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.

a great amber done bianchi style, focused on an acidic balsamic leather & labdanum. as is typical for her there's a certain animalic honeyed edge that provides one with continued interest throughout the long wear time. over the course of the day the balsamics ease up and the 'bianchi base' strides in, stripped of its usual powdery orris and instead letting a gentle ambergris be the star. i havent smelled amber kiso, but i can comment that le lion is more crackly dry, with an obvious birch tar running throughout the labdanum-heavy base, the bergamot is much more present, and the sillage is overall less balsamic-acidic and more woody-dry. all of this to say they really don't smell much alike in their respective evolutions, but for me the overlap is still there, to the point that i don't need both. as such a bottle of byzantine is unnecessary for me, but its still phenomenal.

Opens up with a dusty leather and a powerful cinnamon, drying down to a warm amber accord backed with incense, a very green geranium, and the leather from the opening, which now takes a back-row seat. Lasts around 10 hours on my skin, with a 2-8 split between the opening and dry down. This feels unisex, leaning masculine due to a strong leather note which can be felt throughout the lifespan of the perfume. I'd wear for dates and special occesions on colder weather, as this after all is a sweet amber fragrance. This is a reallly unique and interesting take on amber, without being offensive or polarizing, making it somewhat blind buy safe. With good longevity and a moderate projection(perfect for the occesions you'd were this) Byzantine amber easily justifies it's price tag, with the extrait concentration allowing you to save on the amount you use.

Magnificent Amber Deep, very deep. Emotional and sensual. Raw and bare. Natural. Just like the beauty of the scent of your lover bare body. Very natural, very simple but extremely beautiful. Extremely lovely. Labdanum, Ambergris, Styrax, Benzoin...It smells like a bare body, warmed by the golden sunlight. Slightly salty, slightly mineral, slightly sweet, slightly dirty and very lustful. And the atmosphere is smokey and slightly dusty, calm and quiet, still and heavy. In my opinion, this perfume is not for excitement. It is for thinking. It is for deep and thoughtful people. It is good for reading a good book. It is for calmness, silence and stillness. And of course it is for being in love. I imagine that the sweet incense of ancient persia smelled like this. Love Byzantine Amber. Its perfect. Performance is also great.

Arrived today and wore it for new years. Ignore what that person said about this being an inferior dev 2. Love Ellen covey and I love the dev series but this one to me outclasses them. It is totally a different consistency than dev 2. Which is more grainy and rugged and far more imposing I would say. This is sly and silky like a cat burglar adorning herself with the jewels she’s nabbing before making a smooth escape. Sauntering through the museum with whimsy and ease. It’s closer to the consistency of leau scandaleuse by Anatole Lebreton. Which I adore but is slightly more complex due to the green touches but the tuberose in that one is somehow perceptible in this. I don’t know how really but I absolutely sense it though not as prominently here. Anyways I’m glad I blind bought this it’s all I want to smell

The amber fragrance for those who love museum, alchemical, academic vibes. Dusty velvet cloth stained with oily potions and candle wax on the ritual table of an alchemist/occultist. I picture an old mansion in the late autumn twilight, walking with a candelabra through a long gallery with portraits in gold intricate frames, the floorboards creak lightly, and in the bouncing amber candlelight the faces in the paintings are distorted, either grinning or horrified... a tall wooden clock strikes 9 p.m., and suddenly there is a clatter of tree branches against the floor-length hall window .... eerie whispers in the dark? The mystery is somewhere here, behind the velvet curtains

A FB that isn’t driven by leather. It’s there but it’s not in your face. I think this is the FB blueprint to a tee. Id say it’s more of a rock rose centric frag than a leather frag. Her signature smooth, buttery feel is alive and well here. This is my favorite FB to date and I’ve sampled all and own 3. It reminds me a great deal of Le Lion Maybe not a GREAT deal... closer to Ambre Aurea. I’m a walking contradiction it’s a leather thru and thru. Not the diesel leather of The Black Knight, Byzantine Amber is a smoother chic leather. Are these great fragrances as individuals or do we just love the Signature and ever repeating base heavy notes? Can it be both?

