Angel's Dust

I have fallen head over heels in love with Angel's Dust! When I purchased a sample over a year ago, it did not immediately speak to me... but I couldn't stop thinking about it, and after giving it another try, I ended up purchasing not just one full bottle, but also a back up. It's just so romantically and hauntingly beautiful. I adore Honeybun9's review below... Yes... young children, the elderly, your spouse or lover, and even pets! will be drawn to you when you wear Angel's Dust. It's sweet, powdery nature makes it cuddly and comforting, warm and alluring. However, it is deceptively innocent... There is an underlying sense of sadness, tragedy perhaps. It reminds me of when when Clark Gable's character in "The Misfits" asks Marilyn Monroe, "What makes you so sad? I think you're the saddest girl I ever met." Her character replies, "You're the first man that ever said that. I'm usually told how happy I am." Then he says,"That's because you make a man feel happy" and tries to kiss her. The perfumer's own words are intriguing: "While working on Angel’s Dust, I was studying my way into an innocent, light-as-a-feather feminine touch but at the same time seducing, daring and corrupt. The vintage, old-style twist was not voluntary but a necessary consequence of my idea of a femininity of past times, where women had a wooden boudoir and spent hours to put powder and other beauty secrets on their face and body, and didn’t care to affirm themselves through a career but would exert their power through Beauty and Seduction. Then I softened the powdery-iris-rose part by adding a mixture of resins, representing a dirty experienced sensuality. Some movies and books provided me with inspiration. Les Liaisons Dangereuses, for instance, represented exactly the sophisticated and corrupted atmosphere I had in mind! Another beautiful memory is Marie Antoinette as depicted in Sofia Coppola’s movie. I obviously like Rococo, but what I like specifically in that movie is the femininity she represents: shoes, sins, libertinage, cakes, and absolute mindlessness, without any guiltiness. Some reviewers have compared Angel’s Dust to some Guerlain mythological scents (Luca Turin mentioned Guet-Apens / Attrape Coeurs). I am honoured by such a comparison." ~ Francesca Bianchi Personally, I do not find anything "dirty" or "corrupt" about this fragrance... In my opinion the resins add multi-faceted depth and interest... like a beautiful soul that has overcome deep grief. It could be that this fragrance speaks to me at this time in my life because I'm currently enduring a time of mourning, and I've been wearing Angel's Dust on constant repeat... it has been such a comfort, a private retreat of beauty. Furthermore, I adore fragrances that also serve as “time travel" and Angel's Dust does just that. This powdery boudoir scent evokes another time and place, like a ghost from the 18th century. Longevity and strength are excellent. This is a 10/10 for me.

Remember the opening scene of Dangerous Liaisons with Glenn Close and John Malkovich? When Valmont and Merteuil are getting ready for the day? This is how that scene smells. Angel's Dust is full of voluptuous sensuality, bed-warmth, languor, enjoyment, intimacy and refinement. It starts of with a playful, but substantial slap on your nose with a swandown puff, with the ensuing cloud of pale pink powder (iris and mimosa being the dominant notes). From now on you will see the world through this iridescent halo, which is so ridiculously pretty, that it makes you giggle. Slowly the beautiful florals emerge from the haze, soft and charming, making you understand why Luca Turin thought of Guet-Apens. (Warning! If you are looking for a substitute for GA or its later avatars under countless names by Guerlain, look elsewhere. There is a connection between those and AD, but AD is substancially different!) I adore the play of the sensual rose and cool iris, it is like a witty fencing game of words á la rococo seduction. The powder calms down in a bit, but will always be the principal element of this perfume. My favourite part is the lived-in quality of AD, but this is not the pissy civet or greasy castoreum of Bal a Versailles and the other big animalics of yore. It is the natural smell of a washed (and perfumed) body, the next morning, still in bed, which is surely due to the beautiful musk used. To me, AD is a contemporary picture of a boudoir, seen through the eyes of a 21st century person, idealized but not to the point of cliché or commonplace. For lack of better word I would say, it is a very "human" perfume, close and intimate, that seems to be a common feature in Francesca's creations. Probably works best on a woman, although maybe in the appropriate moment it could be dead sexy on a man, too. Funnily, when I first wore it, the initial 20 minutes of the experience was indeed like a "flash": AD made me euphoric, I felt like sitting in a rainbow coloured bubble of powder puffs (whatever that may be), floating giggling through light-filled air. So the name may be apt, it may have some - strictly legal, yet totally magical - powers of making you high! Or is it only a perfumista's joy and elation on finding a wonderful work of perfumery art? Who cares! I love Angel's Dust with all my heart. *****

