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Basilica Milano Fragranze 2021

7.6 / 10 89 Ratings

A popular perfume by Milano Fragranze for women and men, released in 2021. The scent is spicy-woody. It is being marketed by Masque.
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Main accords

Spicy

Woody

Creamy

Resinous

Smoky

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Rosemary

Thyme

Heart Notes

Frankincense resin

Labdanum

Milk

Base Notes

Cypriol

Santamanol

Virginia cedar

Perfumer

Violaine Collas

Ratings

Scent

7.689 Ratings

Longevity

7.666 Ratings

Sillage

7.166 Ratings

Bottle

8.263 Ratings

Value for money

7.446 Ratings

Submitted by OPomone · last update on 11/25/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

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Noir Premier - Terres Aromatiques 1905

Plein Jeu III-V

Santal Carmin

II-IV Kintsugi

Reviews

12 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/20/2024

7.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

Raluko111
435 Reviews

Raluko111

Helpful Review 6

Two monks walk into a pizzeria

I enjoy wearing this because it makes me smile, but I have to be careful because it does bring on the hunger cravings, for pizza particularly. Don't let the name fool you into purchasing it for its churchy incense atmosphere. There's incense in here, but it's not spouting any religious fervor whatsoever. Rather than being pious, the incense plays a supporting role into recreating the atmosphere of another famous Italian place of worship, the pizzeria. You can inhale the thyme and herbs in the pizza sauce (I suspect the monks were fasting, so they ordered the Marguerita), and the milky sandalwood brings to mind the yeasty dough left to rise on a floured, wooden table.

I think you have to like herbs and milky notes to enjoy this. Oh, and you also need an open mind. Not everything works the same on everyone, we're all different, but calling people snobs because you dislike a fragrance is just infantile and mean. Mangiare!

02/21/2024

7.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Smeriglio
72 Reviews

Smeriglio

Helpful Review 5

The pizzeria after the basilica, on the left

It is a singular perfume. It can't lead anyone to associate it with a basilica, if it weren't for the name. I made some of my friends who aren't passionate about perfumes smell it, they told me: "let's eat pizza tonight". They're not entirely wrong because the protagonist note is thyme, which in this case is identical to oregano. At the beginning there is a bit of rosemary, which however remains an appearance. After a few minutes you can perceive the incense and a creamy note, which always remain only on the margins of the main note of oregano. So we have a combination of oregano, incense and milk which lasts unchanged for approximately 4 hours.At this point, the perfume turns towards delicate woody notes (guaiac wood) and cypriol oil.

11/02/2025

9Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

DrB1414
269 Reviews

DrB1414

Helpful Review 4

Accidental Gourmand

I feel that Incense Perfumes are one of those olfactory families that suffer from dullness, and if you smell a few, you've smelled them all. Therefore, coming across a perfume like Milano Fragranze’s Basilica was a pleasant surprise for its different approach to the incense theme. To me, however, this is not first about frankincense, but rather about herbs, most importantly, thyme. I love thyme. Fresh in foods or smelling it dry. It is one of my favorite culinary herbs. This perfume makes such a strong use of it, next to rosemary. If you disagree with them, don’t even bother with Basilica. Thyme is a major component of this fragrance, followed by rosemary. I’d say they hint more to the dried herbs than the fresh ones. The second major part of the composition is the woods: cedar, sandalwood, and cypriol. They lay down a beautifully textured foundation for the herbs that push strongly throughout the life of the perfume. The smoky aspect only comes in as a third player for me, as a combination of frankincense and warm resins. It is rather meek, overshadowed by the first two; therefore, don’t stop by seeking strong fumes. The unusual suspect worth mentioning is the “milk accord,” which turns slightly sour when combined with the overwhelming herbaceous qualities, while the pairing of cypriol, thyme, and frankincense imbues an undeniable salty quality. So far, you can see how this can steer into rather “weird territory.” But the thing is, it works unexpectedly well. I say unexpectedly, as it might come across to many (as you can clearly read from others' impressions) as a “savory gourmand,” reminding them of Focaccia Bread or Pizza. And if I let my mind roam, or if it just happens that I am hungry, I can totally smell that. In fact, the first time I tried Basilica, I thought it smelled like the most delicious, warm Italian bread, served with some juicy olives and herbs, next to a Basilica on a Sunday Mass. But if one pays attention, it’s easy to break the fantasy into pieces and recognize it for what it is: a warm, woody, and smoky perfume seasoned with abundant herbs. Therefore, I like to think of it as an “accidental gourmand,” because I don’t think the creative direction intended for it to be one. Only the interplay of notes and accords, and perhaps too much wishful thinking about the mouthwatering Italian cuisine, turned it unofficially into one. Therefore, I believe the way it will be interpreted will very much depend on how hungry you are.