I love this, but it is practically indistinguishable from The Dark Side. I have both and I can’t tell them apart. I bought a bottle of this and was given a bottle of The Dark Side as a gift. This may have a little more smokiness, but not enough to really stand out as unique from The Dark Side. This is a leathery amber scent with a touch of smokiness and is very much in the style of other Bianchi perfumes IYKYK. I’ve not tried anything that reminds me of this except for The Dark Side. I’ve not gotten the chance to try Amber Kiso or some of the other scents that are in the “reminds me of” section so I can’t comment on how similar they are.

Byzantine amber is hot, smoky, sweet, balsamic, and dark, yet luminous. It’s a complex scent that’s sure to impress. BA features leather and amber, creating a dirty, animalic beauty. The scent combines leather notes with geranium, incense, and cinnamon, and the classic amber accord is paired with a unique ambergris. The ambergris accord is the standout, animalistic yet sweet and refined. Maybe not for everyone but it’s unique. The performance is excellent, long lasting but not overpowering. Great for cool climates and special occasions. Absolutely not a blind buy, especially if you're not familiar with FB's perfumes. Big love.

#1777 in my “Tour de Fragrance” Got this as a decant from Scentsplit.com. My Second from Bianchi. My first Bianchi, “The Dark Side”, was dislikable with an overdose of honey sweetness. No such problems here. Wonderfully balanced incensey-leathery amber scent. Early on, when I still wasted money on EDTs, I had the similar John Varvatos “Platinum, which seems to have been discontinued. This scent has good longevity and silage. I really don’t care about situational appropriateness with a scent as good as this. I’d wear it anywhere, anytime for my own enjoyment. Good Luck and Good Hunting!

This is such an intense, brutal fragrance that has so much presence, without feeling sickly or imposing. I am so glad it has no oud or vanilla or rose or anything else in that vein in it, I absolutely can't stand oud and fragrances with this level of presence that go the woody sweet or floral way make me want to vomit. This is very concise in its brutality. It's bone dry, leathery resins and basically nothing else, and when it dries down it dries to such a comforting, sumptuous ambery sweetness. A church scent for bad girls (and boys) who don't wear their sin on their sleeve.

Now what?! I was in a no-buy imposed period, but somebody lured me into sniffing this new creation, knowing that I am a Francesca Bianchi fan. I wanted to reduce my collection, instead I am going to buy this little cinnamon bun (with less butter iris than we're accustomed) dusted with leather and dipped in honey, smoked with just the right amount of incense and with a labdanum roll on the side. Is it my nose or it has a hint of fresh ground coffee beans, too? I have no idea how gold smells like, but I think this is the closest rendition. Oh, Francesca, what did you do?!

I love this amber scent, it's sexy yet sophisticated, mouthwatering, and just the right amount of smoky. Incredibly well-balanced. (I think a lot of people would like this, even those who aren't particularly interested in fragrances. Very palatable for such a unique scent I suppose.) I don't personally wear it every day, but it could definitely be done. I usually just spray it once before going out at night, so that it layers on top of whatever I've been wearing that day, for that extra little kick.

I’m a Francesca Bianchi fan. This is a scent that feels very much like her signature style; deep, dark amber with prominent cinnamon note upfront, but turning more leathery and smokey in the dry down. With a strong Styrax note too, and with something that feels oily....possibly the ambergris note. Byzantine Amber leans masculine, and I like it a lot (hence I’m voting “love”) even though it’s not my style. With excellent performance, a little goes a long way. On a man this would be swoon worthy.

Smoky, smooth, sensual, leathery amber. Love the unique addition of the ambergis in this, the light saltiness at the base blends in with labdanum so well and gives it a warmer, earthy touch. It begins to smell more like a church incense as it dries on, but still retains that warm, ambery base. I understand now why this one was called ‘Byzantine Amber.’ Although I wish the cinnamon lasted throughout its transition, it’s still beautiful. I never smelled anything like it.

This really does have an ancient quality, as the name suggests. Makes me feel like I’m dancing across the pages of an illuminated manuscript. It’s resinous, rounded amber, warm and golden. The opening has a slightly sharp balsamic note that does mellow overtime. After several hours it takes on a sweeter sensibility. The longevity is crazy, I sprayed once on my arm and then put on a knit and the scent is still present on the sleeve two days later.