Francesca Bianchi Perfumes: An Italian Perfumer in Amsterdam, Bottling Emotion

“Perfume is the symbolic language of emotion. Each element of a scent signifies something rooted not only in human culture but also in feelings of love, pain, joy, and mystery: in emotional life itself.”

— Francesca Bianchi

Essential Information

Founded 2016
Founder Francesca Bianchi
Based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Official website francescabianchiperfumes.com

The Founder and the Brand’s Origins

A Childhood Fascinated by Fragrance

Francesca Bianchi was born and raised in the Tuscan countryside in Italy. Her parents were artisans working with clothing and leather goods, and from an early age she was surrounded by skilled craftsmanship and a commitment to materials. The sensibility nurtured in that environment would leave a deep imprint on her later approach to making perfume.

Her interest in perfume was unusually strong from childhood. While other children her age showed little interest in scent, Francesca felt as though she alone were living in a different world.

“It was just me, no one else, who was drawn to perfume. There was a sense of disconnection, as if I alone were living in another world.”

The memory of sharing Yves Saint Laurent’s Paris with her older sister remains with Francesca to this day. It was not so much that it was their favorite fragrance, but that it was worn by someone they both loved deeply. “Ever since, I have been profoundly moved by the emotional connections scent creates,” she says. At fourteen, she saved her pocket money to buy Dior’s Poison for herself. By seventeen, at a time when her friends did not own even one bottle, she already had a collection of ten.

Art History in Florence, Then the World of Publishing

After finishing high school, Francesca attended the University of Florence, earning a degree in art history with a focus on twentieth-century art. She then moved into art-book publishing, continuing her career while living in several European cities: Florence, Berlin, Luxembourg, and Amsterdam.

The way of looking at art that developed during this period, her sense of visual composition, understanding of materials as symbols, and ability to embody a concept in a single work, became the foundation of her later philosophy of perfume as art.

She also says she was drawn to alchemy from her student days. She only later recognized its connection to perfumery, but the two overlapped deeply in their essence as “an art of transformation that creates an entirely new existence by mixing materials together.”

A Turning Point: A Book, Essential Oils, and an Encounter with a Perfumer

Around the age of twenty-eight, Francesca began to take a serious interest in making perfume herself. The initial spark came from a book about natural perfumery and a few bottles of essential oils given to her by a friend.

“It sounds good to say I chose the self-taught route, but looking back, I realize what an immense path I set out on. The vastness of what I do not know still humbles me.”

She built her knowledge of perfumery by devouring technical and specialist books. Advice from perfumer friends Roberto Dario and Giovanni Sammarco helped her overcome the difficulties of teaching herself. A particularly significant turning point was meeting Lorenzo Villoresi, one of Florence’s leading independent perfumers. His encouragement during a period of existential uncertainty helped Francesca see becoming a perfumer not as a dream, but as a realistic goal.

“I don’t know whether he remembers, but I will always be grateful for what he said to me then.”

Marrakech, Then Amsterdam

A trip to Marrakech in Morocco also left a deep imprint on Francesca’s exploration of scent. Searching for raw materials away from the usual tourist routes and encountering the city’s distinctive aromas reportedly strengthened her resolve to “make a plan and actually settle down to work.”

Settling in Amsterdam in the Netherlands was the final piece in the creation of the brand. Francesca has said that the city’s liberal culture and openness about sexuality and gender encouraged her own sensory explorations. Francesca Bianchi Perfumes was born in a small attic studio in Amsterdam.

2016: A Simultaneous Debut of Three Creations

In 2016, Francesca made the bold decision to release not one perfume, but three at the same time.

“Looking back, deciding to release three creations instead of one was reckless. But it worked.”

The three fragrances, Angel’s Dust, Sex and the Sea, and The Dark Side, each crystallized a direction Francesca had been developing for years. Shortly after the debut, the influential Italian perfume platform Adjiumi named The Dark Side “Best Niche Perfume (International) 2016” and Francesca herself “Best Perfumer 2016.”

Following this recognition, the renowned perfume critic Luca Turin awarded Angel’s Dust four stars, bringing a sudden wave of international attention.

What Defines the Brand

A Dedication to Extrait de Parfum

All Francesca Bianchi creations are offered as extrait de parfum, the highest-concentration form of perfume, at approximately 25%. This choice is more than a policy; it comes from a philosophical position. The high concentration allows a scent to evolve and transform on the skin for hours, sometimes for twenty-four hours or more.

“Making perfume is an intellectual process born of a desire to express a concept, conceive an idea, and evoke a state of mind.”

Completing a single perfume can take anywhere from six months to four years or more. Even so, Francesca does not rush. She personally leads every stage from conception to formulation, then sends the finished formula to a family-run raw-materials company in Grasse, France. The fragrance compound is made there before being dissolved in alcohol, filtered, bottled, and packaged by an artisanal manufacturing company in Milan, Italy.

