Byzantine Amber
Francesca Bianchi (2023)

I love amber in all its forms and so really enjoy Byzantine Amber, but even I was surprised at how straightforward this was. Its simplicity makes sense when you consider that it is part of Francesca Bianchi’s ‘essential’ line, which feature her takes on the essential bedrocks of perfumery, such as neroli (I loved her Neroli Libertine), amber, oud, and musk. But I know Francesca Bianchi and I’m not sure how she resisted the urge to do something perverted and weird to the amber accord here.

Resist she did, though, and the result is a beautifully thick, dry, incensy amber that smells like an indie version of Chanel’s Le Lion. It has the same initial brightness as Le Lion, though it uses the minty-rosy sting of geranium to achieve it rather than Chanel’s lemon, but the main idea is similar. It should be noted that Le Lion improves upon the incense-amber templates of both Ambra Aurea (Profumum Roma) – by being far drier and more leathery – and Amber Absolute (Tom Ford) – by being more wearably sheer in texture. As such, it follows that, by being closer to Le Lion than to any other similarly styled incense amber on the market, Byzantine Amber is an improvement on those older models too.

On the other hand, the thick dustiness in Byzantine is that of a fuzzy woolen blanket and old woods, while the dust in Le Lion comes sheared off a lump of frankincense and is more austere. The dollop of leather in Le Lion is quite animalic, similar in fact to the horsey, saddle soap, and poo funk of Cuir de Russie, while Byzantine Amber remains warmly inviting, non-confrontational, its leather a texture more than a smell. Le Lion is directly related to Shalimar (without the powder), while there is no familial connection there with Byzantine Amber.

Anyway, I didn’t mean to spend 90% of a review of Byzantine Amber comparing it to Le Lion, but I guess the fact that I just did means that I think highly of an indie perfume’s ability to orbit this closely to a Chanel. Personally, I enjoyed Byzantine Amber a lot, don’t think it’s essential for anyone who already owns any of the resinous ambers mentioned above, but would be happy to steer people who are still amber-curious or Chanel-avoidant in the direction of Francesca Bianchi.

Very nice indeed. A lovely leathery Amber which toys with sweetness without ever inducing toothache.
Certainly seems to have the usual FB dna but is apart from its siblings enough to keep it interesting.
Perfect performance as you know it’s there all day without it annoying you.