Francesca Bianchi’s Under My Skin Extrait de Parfum
After joining Facebook groups for fragrance enthusiasts, I’ve fallen in love with niche perfumes.
My new love is under my skin by Francesca Bianchi, a fragrance extract.
Bianchi is based in Amsterdam and makes her perfumes there (although they’re made by an Italian artisanal workshop). It would have been much easier for me to purchase this wonderful perfume in Amsterdam when Jeff and myself visited three years earlier. It’s better to be late than never.
Bianchi currently has 11 extraits (the strongest perfume concentrate). Tyger Tyger is her latest creation. She launched it a few months back. Under My Skin was discovered in the spring of 2020 when I purchased a few samples from Indigo Perfumery. This online retailer offers Francesca Bianchi fragrances for $5 per sample. Under My Skin, Angel Dust and other fragrances by Francesca Bianchi were all enchanting. Under My Skin was the fragrance I most missed, and I wanted to buy a new bottle to replace it.
After Black Friday, I signed up to receive the newsletter, and flash sales. I bought a bottle from Prism in Seattle, during the holiday sale.
Bianchi launched Under My Skin, a gender-neutral scent with a cinnamon color. Under My Skin, the scent that is most popular, can be sorted by price on her website. I like it because of the amber smell. Main accords include:
- Amber
- Leather
- Warm spicy
- Powdery
- Balsamic vinegar
- Woody
- Animals
- Iris
- smokey
- musky.
It is filled with all my favorite accords, including amber, spicy warm, powdery, iris and musky.
Under My Skin contains:
- Black pepper, grapefruit and lavender are spicy top notes
- Middle notes: carnation, Bulgarian rose and orris roots
- Notes at the bottom: sandalwood, oakmoss, musks, castoreum (leather), ambergris tolu balsam tolu balsam tolu balsam tolu balsam tolu balsam tolu balsaam vanilla tonka bean tolu balsam costus
There is a great deal going on with this scent, as you can see from the list of notes! They all blend together so seamlessly that it’s difficult to distinguish individual notes.
It is difficult for me to describe perfumes just like I have difficulty describing wine. It is better to rely on other people, such as the perfumer. Bianchi describes the fragrance she created for Under My Skin, which was the result of many experiments: “a powdery leathery scent, slightly animalic. It’s a luxurious and velvety take.” The concept of “Under My Skin” reinforced my decision to go for something subtly human rather than overtly animal. This scent has a base of leathery and animalic notes, which is softened by the iris butter (15%). The base was made of Tolu Balsam and Peru Balsam with Tonka Bean, several woods, after I had worked on the core. The final step was to create the opening. I used lavender and grapefruit. Lavender used to make me hate it, but in this case I think that the subtlety and elegance of its use makes up for my dislike. “I was surprised at how well it went with this fragrance, adding elegance and brightness.”
Under My Skin is an oriental scent. It’s very deep, sultry and soothing. It’s more of a fragrance for cold weather than spring or summer. But I think I will wear it all year.
It is reasonably long-lasting on me (since nothing lasts very long for me lately). The projection (sillage) is decent. It is described as having a long-lasting scent and a great projection by other people who have worn it. When I wore it, people would tell me how much they liked the scent. As I’ve not been out, I don’t know if I will receive any compliments or questions about this scent. After I’m fully immunised, we will see. Other people have described it as an impressive compliment.
Francesca Bianchi makes Sublime oils that can be applied to the skin or hair as an extension of her extraits. The oils are created by combining the concentrated perfume at a lower concentration than that of the extrait, with a plant-based carrier. Sublime Oil is enriched with precious essential oils that are dissolved in carrier oils. It contains 98% natural ingredients. The Sublime oil is less expensive as well. Sublime Oil is not something I’ve tried yet. But I may try it someday to intensify or extend the scent.
The Under My Skin spray comes in a simple, elegant square-shaped glass bottle. Bianchi prices it at 98 Euros for a 1 ounce/30ml bottle. The currency converter for US dollars used to appear on the website, but has disappeared. It’s out of stock on Luckscent, but it should be available again in two weeks. The price is $135. There’s only one bottle left for $135 at online retailer Garmentory, which I believe is linked to the boutique where I purchased it last December. Bianchi probably only makes small quantities at a time.
Under My Skin has a unique scent. This is a must-try if you like amber and spicy scents that are gender neutral.
