Byzantine Amber

I'm fairly new to Francesca Bianchi fragrances. So to do them justice, I will refrain from giving them a full review each; at least, until I get a full wearing of them. But what I am quickly learning is that she does dark fragrances very well. The three fragrances that I have, start off down the same very dark, incense, and animalic street with all of the usual suspects as passengers in the same car, namely civet, ambergris, castoreum, leather, musk, and a number of other dark notes. But as the fragrances start to settle, you realize that they were all traveling in separate cars from the start. Each fragrance takes its own direction in a 3-way fork in the road but manage to keep the same darkness that originally defined them all. Byzantine Amber slowly takes you down a dark cinnamon, sweet, almost gourmand path. Under My Skin takes you down a powdery, iris centered path that smells like a darker, sexier version of Givenchy Gentleman EDP. Unspoken Musk successfully takes you down a dark country road with no streetlights and your only indication that there is life beyond the darkness, is the sweet smell of budding flowers in distant fields. All good. All bottle worthy to the seasoned nose. So far, I am thoroughly impressed.

Byzantine Amber remedies everything that is wrong with Amber fragrances these days. The scent is inspired by the gleaming gold and luminous splendour of the Byzantine civilisation, bringing to life the idea of theatrical luxury accompanied by a dark and mysterious personality hidden beneath. It opens with geranium, highlighting all of its beautiful pulpy, rosy and slightly spicy elements which are furthered by a hefty dose of alluring cinnamon. However, this fragrance is dry - very dry, through the inclusion of frankincense, styrax and ambergris giving it a slightly smoky, animal feel. Above all, sits what seems to be a classical Amber accord, but missing one of its key components: vanilla. The exclusion of vanilla prevents this scent from becoming overly sweet, instead leaning into its dark, dry and spicy facets. This is one of my absolute favourite amber fragrances on the market. If you’re tired of the overly sweet, almost gourmand vanillic ambers currently swarming the market then this is the answer. It reminds me of other beautiful dark ambers such as Amber Absolute and Parfum De La Nuit 1; this is obviously far more affordable but no less glorious. A truly masterful rendition of amber.

Byzantine Amber wasn’t the first Francesca Bianchi fragrance I encountered, but it was the first I truly fell in love with. While many of her creations take time to grow on me, Byzantine Amber was an instant connection—one sniff, and I knew I needed it in my collection. There are two standout aspects of this fragrance worth highlighting. First, the geranium. Typically, geranium plays a supporting role in perfumes, but here, it takes center stage in a stunning way. Paired with cinnamon, it creates a sweet, spicy, and fresh accord that feels incredibly dynamic and unique. Second, Byzantine Amber offers a rare take on amber by almost entirely avoiding vanilla. Most amber fragrances lean heavily on vanilla as a backbone, but this one stands apart. The only hint of anything resembling vanilla comes from the benzoin, making this scent a breath of fresh air in a world oversaturated with vanilla-heavy compositions. Byzantine Amber is a beautifully vintage-inspired amber that rejects excessive sweetness and vanilla reliance, offering something both timeless and distinct.

This is incredible, however, it's not a typical amber scent. This is a leather scent with a good dose of warm amber and a hint of smoke giving it elegance, coziness, and sophistication. As leather scents go, this is not animalic at all, and it's not a strictly dark winter scent. I can easily wear it anytime except hot summer days or hot summer evenings. There is nothing like it out there, and if you think Tom Ford leather fragrances are close, you'd be surprised that they are absolutely not. This is the second fragrance I have from FB, and both are incredible. The other one being Under My Skin. She is bringing back the power of classic strong perfumery with a modern sophisticated accentuation. This is not mainstream. When people say that, it imbeds a negative connotation of lacking mass appeal, well not in this case. This is true niche done right. Not as potent as Under My Skin, but it has really good performance nonetheless.

Delicious amber that starts off fresh powdery, settling on a quality labdanum base with a vintage flavour! This is a beautifull frag, suave, subtle, charismatic and sensible. I warmly recommend it for Francesca fans and for people looking to get into her line of fragrances, it's hard to dislike. For the pragmatic stats - price is right, has meaningful transitions, easy to like. Performance is good, not beastly like black knight or under my skin, but more potent that unspoken musk, about angel dust level performance I would say. For the similarities - it does not bring to mind other amber centric fragrances like Ambra Aurea or Amber Sultan, not by a long shot, there is no roughness here and it is a different profile more heavily invested in quality labdanum and FB's signature base. That's about all I have to contribute. This is a love for me and it has a cozy place in the collection.