Francesca Bianchi THE DARK SIDE extrait de parfum

The Dark Side is a 2016 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 Dark Side, an Amber Vanilla fragrance, has a scent profile of amber, woody, warm spicy, powdery, balsamic, honey, violet, smoky, iris, and earthy notes.

Honey, Spices, Iris, Violet, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Vetiver, Amber, Styrax, Incense, Patchouli, Vanilla

From Francesca Bianchi:

Description: Oriental, woody, spicy, powdery, incense 
Mood: mysterious, warmly dark, addictive, seducing

Unforgettable and unmistakable: The Dark Side is a unique Oriental perfume with multiple facets, inspired by the Moroccan city of Marrakesh and the rich and mesmerizing effusion of its market and streets.

This is an extrait de parfum, so use sparingly as the concentration is 25%. It has a great longevity (an average of 12h).

A secret about The Dark Side.

I love woody warm sweet woody oriental stuff, and this scent is my attempt in this category. Its formula is very complex, made up by lots of components which I tried to mix in the smoothest way I could. So many components that, if you ask me, I have to look up the formula, the pyramid being just a synthesis.

The funny thing is, I worked so much on the balance of so many ingredients that I forgot how it all started. It all started in Marrakesh, one of my favorite city, which I visited at 28 and then 39, always coming back with plenty of fake oils, scented stones, resins to burn, carpets, swords, and other useless but crucial objects.  Last time I came back with many smelly bottles, among which a deliciously fake oud oil. I have never been a fan of it — as it was so fashionable lately, and I really hate trends — but this one is different. So, once home, I tried to make my own base inspired by this Moroccan fake oud, thus creating a sticky sweet woody smoky oriental stuff, which I called ‘My Oud’.

Some time after, I started my Dark Side project (at the time named ‘Into Darkness’) and integrated this base in it. By doing so, I added in due proportion all ingredients of ‘My Oud’ into the bigger formula of Dark Side. After that, I made so many other variations during the following months while searching for a further harmony, that I simply forgot that the soul of ‘My Oud’ was in.

Only a frag lover’s review — wondering about the possibility of the presence of Oud, which of course was not enlisted in the pyramid — made me remember about my lovely fragrant memory from Marrakesh. So, if you really want to keep a secret, you just have to forget about it, like I did with ‘My Oud’ base."