Francesca Bianchi Encounters Extrait de Parfum

Fragrance Family:
Woody Amber

Notes:
Bergamot, Orange, Cassis, Lavender, Coriander, Iris Butter, Rose, Angelica, Cinnamon, Ambergris, Castoreum, Oud, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Benzoin, Peru Balsam

Concentration:
Extrait de Parfum

Occasion:
An oud fragrance that melts into soft iris butter: a perfume of fine ingredients that can be worn all day and all night.

Francesca’s Inspiration:
“I have always been fascinated by contaminations from different cultures, giving birth to new forms – called syncretistic, eclectic: to me, a new deviant marvel. I remember my enchantment for the exotic and mysterious Pseudo-Arabic scripts in the halos of some Renaissance painting focused on a quintessential character of Christian culture and yet contaminated by a reference to Arabic culture. Or the incredible syncretistic forms such as Greek or Roman temples transformed into Christian Churches, or the Indo-Islamic architecture, merging two cultures in a new language.

I wished to render this obsession of mine with Encounters, thanks to a combination of two iconic ingredients from East and West, iris and oudh – a moment of contact from whom a new creature originates. You will find the sophisticated refinement of iris butter, with its soft and mysterious powderiness; a material which develops in the soil to then generate the most lyrical of flowers. And you’ll find oudh, a material born out of an infection of the Aquilaria trees, which then produces one of the most mesmerising and complex odours in the perfumery range of ingredients.”

Made in Italy

An iris with oud, or an oud with iris? Francesca Bianchi gives equal emphasis to both materials, preserving their respective characteristics while bringing them together. What they share is a certain hypnotism; beguiling in their complexity. The very moment you draw your attention to a feature it begins to shift and transform. In this regard, Encounters is a perfume that refuses to stay still - it flows and infinitely morphs, oud and iris crossing each other in unique ways at every instance. Joining this duet is the happy brightness of orange, while Bianchi’s famous complex of resins, balsams, and animalics offers a familiar touchpoint - fluffed up with a blanket of lavender.