The Essence

oh my effing gawd this is so beautiful! might be the best from her yet. its candied violet with leather. iso e super lends to the airiness. it really is beautiful! edit: this is basically a tool for sexying up any fragrance (is that even a word?) i layered this with viw by creed and suddenly im in a tropical island getting my backside rammed

accidental layering combo: this and cheirosa 59 from sdj. animalics with sandalwood? and the violet in both? u simply have to try it!

Received it today and I was excited to spray it on skin. I sprayed maybe a quarter of a full spray on my wrist and this blast of furriness overwhelmed me. Seconds later the scent gets an accord that I can only describe as some violet essential oils drops from decades ago stained a some old book pages that you only realise after opening it. It is extremely interesting and i am looking forward to layer it with Black Knight and the Lover's Tale. I will probably make an attempt as well with Hedonik's Divine Perversion and see how it goes. As a stand alone I find it very challenging to pull off in public as it is a strong, strange and very unique scent. When I am on my own, I can see myself reaching out for it as it is kinda intoxicating (I tend to sniff my wrist every few minutes) particularly during the colder days and cozy. I do not suggest trying this as your introduction to Francesca Bianchi, especially if you are blind-buying it. Overall, I am happy to have it, even though I am not sure whether this is going to be a staple for any of my public appearances and interactions.

This fragrance is the DNA found in Francesca"s production. That is to say a leather, but with tawny notes, which means that apart from the purple that I don"t perceive at all, I have a smell of fawn leathered all day long. Initially, this juice is used to boost other flavors, especially those oriented towards leather, so I don"t think you can layer it with all flavors. I don"t layer any juice, and I won"t experience it, I use it as it is: something out of the ordinary that is not intended for compulsive buyers of current trends.

The Essence is a strange fragrance, I’ve owned it for a few months now and I’m still undecided if I actually like it or not. It’s marketed as embodying Francesca’s signature style of scent, and yet it smells nothing like any of her other work - in fact, it smells like nothing I’ve ever encountered before. It’s lead by this overwhelming barrage of Iso E Super which is a bit rough around the edges, undoubtedly very dry, woody and airy. It’s paired up with a powdery violet and an accord of ‘animal notes’. However this doesn’t smell like any civet/castoreum/musk etc., instead it comes across almost like animal fur; dry and fuzzy, a little sweet and scratchy rather thank stinky. It smells weird, and I can’t really get over that - like a musty old piece of paper left on a dusty table for 200 years. I just can’t see myself reaching for it, it’s not something I’d want to smell of and it overpowers anything you layer it with. Unfortunately this didn’t live up to my expectations. One thing I will give it though, it’s ridiculously strong, it easily powers through 2 showers and 48+ hours on my skin.