interest, and Terralba is a great offering that I don’t feel is at all redundant with what I own and what’s widely available in the market. I look forward to sampling the rest of the line, as well—Montecristo and Tango were my two other favorites from the initial smelling during the intro at Perfumology. 8 out of 10

Terralba reminds me of the time I was hiking my favorite trail and I spotted a bench carved out of a huge log. Some sap was leaking out, and it had hardened in the cool mountian air. I could not resist the tears of clear amber. I picked one off and thought, "Mmmm delicious!" and I popped it right into my mouth. Bad idea. It tasted like Mentholatum and made my mouth numb. I took it home to burn as incense. This perfume is uber green. Thankfully it is not nearly so camphorous as that tree sap I ate, but it certainly contains a camphorous element. It smells like conifer forests during the winter months. Brings me back to the breathtaking pine-covered canyons of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. There is no sweetness to be found here, except for what I perceive to be the faintest touch of tangerine. Terralba is the ultimate green, resinous, woody, herbal-aromatic perfume. The drydown aftter several hours seems like 100% lentisque. Leans a little masculine and reminds me a bit of men's cologne, but I think the right lady can pull it off. If you are looking for lentisque, this is well-done!

Terralba is a savory green. A lemon sorbet and cool clary sage lead into the seasoned herbs and sea air inflected conifers—I detect something that does recall Cupressus sempervirens oil. I also pick up the sweet, woody camphor of myrtle. While I haven't yet had the pleasure of experiencing the Mediterranean, I feel it would be safe to say this is evocative of its atmosphere, somehow balmy, breezy, and effervescent all at once. The mastic resin lends its own olibanum-gone-green, arid, sour balsam presence to this climate. What's most striking, however, is how all its camphor green and jaunty brightness transmogrifies into a salty perspiration and lightly smoldering grass, curry-tinged, sun-baked skin. It's this pungency in layers that wins me over, smelling like the color yellow, feeling like steamy warm bodies and sand dune vegetation. Terralba is by the ocean, but never quite of the ocean, which is refreshing in that it avoids falling into any blunt aquatic tropes. It's low key sexy in a "summer rustle in the shore pines, nobody has to know" sort of way.

As a virgin to the Masque line of fragrances I was not sure quite what to expect. My first experience being with the formidable "Terralba". As my nose is usually drawn to citrus, spicy, and woody scents, I had pretty high expectations after reading the include fragrance notes. I was most certainly not disappointed. The citrus opening is quite refreshing, with sunny notes of lemon and green tangerine. Clary sage, curry leaves and peppery thyme are noted here as well, offering spice to the hedoine accord. Gently the resinous, green, pungent lentisque note enters and dominates. It is balanced nicely with woody facets of cedar, juniper, cypress, and myrtle. Imagine a dry arid cliff along the Mediterranean Sea, punctuated with evergreens growing between the rocks. The hot summer sun causing the leaves to resonate with fragrance while a gentle breeze brings fresh sea air to your nose. A must "smell" fragrance. (122).

Oh, my! This was totally blind buy, but this was certanly no mistake! Some would say I smell like a dude😉, but I really don't care. This is the most natural herbal scent I have ever smelled in my whole life. No aquatic notes, no florals, not even citruses (if those bittery notes are citruses, then so be it) . Just wonderful herbs! Cold day in the forest in the spring. Sap from a pine tree. Moss. Thyme and sage. Wet ground. Excellent perfume. 10/10