Description
“Under My Skin is my interpretation of the animalic theme. I started working on it around 2 years ago. I was charmed by strong animalic scents, and I tried to do my own; but I had to realize that what I like in other’s creations is not necessarily what I like to create myself. So after adding materials going into the heavy or sweet or stable-like animalic theme, I had to eliminate them little by little, and arrive to this solution which suits me the best: a leathery, slightly animalic, powdery one, a velvety and elegant take. It goes along with my personality and my style and when I finally realized that this was my way, I was finally happy and relieved. 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.” – a note from the brand.
Under My Skin was launched in 2017. The nose behind this fragrance is Francesca Bianchi.
maksimka_ZZZ – :
Smells like a hybrid between vintage roja dove enigma parfum & puredistance M. But…NOT in a good way unfortunately. The black pepper and spices are a total buzzkill as they’re wayyy too overpowering. It gets a bit more tolerable as it dries but still this is one of those disappointing perfumes that would’ve been aincredible but the opening just ruins it. So sad.
jur198 – :
Wow this smells disgusting, almost had to throw up even after a couple of hours, but the longevity is great.
v-64977 – :
Under My Skin by Francesca Bianchi is an Animalic leather frag with a heavy addition of Balsamic and Iris/Orris notes. It starts off very sharp and spicy but with an immediate floral aspect as well. I get the orris root note right away mixed with the lavender and carnation and this heady mix of spices and florals draws you straight in and by florals I dont mean light, airy floral, this is definitely heavy from the get go. About 15 -20 minutes in, you start to sniff the leather, balsams, ambergris and other animalic notes mixing with sweet hints of the Tonka bean. This is how the frag smells for the rest of it’s scent life in a pretty much linear manner, Floral Orris and a strong balsamic leather with animalic overtones. Very beautifully done and if you are a fan of darker, leather or balsamic ambery frags, this should be on your list pronto.
The projection and sillage on this are perfect as it’s mostly well behaved for such a heavy frag, mostly within arms reach but always strongly present, giving you good wafts all day. Longevity on me even with tiny sprays from the decant were a good 6-7 hours easy. This is Niche Perfumery in the best sense of the word, strong, daring, risk taking and pulling no punches but at the same time the notes are handled with a suave flourish so they dont clash at all. Francesca Bianchi has a new fan in me and definitely full bottle worthy for my tastes. 8.5/10
farhod_7733 – :
As a fan of leather-themed frags, I’ll have to give this a trial. Judging from the motley reviews, it’s full bottle worthy. I just hope the brand would ship to my country!
89 – :
Carnation done right!! Beautiful❤️
korsar2010 – :
It is a really unique, interesting, but very nice perfume. I really like this fragrance. It is a very long lasting, not every day, leathery scent. It smells like the the luxurious fur coats, and also a little bit reminds me of the smell of wooden furniture. And sometimes it smells like a museum. I also very like the liquid color. So dark and warm looking.
mexanik94 – :
the fourth perfume by the wonderful francesca bianchi, and wow, is it a beauty.
opening on the skin with a balance of savory nuances; black pepper, dry and dusty spices, a strong leather impression, and just a spritz of bitter grapefruit juice and pith to lubricate between the layers; to ease its entry. all of this dances in a white-out blizzard of mildly vegetal, doughy, rubbery orris root, the strongest note on my skin throughout the development of this perfume, and my absolute favourite part. (orris is by far one of my most favoured notes in perfumery) sweetness comes naturally from the powdered violet tones of the orris, and also a faint rose and lavender; dark sillouhettes in the distance, obscured by the falling snow.
as it begins to settle, the sandalwood becomes immediately apparent, rising, breaking through and standing next to the orris, materialising from a blizzard into a solid form. powdered spices, in particular the black pepper, are rubbed into the leather, and together wrap themselves around the orris and sandalwood, like the most beautiful dried bouquet of beige and brown suede flowers. the sandalwood imparts a milky, spicy, even mildly sweaty undertone; perhaps a shard of golden, warm ambergris, a sweet and salty hint, but not distasteful or pungent. just a suggestion, like skin after a day of labour.
further on, the perfume becomes less dense, losing some of the savoury leather that epitomises the opening and middle phases, allowing the orris and sandalwood to exhale and spread themselves. at the same time, this releases an almost papery accord of dry vanilla, dusted with orris powder, augmented by the milky, now slightly sweet and salty sweat of sandalwood and ambergris. from a body at work to where the body has worked; a chair at a writer’s desk, imbued with a day of use, prolific and endlessly dedicated. leather bound old books and tarnished, older wood, softly exuding the scent of their nature and age. it remains at this point for the majority of the rest of its life, changing in soft increments, slowly letting in a mist of white musk from outside, like light and air pouring into this writing room for the first time in years, diffusing the dense smells inside.
as per usual with francesca bianchi perfumes, being an extrait, this begins dense and maintains gravity for the majority of its time on skin. because of this, sillage and projection after the initial burst are softer than one may imagine. it melds, becomes one with wherever it is sprayed on the body, an aura deftly woven specifically for moments that require closeness and intimacy. lasting power is outstanding however, continuously radiating musk, orris, touches of softest suede, and tantalising salty and sweet nuances.