Masque Milano

White Whale

White Whale by Masque Milano is a Oriental Woody fragrance for women and men. White Whale was launched in 2022. The nose behind this fragrance is Christian Alori. Top notes are Salt, Olibanum and Madagascar Pepper; middle notes are Ambergris, Chinese Osmanthus, Violet and Italian Orris Root; base notes are Haitian Vetiver, Virginia Cedar, Indonesian Patchouli Leaf and Labdanum. IV – IV WHITE WHALE: “Call me Ishmael. Some years ago […] I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.” H. Melville.It belongs to the collection Act.IV – "Act of Dreams." The fragrances of this house are organized in groups of 4, each one representing an “ACT” in the opera of MASQUE."The creation of the fragrance was a journey in itself. See the process described by Christian:The starting point, and the Centerpiece of the fragrance is Oriental Gris. I had worked on an ambergris accord, using some natural ambergris as a target reference while working in the Paris IFF office. I pulled the accord out from my library and was ready/eager to use it in abundance!The Pequod ShipDuring our brainstorming, we clearly envisioned rustic and rough woods. Contrary to smooth and polished, this ship was made to take on hardship. The harshest conditions that weather and the ocean can offer. We used Cedarwood Virginia, Cistus Labdanum, Patchouli LMR, Vetiver LMR, Cypress LMR and Oakmoss.The Vast Dark Ocean and Salty Sea RopesWe were careful dosing in the salty seawater nuances. Here’s where we probably went through the largest number of reworks and modifications, in order to reach the right balance with the other elements. Black Pepper LMR to give a cold, fresh airy feeling, combined and amalgamated so well with the salty water notes.A Candlelight of ContrastUp until here, the fragrance was telling a story of dark and rugged life at sea. We decided to bring some light and warmth into the picture, countering with softness using Osmanthus LMR and Violet Flower.The Pages of an Old BookWe wanted to bring that nostalgic and familiar smell using Orris Concrete LMR and Olibanum LMR.We finalized the pursuit of the mythical white whale with a touch of boozy absinthe for the fellow crewmen before meeting their fate. We used Armoise Heart LMR, which contains a higher concentration of thujone than most armoise extracts."Available as 10 and 35 ml Eau de Parfum.