All in all, it is a fun, cozy, and original spin on the monotonous incense accord. The pairing of smoky liturgical and “foody” nuances reminds me of another such interpretation, also of Italian heritage, the elusive NOUN from Bogue Profumo. I guess Italians like associating the two, or perhaps they hold their esteemed cuisine to a “Holy” status, and I don’t blame them.

IG:@memory.of.scents

03/10/2025

Lacrilezar
2 Reviews

Lacrilezar

Helpful Review 3

Rosemary brioche that somehow feels really relatable

This one sent me on a trip! The first time I tried it on skin, it lasted about thirty minutes before I scrubbed it off. I sometimes struggle with milk accords, because they can go really sugary on me. I'm glad I gave it another try, though, because this fragrance is actually gorgeous.

Someone on reddit described this as 'eating bread in a church'. I don't get the church in the opening, because at first it's all sugary milk embedded in aromatic herbs, like a focaccia but except for focaccia it's a glazed donut, and there's not much in the way of incense. It's kind of a gourmand, but it doesn't feel edible to me at all.

After about an hour, the incense wakes up and oh my word it's so pretty. It's a pretty sharp note, genuinely reminiscent of a church, but it's not harsh or smoky. There's still the initial sweetness from the opening, and together with the herbs it creates a wonderful counterweight to the stern quality this type of incense tends to have.

I have very strong feelings about (or should I say for) Cardinal by Heeley - there's something very coy about the incense and the musk circling around each other. I don't think fragrances are gendered (and certainly not these two), but if I had to envision them as a people, Cardinal would be a man - think hot priest from Fleabag, someone clerical but close, perhaps too much so. Basilica feels much more like something I can identify with: in my mind, she's a young woman with a playful side, who likes to pick at rosemary bushes and smell the leaves in her hand, but she'll definitely pull you into a church when she comes across one - to admire the sights, but also to feel something, perhaps an old connection she thought she had severed.

I love it, but that's because I see myself in it. It feels cosy and comfortable, but still gives me enough to think about. But it is definitely a bit of an odd quasi-gourmand. If you're not into some very explicit herbs, you probably won't enjoy this one.

12/19/2024

1Scent 5Longevity 4Sillage

Thewrongbeth
100 Reviews

Thewrongbeth

2

What's the big deal here?

So many better incenses out there. I see many glowing reviews singing Basilica's praises all over the internet, but I suspect this is most likely one of those scenarios (and if you've been at this long enough, you know what I'm talking about) where folks are "forcing" themselves to love and adore this fragrance as a badge of honor of sorts. You know that niche oddball that you don't really like, but THINK you should because it's so avante garde that only the coolest, most niche-affluent fragheads "get it"? Yeh, Basilica feels like one of those scents to me.

To start, this is NOT a perfume. It's an atmospheric "scent of place"--which is fine; I like those. Problem for me is, I don't like this place. Frankly, it's eery and downright unsettling. Cold, metallic incense. Dried (not fresh) kitchen herbs. Pencil-shaving, nose-piercing cedar and synthetic (pickly) sandalwood. And then, yeast. The "lactonic"/"milk" accord here does what it often does on my skin: smells like dried baby spit. Doesn't this sound lovely? Shouldn't I just SWOON? Shouldn't I just jump at the chance to smell like a pizzeria (LMAO)? Truthfully, I'm repulsed at all stages of this fragrance. It's as if the brief called for creating an "alien incense" burning atop "milk-drizzled granite" that some one "snuffed out by spitting on."

The beauty of this hobby/obsession is in the exploration. And in its sweeping subjectivity. So to those who do or may still admire Basilica, more power to you! I find it utterly unwearable and unpleasant as all get-out. YMMV!

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