This Is G E O R G E O U S. When I first sprayed it it somehow reminded me of walking inside Guerlains boutique in Paris which I was lucky to visit a few years ago. It's so concentrated, rich and classy. It smells like it came from heaven indeed. I can’t imagine someone not liking this (except maybe when body chemistry gets in the way). It’s smooth, buttery, gentle but at the same time sooo dense. I don’t find it powdery, more floral and „waxy” as someone stated below. It never gives off powdery, dry wibes like Noa or Infusion d'Iris. I wouldn't say it's vintage or oldschool, more like I can appreciate it’s oldschool-perfume making. Ingridents are top notch. Not a lot of people saying this but for me it's a sandalwood bomb, and I know, being a sandalwood freak I can smell it from mile away. It's sandalwood done masterfully like in Bois des Iles. The creamies, dreamiest, fluffiest sandalwood - almost reminding of cat's fur. Mimosa is huge here also, but it's far from a "yellow floral" type of scent - iris comes in as quickly as mimosa and both of them dominate the fragrance, but iris is really the boss here. I can also detect quite strong vanilla (vanilla always pops up on my skin like crazy), which reminds me of opulence in Dior's Addict (pre-reformulation). I didn't understand until that point people, who wrote that Bianchi perfumes make them feel like it's their skin but better. I was always thinking "how the hell can Dark Side or other spice bombs with tons of animalic notes make anyone think that?". Now I understand. With Angel's Dust Francesca Bianchi took time to cut off on all animalics, leather and spices that are present in literally all her other perfumes. What's left is the thing that I would consider her true signature - KING IRIS in all his glory. Jewel in crown of this perfume house. The most buttery, creamy, silky, waxy iris I've ever smelled. Never done like that before. It’s like looking directly into center of the sun and finally getting it. THIS. THIS IS IT.

Let me start off by saying I am biased: I'm a sucker for anything that has 'Angel' in the name (Angel's Share, Angelique, now I had to try Angel's Dust) as I'm on the hunt for an ethereal fragrance that will sweep me off my feet. I've tried this one along with Under My Skin, Lost in Heaven and The Lover's Tale - I will get to sampling the rest of Francesca's fragrances soon enough, but I can already tell that her DNA is well, for one, definitely unique, but for two, it almost overpowers the perfumes. Musk to the max in each perfume (to me it's not *that* animalic), to the point it gets a little difficult to distinguish one scent from another, they are very, very similar. Not necessarily a bad thing, but my first impression is that you can get just one favourite from her line, anything more would be redundant. (Edit: as I grew more familiar with her scents, I can now say that it is not true. It's just her DNA is very prominent in each perfume.) But back to Angel's Dust; I was surprised how much I love it. I'm not one to go for musks typically but this scent is just so warm, enveloping, intimate, fluffy, comforting, sweet. Musk is definitely the most prominent note, but here it is done in a way I haven't experience before; neither animalic nor clean. To me it doesn't come off very powdery which I'm slightly sad about since I wanted to love a powdery perfume for once! Definitely a winter scent, given how warm it is. The opening is okay, but the dry down, around the three hour mark, is where this fragrance really shines. A favourite of the ones I've tried. Is it The One 'Angel' fragrance? Not quite certain yet but I am strongly considering getting a full bottle. Beautiful scent for sure. I see a lot of negative reviews below but musks are always risky. On me, I think it smells lovely.

Angel’s Dust is one of the top fragrances I have purchased over the past several years (and this number is not insignificant}. This is not hyperbole of any sort. I first discovered Francesca Bianchi fragrances when I read a detailed rave review on CaFleurBon about Lost in Heaven. I immediately ordered it and fell in love with it from the minute I sprayed it on. However, I will not compare Lost in Heaven since many others have already raved about it on Fragrantica and other sites too. Angel’s Dust is another fragrance rises to the same level, but it is anything but a flanker. It is a uniquely ”heavenly” blend. A powdery fragrance that invokes some of the greatest scents of a previous generation, it also has the depth and complexity that makes it modern in all the good ways. The notes are lovingly blended. On Fragrantica’s page, Iris is given the most votes ,but it is not trying to imitate Iris Nazerena although I would rate AD as high as I would this Turin 5 star. Some say the rose is strong, but it isn’t on me. The powdery moves on into a juicy syrupy blend as it unfolds over hours. I think the vanilla comes across strong fairly soon and stays there throughout the dry down. Somehow Angel’s Dust is both a natural scent that lasts for hours and a scent that evolves beautifully throughout. The powdery note is quite strong at the outset, and for those who love this note, you will not be disappointed. But it is not a beast mode. It is subtle and strong, something rarely accomplished by any fragrance, either by a big brand or a niche house. I will be wearing AD throughout the year. I don’t think it is just a woman’s scent. I love scents for their notes and blends. Get a sample. Rating: 10/10