New Perfume Review Masque Milano Tango- The Dance of Attraction

One of the more well-received lines of 2013 was Masque Milano. The three releases generated a lot of buzz and Montecristo ended up on many year-end “Best of 2013” lists. I was not one of those who was similarly impressed. I liked what I smelled but I wasn’t moved to write about them. I was optimistic that Alessandro and Riccardo, the owners and creative directors behind the brand, would produce something I would really like. It only took them one more try to meet that expectation.

Alessandro and Riccardo

Masque Milano presents their fragrances as Acts from an opera and for their fourth fragrance, Tango, we are at Act III Scene IV. In the story they describe a party where our male protagonist is enjoying the smell of the night blooming jasmine while drinking Ron y Miel honey rum from the Canary Islands. He meets the gaze of a woman, the music swells with a distinctive rhythm. The drink has loosened his inhibition, the music propels him through the wooden tables surrounding the dance floor. He holds his hand out and they connect. The dance of attraction begins, again.

Cecile Zarokian

When I read this description I was very intrigued because I had a good friend, as a young man in South Florida, who was from Tenerife. He always scoffed at the rum from the Caribbean Islands as lacking in imagination. I didn’t understand what he meant until he came back from a trip home with a bottle of Ron y Miel. Aged rum is blended with indigenous honey to create a singular liquor. I had forgotten about it for many years until seeing the description for Tango. Perfumer Cecile Zarokian was asked to create a fragrance which captured “A mid-summer night. The bower in full bloom, large wooden tables, a liquor; and music.” Mme Zarokian captures all of that along with a smoldering depth that is entrancing.

Tango Argnetino II by Pedro Alvarez

Mme Zarokian chooses to start with the citrus-like breeziness of cardamom set off against black pepper and cumin. It is like a sea breeze on a summer’s evening over the sweat coming off those sitting outside. Cumin and pepper produce the sweaty accord. Jasmine sambac with all of its indolic character on display catches the flowers growing on the perimeter. Mme Zarokian adds a bit of Rose Damascene to keep the indoles from getting too rambunctious too quickly. Patchouli allows for the indoles to gain some traction as Tango begins the final bit of development. The Ron y Miel accord is created from vanilla, sweet clover, benzoin, and tonka. It is rich and compelling like the real thing. Finally we end up with leather, amber, and musk as the passionate dance commences.

Tango has all-day longevity and above average sillage.

Where Tango resonates for me is that this seems the most complete Masque Milano fragrance to date. Every phase of the story presented is represented throughout the development. The first time I sniffed it and wore a bit of it I didn’t have the story and was still impressed with the seamless development. Each note and accord builds upon the others and my dance of attraction with another perfume begins, again.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by Masque Milano at Esxence 2014.

–Mark Behnke