Francesca Bianchi Fragrance Sample Pack, 6 x 1ml

Includes (1ml each):

1. Francesca Bianchi The Dark Side Extrait de Parfum
2. Francesca Bianchi Under My Skin Extrait de Parfum 
3. Francesca Bianchi Voluptuous Oud Extrait de Parfum
4. Francesca Bianchi Sex and the Sea Extrait de Parfum
5. Francesca Bianchi Sticky Fingers Extrait de Parfum
6. Francesca Bianchi Etruscan Water Extrait de Parfum

Freshly hand-filled to order, these 1ml glass vials are large enough for several proper wearings.

Although each fragrance in the Francesca Bianchi catalogue tends to share a signature base accord made up of iris, resins, and animalics (imparting a distinctive trail), each perfume is entirely its own - replete with mannerisms, personality, and temperament.

Consider, for instance, the staid Etruscan Water, which is not so distant from the idea of a bitter herbal tonic. The crunchiest, snappiest basil note works with petitgrain and caraway to further the bite of this fragrance, against an ultra retro oakmoss base. The result is both bright and dark - an intensely contrasted chypre fragrance. Sex and the Sea is a lascivious vision of the beach, where skin is warm, glowy, salty, and sunkissed. It is a frisson of bright and creamy textures, tropical fruit, coconut, and animalic ambergris generating a fragrance that is all too real.

Sticky Fingers immediately charms even the most seasoned of patchouli lovers, covering the full spectrum of its impressions. It is both sticky and dusty at once, a tempting contrast of textures that goes on endlessly. The earthy-woody potency of patchouli melts into tobacco, emphasising its arid aspects but also its warm smokiness. Shift into Voluptuous Oud, a later Bianchi creation that studies the oud note and exploits its milky tang - creating a marvellous pastry effect that laminates and folds a confit of plum enriched with caramel. A simple but effective combination - an oud for seasoned lovers of the note, and those who want a friendly introduction.

The Dark Side is a legendary perfume celebrating incense, which begins already in the midst of smokiness. This is the sort of smoke that saturates and alters: it works its way into floral, woody, and resinous materials. One might first imagine smoked violet flowers, then turning to sun-blasted leather and charred sandalwood and cedar. The Dark Side smells like a rare discovery. Finally, Under My Skin is a leather like no other, emphasising its animalic facets without drawing away from anything else. The balance is superb, and the total fragrance - a complex of enriched iris butter, cinnamon, softening lavender, and so many oozing resins is utterly remarkable.