“The constant search for qualitative raw materials is crucial for the achievement of a great result. The same formula performed with materials coming from different suppliers will sort out a different olfactory profile. My perfumes are conceived in my laboratory in Amsterdam. When the formula is ready, I can finally order the raw materials in order to mix them. The resulting concentrate is then sent out to an artisanal atelier in Italy which put it in alcohol, let it age, and then take care of packing it.”
HOUSE: Francesca Bianchi
ORIGIN: The Netherlands
FRAGRANCES: Etruscan Water, Sticky Fingers, The Dark Side, Tyger Tyger
SIZE/COST: 30ml / $135
CONCENTRATION: Extrait de Parfum
SOURCE: Impossible-Color
Etruscan Water: This reminds me of a fresh shave with hints of flora and fauna in the background. Citrus and musk fill in the nooks and crannies. This may have only been released a few years back but it recalls some of the finer fougeres of the 50’s and 60’s. I get something a bit like fennel, partially herbaceous but warm in the center. It’s not too bright, more like room temp. To me this smells like a quintessential, classic British mature masculine work, like something you might get from Penhaligon’s – but the animalic tone veers more towards the marine, deterring me from their typical line up. Altogether I’d imagine this worn in a suit of fine linens, crisp lines, pinstripes. Yah. (2019, 81%)
Notes: bergamot, green tangerine, grapefruit, petit-grain, basil, carvi, immortelle, jasmine, iris root, musk, ambergris, labdanum, vetiver, oakmoss
Sticky Fingers: This perfume takes no prisoners. It was like releasing a foreboding scale genie from a bottle. If you are looking for a sillage cloud this one brings it full tilt. Spices dance, woodland creatures prance, and this is mid-tonal, like a warm breeze. This brings out all those ambery colorations of topaz and toffee while offering a skin-like, lithe and buttery leather accord. Normally something this bold might send me into a corner, however, this keeps my inner-most curiosities piqued for more. A honey-resin floral musk trail is blended to make a lush, cashmere-like backdrop with a perfect pitch of vanilla or tonka. This is in repose, gesticulating gently, curvy and seductive. Addictive. (2020, 88%)
Notes: coriander, cinnamon, iris butter, patchouli, sandalwood, heliotrope, musk, castoreum, leather, tobacco, tonka bean
The Dark Side: This is up my alley, and back down. It’s clean yet warm, smoldering yet airy. The Dark Side is a gorgeous contradiction from the very start! Woody incense is broken by the bellows of tiny wildflowers for split seconds at a time. And that resinous glory keeps cycling back to the senses, thanks to the implications of one of my favorite note discoveries over this past year, styrax. Who know a shrub from the East might hold such enigmatic flair? I now do. It just balances everything here. Somehow, even with all this going on an accord not too unlike powdered vanilla marshmallows rises with just the right pop of greens and an irresistible helping of a special patchouli. This is such a contemporary fragrance, it just may be future-proof. I’m going to require a bigger bottle, and I’m hardly a collector of perfume – this is that good. (2016, 96%)
Notes: honey, spices, iris, violet, sandalwood, cedarwood, vetiver, amber, styrax, incense, patchouli, vanilla
Tyger Tyger: Quite the Summer’s Day in a bottle here. This is going more for a gourmand flair, a sweet peach pie, with a perfect pitch blushing bouquet to match. Then comes this drift of earthy woods, it’s as though a fairytale has come to life, a small house with cooling baked goods sitting outside the window cooling, aroma swirling almost like a slow animation, all nestled into a live meadow. It’s just a big warm smile, it is. The peach slowly sinks and I get something more like beeswax blended with a soft vanilla. A perfect perfume for Spring/Summer, this aligns with the feminine spirit in everyone. (2020, 84%)
Notes: narcotic flowers, honey, peach jam, patchouli, sandalwood, oakmoss, oud, leather, heliotropin
Recommended Soundtrack:
Kraftwerk’s 3-D The Catalogue (2017, Parlophone)
Daily Fragrance Reviews 
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