Masque Milano will be changing its pricing structure in the months to come, in addition to offering its fragrances in a new bottle size.
Masque Milano’s upcoming L’Attesa. Source: Masque Milano’s FB page.
This morning, Alessandro Brun, one of Masque’s co-owners/co-founders shared that information on the blog’s Facebook page following yesterday’s review on the company’s upcoming release, Romanza. His comments were in response to a discussion in regarding the new Romanza bottle, its size, its price, and the difference as compared to Masque’s existing fragrances.
Romanza costs €138 for 35 ml of eau de parfum. (I don’t know its American price yet.) It will be released on or around April 26th, which is when I think Masque will be launching L’Attesa, a new iris eau de parfum, as well. It, too, will be in the new 35 ml bottle for €138.
Masque’s Montecristo in its 100 ml bottle. Source: Luckyscent.
As I noted in yesterday’s Romanza review, the new price/size structure stands in stark contrast to that of Masque’s existing fragrances. With the exception of Tango, they all come in a 100 ml bottle for €150 or $215. (Tango is €170/$240.) Again, the new ones are a mere 35 ml for €138. Apparently, Masque had posted on its Facebook page that the price hike was due to the fact that Romanza and l’Attesa were based on expensive LMR Narcissus absolute & LMR Florentine Iris absolute, respectively. Still, most of us were left wondering what it meant for the old fragrances. After all, the divergence was rather glaring and surely wouldn’t remain that way for long. How much higher were the prices going to go for the 100 ml format?
Alessandro Brun, left, and Riccardo Tedeschi, right, Masque’s two owners/founders at last week’s Esxence Show in Milan. Photo source: Masque’s FB page.
Monsieur Brun stepped in at this point to provide some answers, in addition to news that the existing line was also going to be offered in the new 35 ml size. I realise that not everyone has a Facebook account, and I prefer to let Monsieur Brun’s words speak for themselves, so I’ll quote his various comments here:
We realized we cannot keep uniform pricing and from now on we will set each perfume pricing according to the formula cost. Concentration is the same (differs for every fragrance and is set at the % that is resulting in what we consider the best effect).
Prices for 100ml will remain unchanged for the time being, though.
Prices of the 35ml will be (for Europe): 108€ Terralba, Montecristo, Luci Ed Ombre; 125€ for Russian Tea and Tango; 138€ for Romanza and L’Attesa. [Emphasis in bolding added by me.]
A better look at the rubber top as shown for Masque’s new Romanza. Photo source: Essenza Nobile.
As a side note on an unrelated matter, he also elaborated on the large rubber-looking top to the new glass bottles, probably in response to some ambivalent or negative comments on that subject in the thread earlier on.
Finally, the new stopper is made of wood by an artisan we are working with since years, and covered with a velvety-touch primer. This allows to engrave numbering of fragrances on the top.
The most immediate thing to take from all of this is that your favourites in their 100 ml size are not going to go up in price for now. For now. I’ve asked Monsieur Brun when that increase is likely to occur, as well as when we might expect the existing fragrances to be released in the new 35 ml size. Another reader also inquired as to the fate of the 100 ml bottles in general and whether they’ll continue to be on the shelves. I will update this post when I have answers and further information on the matter. Personally, I don’t see Masque limiting itself solely to a 35 ml option, but it would be interesting to see if they plan to offer a range of size options, and perhaps even something in-between 35 mls and 100 mls.
I have to admit, I sighed at these numbers. The price structure that Monsieur Brun outlined creates a situation where 100 ml of Russian Tea currently costs €150, but 35 ml will be €125. Mathematically, that breaks to €1.50 per ml right now, going up to €3.57 per ml for the smaller bottle. I don’t know if the “per ml” price will be better once the new 100 ml price is unveiled, since larger sizes typically have a lower “per ml” price than smaller ones. That has yet to be determined. Bottom line, though, prices are going up. So, if there is a Masque fragrance that you adore passionately, then now might be a good time to get a second bottle if you want to save some money. To that end, I’ve provided some links at the end of the post to various Masque retailers for you to use if you’re interested.
[UPDATE: Alessandro Brun kindly provided me with additional information. It seems the parallel prices will remain for much of 2016. Furthermore, the 100 ml bottles will stay at their current levels during that time, which makes them a very good deal as compared to the proposed 35 ml prices. Things will change in 2017, though. The prices for the 100 mls will go up. In addition, Masque’s long-term plans include a change to the look, size, and packaging of the larger bottles. They might not even remain as a 100 mls; they may be changed to 80 ml or 120 ml. That part has not been decided. To me, though, simply reading between the lines, it seemed clear that the current gold/black look, graphics, and shape of the 100 ml bottle will go. I’m disappointed as I love the current look, but at least the 100 ml prices will remain constant for most of this year.]
Have lovely Sunday, everyone.
In the U.S.: Luckyscent, Twisted Lily. Overseas: ParfuMaria, First in Fragrance, Jovoy, Essenza Nobile, Neos1911, Spain’s Le Secret du Marais, and Russia’s Bum Parfum.
