House  Masque
Released  2014
Perfumer  Julien Rasquinet
Fragrance Family  Leather
Notes  black pepper, mint, raspberry, magnolia, immortelle, black tea, incense, leather, cistus labdanum, birch

Description  Russian Tea by Masque is a beautiful, enveloping exploration of one of our favorite materials: black tea. There is a long history of tea consumption in Russia and it is closely associated with Russian culture. Originally imported into Russia from China via camel caravan, so-called Russian Caravan tea owed its characteristic smokiness to the caravan's campfires. Over the course of the long 16-18 month journey, the tea became imbued with its distinctive aroma. Masque's fragrance takes the delicate smokiness of Russian Tea as a starting point and dresses it with fruits, immortelle, leather and amber. The fragrance opens with a subtly smoky tea note, brightened by the addition of raspberry and fresh mint. Black pepper imbues the fragrance with an almost raspy spiciness and magnolia provides an interesting counterpoint to the smokiness with its waxy, lemony facets—at times, the combination is somewhat evocative of frankincense. A clever touch of immortelle imbues the fragrance with a caramelized sweetness; its toasted aroma pairs well with the smokiness of the fragrance. The subtle nuttiness of the black tea is further augmented by the addition of citsus labdanum, which brings the fragrance into warmer territory and keeps Russian Tea from feeling overly leathery. The tea note is extended in the base by the addition of birch tar and leather, eventually fading to a soft, woody drydown.

35 ml eau de parfum spray
$160.00

10 ml eau de parfum spray
$50.00

1 ml eau de parfum sample
$6.00