The Black Knight

Bonkers leather. I love a leather perfume, and, if you do too, take it from me that this might push your limits for the genre. This is as if fresh cow hides, hairy and fatty and bloody, tanned hides, tanning chemicals, dyes, and all of the other components that are part of the whole timeline of the leather making process were pulverized together in a massive blender. Lift the lid off and stick you head in for a big whiff. Be careful. The opening is hot, funky, and metallic, likely the artemisia presenting as wormwood, and also a good dose of caraway. It smells bloody, intent on immediately triggering some angst and alarm. Those notes are swallowed up very quickly by the biggest animalic and chemically tanned leather note I have smelled in a very long time. It is enormous. This isn't finished leather, ready to be sewn into a fine Italian jacket or pair of shoes, it's leather in the middle of the tanning process - where the chemicals and dyes are at full volume, and you can smell them attacking the flesh of the cow. A clever dose of honey adds a skin like sweetness and a decomposed floral note that comes across as "rot", rounding out the odor of skin being violently transformed. At this point in my description, you might be interpreting me as saying that it stinks; don't mistake me, this doesn't "stink", but it certainly doesn't really fit the idea we normally have of smelling good either. This is leather perfume of the avant garde variety, and its potency and performance are going to get you noticed and turn a few heads for better or for worse. After a few hours everything calms down, and Bianchi's orris butter that she loves so, so much makes an unsurprising appearance, which - unlike the orris in some of her other perfumes - makes a tight and logical connection to the decomposing-floral-sweet-honey note from earlier. Heaping doses of tree moss also help to quieten proceedings by presenting a calming, damp, relaxing hardwood forest note. Vetiver shows up in the heart but becomes more prominent in the skin scent, opting for levity and freshness with aromatic green notes and letting the moss handle the woody notes. I suspect there is some loamy patchouli, and aromatic cedar or sandalwood as well, but, if so, they are a bit lost in the shuffle; something, or somethings, like that are playing around in the background of the base/skin scent, but it's hard to tell. What a ride The Black Knight has been! It's a roller coaster of a perfume, building you up by taking you to anxious and alarming heights to then slam you down to earth upside-down in a fearful rush, to, finally, some calmness and a moment to catch your breath when the dock is in sight. So far, I have tried Etruscan Water, Encounters, Sticky Fingers, Lost in Heaven, Libertine Neroli, and Angel's Dust, with a few more to go. I have been taken with Etruscan Water and Encounters the most, but The Black Knight has easily moved into the top spot of the most striking and original perfumes I've yet to try from the brand. Like Etruscan Water and Encounters, I very much want to add The Black Knight to my collection. I look forward to my next ride on the terrifying roller coaster.

I tend to not read the reviews of perfumes that I randomly try because I have realised (and I acknowledge now) the role that skin chemistry plays in perfumery and the subjectiveness of personal taste. So here comes the review: I admit that I was introduced to Francesca Bianchi by YouTubers whose opinions I really value and tend to have the same taste with. In that sense, I visited a local scents shop here in Athens (the only one where somebody can have access to her creations), determined to buy something from her. Then the test spraying came. And I was not ready for it. I am pretty new to the niche perfumes party but apparently my nose tends to appreciate complex, evocative and not heavily mainstreamed DNAs. Do I even need to say more? I instantly fell in love with Bianchi's perspective on how to create art through chemistry. I tested on paper several of her creations and I ended up trying on skin this, sex and the beach and under my skin from the fragrance line of the same name, as well as Divine Perversion from Hedonik (she is the nose behind this brand). I cannot even come close to a description that approaches 1/10 of the feelings I was flooded with. I ended up choosing to go with Black Knight because it is the first time in 52 of the years I have spent on this planet that I felt so sexy, mysterious, strong, refreshed and confident just by smelling my wrist. It blasts off with an atomic leather jacket smell. A brand new leather jacket that you just bought and before you put it on, you hold it close to your nose and lips, touching and sniffing it. Then you grab a hot chocolate or a burned brown sugar beverage and you are transferred to a an oak forest where the smell of wood, grass and pines blends in with the aromas wafting from your drink and the leather nuances. You are so comfortable with yourself and you value every single second in this exquisite ambience, before you get back home and you enjoy the cosiness of your own place. You indulge a hot, honey infused drink but you don't want to take off your jacket because it carries some resin, woody and minty, along with its leathery notes and you are not ready to let them go. So.. to conclude: is this an easy to wear fragrance? Depends on your personal taste. For me it is as easy as my own skin scent but, I am an Alessandro Gualtieri fan. So.... Objectively, it can be polarizing if you are not into leather and vetiver/green notes. Is it artistic? 100%. It is a story teller. Is it unique? Personally, I have not experienced a fragrance made like this before. And finally... Is it blind buy worthy of? If you are into indie/artsy perfumes, YES! It is so remarkably crafted, so intriguing and so value for money (I got it for 118 euros) that's definitely worth the investment, especially if you are new to this genius woman's artistry. 10/10 for me and I have most probably found my signature scent.

