Francesca Bianchi Insomnia Extrait de Parfum

$288⁰⁰ NZD

Size

30ml 1ml Sample

An accord of narcotic flowers, dominated by ylang-ylang and jasmine, evokes the feverish, intellectual beauty of nightlife. A sharp mineral facet recalls the strain in the eyes when the body is asking for sleep, but the mind refuses to surrender.

The radiance of the flowers is darkened by deep woods, creating a stark contrast between light and shadow, giving the composition a darker, nocturnal, and introspective dimension. Finally, a subtle dose of indole introduces an animalic, carnal and ambiguous sensuality - an almost physical quality - making the accord even more alive, intoxicating, and seductive.

Insomnia is about the suspended time of night, and the sense of freedom that comes with the absence of limits and constraints. Night is like a dark sheet beneath which everything that weighs on us during the day begins to dissolve: routines, deadlines, urgencies, appointments. Being awake at night offers a moment of grace, a form of release from the pressure of the day. It is a sense of radical freedom, embraced by a welcoming darkness.

Insomnia is also the freedom of spending the night with friends, moving between a laid table and a pub, unconcerned with the passing of time, trying to overcome exhaustion because those moments cannot be repeated and somehow take on the dimension of something infinite.

A dark floral of ylang-ylang and jasmine over deep woods — sandalwood, patchouli, cedarwood and cypriol — with a sharp mineral opening, black pepper and bergamot, and a hint of animalic sensuality.

Notes

Ylang-Ylang Jasmine Floral Notes Sandalwood Patchouli Mineral notes Cedarwood Cypriol Black Pepper Bergamot Tonka Bean

Wear profile

Longevity

Intensity

Best for Day · Evening

Season Autumn · Winter

Details

Family	Floral Amber
Country	Italy
Perfumer	Francesca Bianchi
Year	2026
Concentration	Extrait de Parfum

Description

Fragrance Family:
Floral Amber

Notes:
Bergamot, Black Pepper, Mineral Notes, Ylang-Ylang, Jasmine, Narcotic Flowers, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Patchouli, Cypriol, Tonka Bean

Concentration:
Extrait de Parfum

Occasion:
A creamy and rounded floral balm - languid and nocturnal - fetching and intriguing. Ylang and jasmine seamlessly blend with lightly smoky woods. Wear Insomnia on a date, or when the evening is still young and plans are not yet decided...

Francesca's Inspiration:
“For me, there is something magical about being awake at night, especially when I am alone. That suspended nocturnal time has an almost sacred quality. The connection with oneself becomes stronger, and the suspension of time creates the feeling of living in a parallel universe.

Insomnia comes from my own experience as a nocturnal creature, particularly during the years when I was working on the first creations of the brand. At the time, I had another job during the day, and the night was the only space left in which I could fully immerse myself in my creative process, in complete freedom and without temporal constraints.

Another reference that enriched the imagery behind this creation is a particular eye makeup that has always fascinated me: a slightly shimmering smoky blue-black look. To me, it conveys the idea of a glamorous insomnia - a dark-glam nocturnal creature, tired yet still radiating energy.”

Made in Italy

Editor's Notes

Nocturnal glam: narcotic flowers take on a sultry dimension during the witching hours of the evening, where time takes on a certain viscosity, and the atmosphere transforms. Insomnia expresses the umbrous sides of jasmine and ylang-ylang, accentuated and underlined, its usual vibrancy and radiance instead turn inwards. Its sensuality turns seductive - a matter of suggestion - restrained but brimming with meaning. Sharpened with citrus and spices, with shiny mineral notes that read like candlelight reflected in a mirror, these flowers are gently illuminated by gentle wisps, cradled and smoothened with a creamy and clean smoky combination of woods, cypriol, and tonka bean.

Insomnia’s key note is ylang-ylang, worked in true Francesca Bianchi style. It retains its charged warmth though loses its solar quality in Insomnia, behaving more like embers. The smooth melting texture of the fragrance, like warm wax, aligns the fragrance with Encounters and The Mariner’s Rhyme, suggesting a dose of iris butter in the composition, against a sturdy woodiness - including sandalwood. Its floral grandeur with its animalic trace points to Lost in Heaven or the erotic heat of Sex and the Sea, though Insomnia is more specific and focussed, and clearly languid. Insomnia is classic Francesca Bianchi through and through, retro in a sense, and completely itself in others.