The “Bianchi DNA”: Orris and Animalic Notes

A consistent olfactory personality runs through Francesca’s creations, known among devoted fans as the “Bianchi DNA.” At its center are orris, a buttery, powdery material obtained from iris roots, and animalic notes radiating an animal-like warmth.

“Above all, I am inspired by the power of being human. I am driven by the desire to connect with people’s inner lives, to stir emotions, and to help them feel at ease in their own bodies.”

She works with both natural and synthetic materials, without an ideology of one being superior to the other. In her view, the “right material” is the one that serves the intended purpose. Today, out of consideration for animals, she uses synthetic alternatives for many scents bearing the names of animal-derived materials such as civet, castoreum, and musk.

Bottles and Packaging: The Aesthetics Are in the Liquid

Francesca’s bottles are deliberately minimalist: a simple label, heavy glass, and no unnecessary ornament. The standard sizes are 30 ml, 50 ml, and 100 ml, but the 30 ml bottle has a particularly emblematic presence. The thinking is that, at extrait concentration, 30 ml provides an amount of use equivalent to a typical 100 ml designer bottle.

The packaging uses FSC-certified paper and nontoxic inks, with cellophane eliminated. The outer boxes are designed to be reused for storing small items rather than thrown away. This ethical commitment extends to the selection of raw-material suppliers: the company works only with suppliers that practice responsible corporate conduct.

The Perfume Lineup

The Main Line: The World of Francesca Bianchi

The current lineup includes twenty or more creations. The fact that all of them are extraits de parfum is its greatest distinction from many other niche, or independent luxury, brands.

The original trilogy (2016) forms the foundation of the brand.

• Angel’s Dust A powdery, sensual creation evoking a boudoir, or dressing room, of a bygone era. Its composition includes mimosa, iris, rose, musk, and sandalwood. Critic Luca Turin awarded it four stars and described it as “something of an homage” to Guerlain’s legendary classics.

“When making Angel’s Dust, I was looking for something seductive, bold, and corrupt within pure, airy femininity. The vintage twist was not intentional, but the inevitable result of the ‘femininity of the past’ I was portraying.”

• Sex and the Sea A fragrance born from the smell of skin at the seaside: sunscreen, salt, and sweat. Sensual animalic notes hide within its milky, tropical sweetness.
• The Dark Side An attempt to capture the rich aromas of the streets and souks of Marrakech, Morocco. A dense, resinous masterpiece in which honey, incense, orris, violet, and other notes intertwine. Winner of Best Niche Perfume (International) at the 2016 Adjiuimi Awards.

Notable later creations include the following.

• Under My Skin First unveiled at Pitti Fragranze in 2017. The ultimate “skin scent,” said to imitate the smell of a lover’s skin.
• Tyger Tyger Inspired by the poetry of William Blake. A dark, sexual masterpiece composed of tuberose, honey, leather, and oakmoss.
• Luxe Calme Volupte A green, tropical fragrance inspired by a poem by Baudelaire. Galbanum and tropical fruit lead into a distinctly Bianchi-like balsamic finish.
• Encounters A fragrance exploring the meeting of East, represented by oud, and West, represented by iris. Interestingly, during her publishing career, Francesca reportedly hoped to establish a publishing house called Encounters.
• Sticky Fingers An homage to the Rolling Stones. The decadence of the 1970s portrayed through patchouli, tobacco, leather, and heliotrope.
• The Mariner’s Rhyme (2024) A Bianchi-style reinterpretation of the marine fragrance genre. Ozone, iris, and oakmoss portray a “stormy sea.”
• Voluptuous Oud (2024) New territory in mature sweetness, combining plum, caramel, leather, and oud.

Hedonik: Into the World of Leather

In 2021, Francesca launched a separate brand, Hedonik, “to bring my wildest perfume projects to life.” With leather as its central theme, the line pursues sophistication and playfulness at the same time.

Florence, where Francesca comes from, is also a city of fashion and leather artisans, and her childhood familiarity with craft and leather seems to have influenced the inspiration behind this brand. The current lineup consists of three fragrances: Divine Perversion, Exquisite Affair, and Obsessive Devotion.

A Few More Details…

• Perfumes Described as a Flow of Emotion Francesca often describes her creations as “liquid emotions.” The phrase has also become the brand’s tagline.
• If She Were a Perfume Ingredient Asked in an interview which perfume ingredient she would be, Francesca immediately answered “iris butter.” She explained that it is multifaceted, with violet, green, earthy, and powdery nuances, and an opaque, captivating depth like a painting by Mark Rothko.
• A Formula Steeping in Alcohol and Long Periods of Silence As Francesca writes on her official website, completing a formula requires “a hermit-like life.” Catching one’s breath with each added drop, like an alchemist witnessing a transformation, is, for Francesca, the “sacred ritual” of creating perfume.
• Her Policy on Influencers Francesca is known for never engaging in paid collaborations. Even when she sends samples, she reportedly includes a note saying, “You don’t have to review them if you don’t feel like it, especially if you think they aren’t right for your audience.” This comes from her belief that honest reviews are the best form of communication.