Encounters

Encounters by Francesca Bianchi is a Woody Spicy fragrance for women and men. Encounters was launched in 2023. The nose behind this fragrance is Francesca Bianchi. Top notes are Orange, Coriander, Bergamot, Cassis and Lavender; middle notes are Iris Butter, Rose, Angelica and Cinnamon; base notes are Agarwood (Oud), Benzoin, Peru Balsam, Sandalwood, Castoreum, Ambergris and Cedarwood. The fascination of contaminations I have always been fascinated by contaminations from different cultures, giving birth to new forms – called syncretistic, eclectic: to me, a new deviant marvel. I remember my enchantment for the exotic and mysterious Pseudo-Arabic scripts in the halos of some Renaissance painting focused on a quintessential character of Christian culture and yet contaminated by a reference to the Arabic culture. Or the incredible syncretistic forms such as Greek or Roman temples transformed into Christian Churches, or the Indo-Islamic architecture, merging two cultures in a new language. Encounters, the fragrance I wished to render this obsession of mine with Encounters, thanks to a combination of two iconic ingredients from East and West, Iris and Oudh – a moment of contact from whom a new creature originates. You will find the sophisticated refinement of Iris butter, with its soft and mysterious powderiness; a material which develops in the soil to then generate the most lyric among flowers. And you’ll find Oudh, a material born out of an infection of the Aquilaria trees, which then produces one of the most mesmerising and complex odor in the perfumery range of ingredients.