Considering how small an amount of raw materials is in a bottle of perfume, I don’t buy that argument for such a dramatic price increase. Not at all.
As compared to mainstream junk that you’d find in a Macy’s or Sephora and that contain something like 0.001% naturals, I do think niche perfumes can sometimes (not always and uniformly, but sometimes) have a significantly higher percentage of raw materials in a bottle. Obviously it depends on the brand and the particular perfume in question. With regard to Masque, I definitely buy their explanation for L’Atessa. The highest grade Iris is incredibly expensive. And the absolute form costs a fortune. Having said that, I’m less swayed by price increases for something like, say, Russian Tea which, to my nose, smelt of excess aromachemicals and was quite painful to wear. So, €125 for a mere 35 ml of Russian Tea… hmph.
The pricing is very bizarre at this moment. We can only assume the rise in price for the 100ml bottles (if they keep them) will be HUGE. The more i look at them, the more i am disliking these stumpy little bottles. The 100ml bottles are gorgeous and great to hold, but these stumpy little things just look aesthetically wrong. The cap, also looks very awkward. It has something of the badly designed beehive about it.
From what I was just told, and as mentioned in the update I just wrote, those “gorgeous” 100 ml bottles are unlikely to stay the same. I have the sense that the colours, shape, and design are going to change quite a bit in 2017. 🙁
If you click Twisted Lily , a 100 mil goes for $185 and and Tango goes for $195 If you click Lucky Scent, Russian Tea goes for $215 and Tango goes for $240 . If you go to Lucky Scent and click Amouge’s page, you’ll see a 20% discount with Amouge’s products . I shop at both online sites. Sadly though, the 50 mil of Sunshine is gone. I see more and more niche houses offering more sizes along with roll ons. To me, this is good, the prices can reach a larger audience .
American retailers can vary their prices to take things like the currency exchange rate and shipping from Europe into consideration. (Plus, I think those lower Twisted Lily prices were the old 2015 rates and haven’t been adjusted for 2016 or, rather, 2016 before the additional increase takes place.)
But what Mr. Brun’s own words demonstrate is that the pricing is meant to be “uniform” across the line. They’ve set that line at €150 with the exception of Tango.
The issue I’m raising here is that €150 price — vs. — €125 or not that much less for a significantly smaller quantity of product. That’s the issue, and it’s quite separate from the general convenience of smaller size options or even what American retailers choose to do for their exchange rate conversion amounts. And, with all due respect, whether Luckyscent chooses to give a 20% discount on a brand, let alone a completely separate brand, is equally irrelevant to Masque’s anticipated price hikes.
Having said that, yes, it’s generally a good thing for smaller sizes to be offered as an overall theoretical matter and standard practice.
Twisted Lilly sold out of Russian Tea and they were out of it for sometime . When they restocked , the price went lower. The other , Tango etc , prices remained higher, then dropped . I realize that the other brand is irrelevant , I was just trying to be fair to both online boutiques , and yes ,if you want a bottle now would be the time. So no disrespect taken.
And yes, that is a big price hike.
The only one I have tried is Russian Tea and don’t think too much of it, not my cup of tea.
I am once again angry seeing this price jumps that happen too often, in general. If he wants to follow the trend, while making them more expensive, he should weaken them also.
Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier have recently increased the bottle size from 100 to 120 ml and the price from 100 to 160 Euro, mostly.
Mona di Orio reduced the bottle size which lead to a price increase per ml.
I’ve heard that this summer Chanel will increase the prices on Les Exclusives line.
Perfumes are becoming more and more luxurious in prices and the opposite in quality. Really not liking what is happening in the perfume world.
Seb, I wasn’t aware of the Maitre Parfumeur/MPG changes, as it’s a brand that has very, very, limited distribution on this side of the pond, so thank you for letting me know. €60 more for just 20 ml more? Hmmph. As for Chanel’s Exclusifs, I’m always a bit wary of their annual price hikes. If I remember correctly, the difference between their 2012 and 2013 prices was something like 40%. It’s never been quite so egregious since then, but I’m still grateful each year that I bought my large bottle of Coromandel when I did.
The Masque price increases and other perfume price increases for smaller amounts of perfume have made me a very cautious buyer, finally. I don’t blind-buy anymore, and on the rare occasion I buy samples, I order smaller sizes. I’m more than willing to spend on a full bottle, but it has to be something I have sampled first & loved.
I am probably in the minority, though, since prices keep going up, and people keep buying.
I own a fb of Tango in the original bottle, which is nice, but the top isn’t a secure fit (wobbly). I dropped it and it chipped, exposing white plaster. I have to say the new, wood tops are probably sturdier.
I’m with you, I don’t want to blind buy anymore, no matter the price. When I’ll buy a new bottle, I want to be blown away by it. And the price increase every year…I’ve said my opinion earlier.