Lost In Heaven

With my last order (which completed me having Francesca’s entire line), there were two samples enclosed. I’m like oh great, now I will probably need two more lol. Because I literally want everything this woman makes. There is something so original and unique about what she does, and all the fragrances feel meaningful, personal and very human. It’s hard to explain but they all have a lived in quality about them. Much like a patina on a leather bag. Lost in Heaven is the biggest departure from her usual style, there is a feeling of innocence here, even fragility. It reminds me of memories of little smiling girls with pink bows in their hair or a slice of white birthday cake with pastel colored swirls of icing. But....combined with elements of something that feels very adult, almost like an animalic vintage floral, so for me it creates the memories of being a girl inside a grown woman. Like she is reflecting on the innocent days that are now lost but with fondness and no sadness. There is a brightness to it, a freshness, a sweetness, an almost cake like quality, without seeming “gourmand”...but it’s added to more adult things like a rather animalic muskiness. Lost in Heaven makes me think happy thoughts, and I feel more alive. It takes away any sadness. It makes me think of pretty pastel frosting, but on a cake covered with many candles. An innocence combined with a life lived. And no regrets. I don’t want to confuse the gourmand lovers though, this is not some full on gourmand, it’s just one quality it has, combined with other things like fresh citruses and florals, musks, resins and spices. It’s like she took everything you can think of that brings pleasure and combined it in one bottle. And she chose the perfect name for it because that’s exactly what this is, a feeling of being lost in a story book, forgetting all your troubles and indulging in everything you love. It’s having your cake and eating it, too, and feeling no shame. All the good things. Lost in Heaven makes you feel jubilant yet content, the perfume equivalent of having comfort food in paradise.

Lost In Heaven is another excellent scent from a consistently excellent house. As well as being marvellous compositions - creative and bold yet wearable, taking inspiration from the classics - they very much appeal to my personal taste. LIH is a sweet-spicy amber floral, rich and honeyed but with a powdery texture and a musky base. LIH has a spicy opening, with cumin in particular coming to the fore, alongside other peppery notes. Cumin is a challenging spice in perfume - its dirty side can be off-putting, but here, it fits in seamlessly. The honeyed amber base is evident from initial spray, with sticky, sweet beeswax prominent up top. As it develops, it becomes dry and powdery, with the musky animalic accord creeping in alongside the floral heart. Yellow florals emerge, notably smooth ylang ylang and dusty, powdery mimosa. I get some muted orange blossom in there too, sweet and tropical, and orris keeps the texture wonderfully powdery. Some slightly indolic jasmine follows. The civet note is prominent, adding a vintage-style animalic quality to this scent. Obviously it is simulated, but it smells very similar to vintage animalic perfumes I've smelled - adding an edge to the sweetness. As it dries down, woody notes creep in alongside the increasingly resinous amber accord, with salty ambergris becoming prominent for a time, complementing the animalic component nicely. I get some patchouli here, adding an earthy quality to the musky drydown. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. It is unisex by modern standards, but feels feminine-leaning to me. It is best worn in cold weather (I'm reviewing my discovery set at the wrong time of the year, but here we are!) A complex yet cohesive scent that balances sweet florals with animalic amber nicely, LIH is old-world luxury in a bottle - satisfying throughout. The animalic accord is old-fashioned in the best way, not off-putting but adding the perfect carnal edge. Heavenly. 4.5/5.

Tested via a dabber, I was hesitant after reading mixed reviews and being mindful how how personal chemistry effects the outcomes and this seems more so with FB fragrances. I recoiled with terror at the halitosis note that lasted for 5 minutes but felt my body unclench as the scent bloomed into a rich dripping with honey and lit with golden sunlight, peach. A flashback to secretly sniffing my mother’s vintage bottle of Guerlain Mitsuoko. My goodness so close a scent but improved by more hope in that golden touch of sun and honeyed peach. I managed to drop a few drops on my not-so-active wear as I so carefully tried to coat the dabber, but then managed to carelessly anoint my leg in this scent. The sillage is incredible. Dabbers are a nuisance and only afford you the comfort of knowing how it plays on your skin not the full wearing experience, but I’m thankful as any samples are very hard to source/find in my country. This has been added to my must buy list. I can wear this where I couldn’t carry off Mitsuoko and I’m thrilled. I take comfort knowing my mother would have loved this too, I know she approves that I get my own and sniff it not so furtively :) Edit: full bottle purchased and worn. This fragrance is majestic ! Currently wearing today as spring is trying to spring. I don’t notice the animalistic notes these days just the deep narcotic beauty of honey, florals and leathery skin musk. She smells less like Mitsouko than I thought (more reminiscent than actual) as I’ve bought and can actually wear well these days Mitsouko edt...bliss. LIH is one of my treasures.

Lost in Heaven hits with an opening that feels like stepping onto a forest floor in late autumn — dry, crackling leaves mixed with something damp, moldy, and quietly decaying. It’s earthy, hay-like, and strangely beautiful in its rawness. Soon after, the honey begins to rise: not the clean, golden kind, but raw, unfiltered honey with honeycomb, beeswax, dusty pollen, and that slightly animalic edge Bianchi does so well. For those familiar with Francesca Bianchi’s work, the animalics are definitely present, but here they’re softened — woven gently into the honey and lingering quietly in the base rather than taking center stage. The signature iris butter is also here, but only as a faint supporting note, adding a subdued, powdery elegance. As the scent deepens, the ambery base takes over — thick resins, vanilla, labdanum, cinnamon and other spices, tonka, and a return of those same forest-floor autumn leaves from the intro, now sweeter, darker, and more resin-soaked. The resins feel hot and molten rather than smoky — warm, fluid, and glowing, never incense-like or smoldering. There’s also a soft veil of dusty florals and that unmistakable Francesca iris note, adding a powdery, melancholic elegance beneath all the warmth and darkness. The result is both original and eerily familiar, echoing vintage classics while remaining unmistakably Francesca. Unusual, emotional, and beautifully strange, Lost in Heaven doesn’t just smell like a place — it feels like a memory you can’t quite name.

How does she do it? Francesca Bianchi I mean. She has a genius nose and genius skills. She makes old school perfumes into a new modern light. Although I have tested loads of perfumes this year and ultimately thought I will be hard to impress, I mean, she got me trembling waiting for my payday to get this gem, carefully pouring the last bits of my sample to last me till then. I was sent this sample and upon first application I disregarded it, I thought what is this oldish stuff? Nevertheless, 15 min later I smelled it again and it still had an old vibe, but it was also thick, sirupy, jammy, sticky, very much alive and alluring and not dry or deserted at all. The drydown is beautiful :it's very carnal and disobedient (I don't know how, but FB conveyed this in a perfume) but also sweet, spicy, elegant and comforting. This perfume is very much alive with a throbbing heart and I think it goes well with poetry and the autumn sunlight. I imagine wearing this on a very hot date or a very torrid love affair, because of the sweet sticky animalistic vibe, but since I am in neither of these situations, I will wear it anyhow and let this perfume write its novel in my mind.