First review here, and it had to be this one. I've been looking for a signature scene for years, and coincidentally, because of the notes I wasn't even going to purchase this at first. But I'm so glad I did, because I believe I've finally found it. I'm still a novice nose when it comes to deciphering all the notes and specific intricacies of a scent, but this might be the first where the intended mood, theme, and nuances of fragrances were fully projected onto my senses. Right off the bat, I get a strong(but not brash) smell of antique or vintage(but not old) yet polished, buttery leather...possibly a knight cavalry's worn, lived-in, battle-worn leather gloves, a distressed horse saddle or well-worn boots. Juxtaposed with an almost savory honey note(I usually find honey cloying, wayyy too sweet or stifling in perfume, hence why I almost didn't purchase this) that totally warms and lubricates that polishy leather. It smooths and refines it, but doesn't overwhelm it. I'm guessing it's the orris that makes it all feel so smooth and buttery despite the creeping, creaking darkness that lay still. From there I can smell the roses and what I believe to be the moss, like a steed trampling over flowers at a campsite or after a battle, possibly seeking refuge or a reprieve after a fierce battle. Lastly, I get hints of vetiver at the end that rounds it all out with this slight green, ominous edge. There's an overall dark, grim feel I get from this, but not depressing or smoldering. It's gothic, melancholy, and almost romantic in a way? The notes aren't in conflict, it's almost like a dance, and they're complimenting each out. The leather and the honey, the orris and the flowers, and that vetiver. There's a levity and sensitivity to it, but that medieval edge takes center stage and never relents. Moreover there's such an...organic feel to this. I could very easily see how, especially this leather, could come of as metallic, synthetic or sterile but it never does. That vibrancy it was gives it the depth I believe. Everything here smells organic, fresh, and real. You can taste the honey, you can see the roses, you can feel that leather. The one knock I have against it, I simply wish there was more vetiver, as I feel like more of that at the end would really play well with that industrial leather once the honey fades. I'll try mixing Jovoy Private Label with it and see how that fares, but on its one I still think it's an amazing fragrance that really captures it's intended vision and executes it beautifully.

Francesca Bianchi’s The Black Knight....a leather vetiver that is certainly masculine, I mean look at the name, but I feel perfectly comfortable wearing it myself. This one has that well known Bianchi DNA but like the others, it transitions off into its own direction, this time with vetiver. I have found that several of her fragrances smell similar, especially the dark leaning ones, but they each transition into something unique, even if they seem to start from a very similar stock. I think that’s what makes her loyal fans so loyal, it’s that DNA we love and we want each and every variation. The signature leather note is here, a leather that she creates using a combination of animalics, it’s not that chemical smelling synthetic leather recreation that we often smell in modern perfumes, but it’s warm, deep and rich, and it takes a little while for it to settle into the gorgeous note that it becomes. I would say sometimes a good hour or two for everything to adjust and blend. This is not “fast food” perfume. If you’re looking for an easy fresh opening or something that is made to sell at the counter by SAs, move on because you won’t find that here. This is much more involved. But when a perfume lasts 24 hours or longer, it’s worth the investment. This one is also joined with powdery orris and honey, another element of Francesca’s signature, but this time it’s with vetiver which gives it a different feel and what I consider more classically masculine. But the honey and orris keep it beautifully unisex. There are some spices here and oakmoss which adds to the masculinity but we have that powdery element plus the sweetness that makes it feel more unisex. There is even a little rose. On the whole the fragrance feels dark and smoky but it has a soft side. Is it for everyone? Heavens no, this is Francesca Bianchi we are talking about here. Her perfumes are somewhat shocking for the average nose, they are massively potent and can be jarring initially, but once they “brew” on the skin and are allowed to do their thing, they become so gorgeous and it’s always worth the wait.

Sipping smoky whiskey amidst a swift vetiver-storm, we set forth in quest of the Black Knight. The clashing of arms, the snarling snort of warhorses in the howling gale; upon the fresh, verdant meadow, their muscles tense, and their hooves tear up clods of mossy earth. We can nigh feel the steaming breath of the wild stallions, their froth scattering in the wind, the sweat-soaked brown saddle-leather vaporizing, while in the distance, the remnants of a great bonfire smolder. Upon the crest of the gusts, powdery remnants of roses drift like red snowflakes, and torn fragments of scent from the skin of the wilderness lovers lie scattered about. Meanwhile, we rest by the sea, sitting around a campfire, reclining upon the damp earth. We dry our grimy leather jackets, anointing their cracked surfaces with the nourishing, thick, nigh-creamy substance of beeswax. The moon sways ever more erratically in the heavens; as the sun rises, it unfurls the black shroud of night, seeking light within the folds of the dawning sky to drape it over nature. The frosty dawn air, pumped into the fullness of our lungs, burns the inside of our nostrils, while as we journey on, the scent of dusty rose, enveloped in breathtaking layers of orris butter, marks the path against a backdrop of leather and softly yielding blankets of moss. The overall effect is more than striking, the heavenly accord of the ingredients rising ever higher: within the simmering cauldrons of resins infused with smoky honey, naked bodies, tumbled in butter and shrouded in patchouli, lie scattered, embedded in succulent layers of moss. Meanwhile, the fragrance of daffodils wafts up, mingled with smoky hay and sticky honey derived from the nectar of medicinal herbs, sharp and mineral-tinged, evoking an unceasing yearning. An unnameable, dream-enchanted stupor envelops our hitherto alert senses, as the profound impulses of meditation and passion alternate in this rich, gothic drydown, woven from vegetal fibers, wallowing in earthy hues, and shimmering in honeyed light. The beast, but a moment ago raging, now idly basks.