Under My Skin Extrait de Parfum by Francesca Bianchi

Since joining the fragrance enthusiast groups on Facebook, I have fallen under the spell of niche fragrances.

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My latest love is Under My Skin, a perfume extract by perfumer Francesca Bianchi.

I discovered that Bianchi lives and creates her fragrances in Amsterdam (though they are fabricated by an artisanal atelier in Italy). I wish I had discovered this fantastic perfume when Jeff and I visited Amsterdam three years ago, because it would have been easier to buy it there than it is here in the U.S. But better late than never.

At present, Bianchi has 11 extraits de parfum (the most potent perfume concentrate). She introduced Tyger Tyger, her most recent creation, a couple of months ago. I discovered Under My Skin in spring 2020, I think, when I ordered a few decants from Indigo Perfumery, an online fragrance retailer where Francesca Bianchi samples are $5 each. I tried two of her fragrances, Under My Skin and Angel Dust, and I was captivated by both of them. I realized that I missed Under My Skin most, so I set out to find a way to save money on buying a bottle.

I stalked the Francesca Bianchi website waiting for a sale, I signed up for the newsletter and news of flash sales, but I ended up buying a bottle of Under My Skin from Prism, a boutique in Seattle during their holiday sale after Black Friday.

Under My Skin is a deep cinnamon-colored, gender neutral scent that Bianchi introduced in 2017. On her website, you can organize her scents by price or by popularity, and Under My Skin is the most popular scent. It is popular with me because it is an amber scent. The main accords are: 

• amber
• leather
• warm spicy
• powdery
• balsamic
• woody
• animalic
• iris
• smokey
• musky.

Frankly, it is filled with my favorites accords: amber, warm spicy, powdery, iris, musky. 

The notes in Under My Skin are:

• Spicy top notes: black pepper, lavender and grapefruit
• Middle notes: orris root, carnation and Bulgarian rose
• Bottom notes: leather, castoreum, Peru balsam, ambergris, tolu balsam, musk, sandalwood, vanilla, costus, tonka bean, and oakmoss

From the long list of notes, there is obviously a lot going on in this fragrance! Yet they all blend so well that it is difficult to pick out individual notes.

I find it difficult to describe perfumes, just as I find it hard to describe wine. Instead, I rely on others, and a good place to start is with the creator. Bianchi says this about the scent she arrived at, after much experimentation, for Under My Skin: “a leathery, slightly animalic, powdery one, a velvety and elegant take.” She goes on to say: “The name comes from a conversation with an artist and fragrance lover, who told me it was as if the scent emanates from skin, rather than being sprayed from outside. This concept of ‘Under My Skin’ reinforced my path of going into something more subtly ’human’ than overtly ‘animal’. The core of the scent is a combination of animalic and leathery notes tamed by iris butter (at 15% irone!). After working on this core, I worked on the base, made up by Tolu Balsam, Peru Balsam, Tonka Bean and several woods. Last step of the job was the opening, where I used grapefruit and lavender. I used to be a ‘Lavender hater’: but here it plays a subtle and elegant part. I was amazed how nicely it matched this scent, adding brightness and elegance.” 

I would categorize Under My Skin as an oriental fragrance. I’d say it’s a very sexy, deep and calming scent. More of a cold and cool weather fragrance than for spring and summer, but I have a feeling I’ll be wearing it year round. 

On me, it is relatively long-lasting (since lately nothing is long lasting on me really). It has decent sillage (projection). Other people who wear it describe it as very long lasting and great sillage. I used to love it when I went out, and people told me they loved the fragrance I was wearing. Since I haven’t been going out anywhere, I have no idea if this is a scent I would receive compliments and queries on. We’ll see after I get fully vaccinated, lol. Again, other people describe it as a serious compliment getter.

Francesca Bianchi also makes what she calls Sublime Oils to be used on the body or on the hair to extend her extraits de parfum. They are made by mixing the perfume concentrate at lower levels than the extrait with plant-based carrier oil. Enriched by precious essential oils dissolved in carrier oil, Sublime Oil contains 98% of natural ingredients. Sublime Oil is also less expensive than the extrait. I haven’t tried the Sublime Oil yet, but maybe someday I will try it to extend or intensify the perfume.

Under My Skin comes in an elegant, simple square glass spray bottle. It contains 1 ounce/30 ml, and it is priced on Bianchi’s website at 98 euros. There used to be a currency converter with US dollars on the site, but it seems to have disappeared. It is out of stock at Luckyscent (though it is supposed to be back in 2 weeks) where it’s priced at $135. And there’s one bottle at $135 left at online retailer Garmentory that, I think, is associated with the boutique I bought it from last December. I am guessing that Bianchi has only small batches made at one time.

At any rate, Under My Skin is a special scent. If you are a fan of amber or spicy gender-neutral fragrances, you need to sample this one.

Today's Author

Allison Cohen

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