FRANCESCA BIANCHI The Dark Side Extrait 100 ml Notes: honey, spices, iris, violet, sandalwood, cedarwood, vetiver, amber, styrax, incense, patchouli, vanilla. This perfume represents the dark side of me and many other people. Direct and without half measures in the opening, it dries becoming obsessively soft, dry and intense like wood, intimate and delicate like lace. It then becomes a warm and engaging perfume, but at the same time remains dark, thus evoking the private and mysterious side that we want to keep secret. "I love oriental, warm and woody perfumes, and this perfume is my first foray into this category. Its formula is very complex, composed of a myriad of components that I tried to mix in the most nuanced and seamless way possible. So many components that, if I were asked, I would have to review the formula, of which the pyramid is just a synthesis. The funny thing is that I worked so hard on the balance of so many ingredients that I forgot an initial element. It all started in Marrakesh, one of my favorite cities, which I visited at 28 and then 39, always coming back with a lot of 'fake' oils, scented stones, resins to burn, carpets, swords and other useless but absolutely crucial objects. The last time I came back with many perfumed bottles, including a deliciously fake oud oil. I've never been a fan of it – it's so trendy lately, and I hate trends – but this is different. So, once home, I tried to make my base inspired by this fake Moroccan oud, thus creating a sticky, sweet, woody and smoky oriental stuff, which I called 'My Oud'. Some time later, I started my Dark Side project (called 'Into Darkness' at the time) and integrated this base into the formula. In doing so, I added all the ingredients of 'My Oud' proportionally into the more complex formula of Dark Side. After that, I made so many more variations during the following months in the search for a higher harmony, that I simply forgot that the soul of 'My Oud' was in there. Only the review of a perfume enthusiast – who wondered if there was any Oud, of course not mentioned in the pyramid – reminded me of my sweet scented memory from Marrakesh. This proves that if you really want to keep a secret, you just have to forget about it, as I did with the 'My Oud' base." Francesca Bianchi Extrait 100 ml
