The Black Knight is a 2019 release from luxury niche perfumer Francesca Bianchi, who treats perfumery as "an intellectual process," inspired by "the power of what it means to be human, by the wish to connect with people’s inner life, the desire to spark an emotion in them and make them feel at home in their own bodies, offer solace, or just a quick fix for a bad day." The Black Knight has a scent profile of leather, earthy, honey, woody, animalic, iris, aromatic, powdery, beeswax, and mossy notes.
Artemisia, Caraway, Honey, Bulgarian Rose, Narcissus, Iris Butter, Beeswax, Cedarwood, Vetiver, Patchouli, Oakmoss, Leather
From Francesca Bianchi:
"Accords: woody (vetiver), aromatic, smoky, powdery
Mood: gothic, intense, sophisticated
Renaissance captain Giovanni Dalle Bande Nere, together with his loyalty, spartan life-style, and moral commitment inspired this creation. Imagine the smell of a military camp: the sweetness of wild shrubs, the smoke of campfire, the smell of leather horse tacks. A powdery rose – symbolizing his secret mistress – rounds up an intense core of vetiver, the great protagonist of this perfume.
This is an extrait de parfum, so use sparingly as the concentration is 25%. It has a great longevity (an average of 12h).
The inspiration behind The Black Knight
The Black Knight is a gothic, intense, sophisticated perfume inspired by the historical character Giovanni Dalle Bande Nere (John of the Black Bands), an Italian condottiero (mercenary captain) of the Renaissance who belonged to the glorious Medici family.
I was charmed by this character for his stoic commitment to his cause, his loyalty, and his Spartan way of life – despite his noble origins.
The perfume tries to depict the atmosphere of a military camp, starting with the smell of wild shrubs, then the smoke of camp fire and the odor of horse tacks.
The evolution then delves deeper into the soul of this stern character, revealing the presence of a secret mistress, with a powdery rose rounding up the deep core made of vetiver.
I didn’t add any typical animalistic note as the intensity of Vetiver, together with the smokiness of leather, already carried it through.
I wanted to combine both the uncompromising and the human aspects of this fascinating character in a dark, medieval, meditative scent."
Note: Samples are sold by the 1ml. You may purchase up to 2ml. Samples of 1ml or less will come in a glass vial with a dabber. Samples larger than 1ml will come in small glass spray bottles. All samples will be consolidated unless expressly requested otherwise.
INGREDIENTS
Alcohol Denat., Parfum, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Aqua, D-Limonene, Geraniol, Citronellol, Linalool, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Hydroxycitronellal, Isoeugenol, Eugenol, Citral, Amyl Cinnamal, Farnesol, Benzyl Benzoate, Coumarin, Benzyl Salicylate.
Fragrance Vault is an official stockist of Francesca Bianchi,
