Terralba by Masque Milano is an outdoorsy little thing, full of sunshine, open air, and assorted Mediterranean herbs. Basically, it's the complete opposite of Masque's high profile Montecristo. It's also incredibly friendly, and summery, and easy to wear, and... and lots of things. If only Terralba was longer lasting I'd probably put it at the top of my list for summer. But I already have the Mediterranean shrubbery represented in my collection, Garrigue by MPG, so even though this Masque perfume is more interesting, with a longevity of two or three hours I can't justify a full bottle.
Still, Terralba is fascinating. a citrus-aromatic opening leads the way to a thick and resinous tree bark glistening with sap. It's a bit chewy, slightly sweet, yet you don't find yourself in the heart of the forest, just on the edge at the top of a hill where you can see and smell the clean for miles and miles. Terrabla is surprisingly warm for such an airy fragrance, and the contradicting sensations it creates are incredibly pleasurable. But again, longevity is a major issue here. I'd rather have a candle in this scent that can make my house smell like an Italian vacation.
Notes: Clary Sage, Lemon, Green Tangerine, Myrtle, Thyme, Curry Leaves, Everlasting Flower, Lentisque, Juniper, Cypress, Cedar Wood.
Masque Milano- Terralba ($215, 100ml EDP) is available from Luckyscent.
Art: Mediterranean Scene with Olive Trees and Figures by the Sea by Duncan Grant
Great review! Montecristo is one of the scents I'm fairly certain will be in my life long love category, so I'm not sure why it took me so long to try Terralba, but when I did, it didn't disappoint - gorgeous scent and I'm OK with its lack of longevity since I often like to wear different perfumes over the course of the day (life is short, perfumes are many - extremely, awkwardly many in my perfume closet). But now I need to go get out Garrigue - one of the MPGs I just can't live without. This piece made me think about how Masque is one of the new niche lines that makes me stay hopeful about the future of perfumery and it struck me as really perfect that you referenced one of Jean LaPorte's scents since I always think of him as one of the founding fathers of niche perfumery. Sad that he's gone.
ReplyDeleteAnna