AI generated image for Francesca Bianchi Perfumes Unspoken Musk by Nicoleta ©

In the theatrical world, “breaking the fourth wall” is a bold move in which a character directly acknowledges their fictionality by speaking to the audience, shattering the imaginary barrier between fiction and reality. I’ve written before of the effect of “breaking the fourth wall” that some fragrances trigger in me. Like catching a clear signal through static, that I immediately recognize and connect to, strongly, deeply, and emotionally – these scents trigger a profound recognition, a moment of déjà vu, or transport me back, violently vivid, to forgotten moments or sensations.  Sometimes it gets even more deliciously complicated and abstract, acting like an olfactory bridge to experiences never had but evoking feelings that scratch a very familiar itch at the border of our consciousness. They bring the feeling of a space where time is non-linear and a message can bounce back and forth, everchanging and “contaminating” your reality with a new perspective, that shifts your field of view to new angles.

Francesca Bianchi Perfumes Unspoken Musk was not a fragrance I fell in love with instantly. The first time I tested it, I had the eerie sensation of a foreign presence, worn on top of my skin. A presence that kept its intention hidden, observing me, hidden from sight, that made me aware of my movements, scent, and voice, as if my own perception of myself, somehow, shifted to an outside view, and echoed, in silence, in a way that I didn’t quite recognize. A presence that demanded my attention to be focused on it. Surrounded by the static noise of everyday chaos, I washed my wrists and decided to wait for a quiet evening, to properly hear what the unspoken voice wanted to tell me.

Collage featuring Hedi Slimane photography featuring Anja Rubik, Vogue, April 2010 and Lulu Frost Jewelry ads, collage by Nicoleta©

“Next to my own skin, her pearls. My mistress
bids me wear them, warm them, until evening
when I’ll brush her hair. At six, I place them
round her cool, white throat. All day I think of her,

resting in the Yellow Room, contemplating silk
or taffeta, which gown tonight? She fans herself
whilst I work willingly, my slow heat entering
each pearl. Slack on my neck, her rope.”*

The second time I sprayed Unspoken Musk, I gave it my time, my silence, and my peace of mind. The passage from the poem above came to me, whispered so clearly as if an unseen hand has pressed play to a recorded memory of a long-forgotten voice. The first notes feel cold, round, and smooth on my skin, and they slowly heat up, like the warmth of the body seeping inside an ivory necklace. The sweetness of the immortelle flower, carnal, honeyed, slightly burned mixes in with an animalic facets of Francesca’s signature blend that is present from the get-go. From the eerie feeling of being watched, the tables turn, and I am the one who watches, attentively, as I draw the curtain to the next scene.

AI generated image for Francesca Bianchi Perfumes Unspoken Musk by Nicoleta©

 

“She’s beautiful. I dream about her
in my attic bed; picture her dancing
with tall men, puzzled by my faint, persistent scent
beneath her French perfume, her milky stones.

I dust her shoulders with a rabbit’s foot,
watch the soft blush seep through her skin
like an indolent sigh. In her looking-glass
my red lips part as though I want to speak.”*

An opulent bouquet of animalic flowers mixes in with the powdery cosmetic facets of the iris and with the carnal warmth of the musk, and at this stage, for a while, the perfume reminded me of my beloved Under my Skin. I hear Ida’s words describing it so eloquently as “a beautiful bride” and I agree full-heartedly, as it’s so unnervingly beautiful that one must pause before breathing it all in. “Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.”- the words from the 1999 movie American Beauty come to my mind, but we are not left to endure too much beauty for too long, as the element of corrupted beauty that Francesca knows how to master, soon makes its insidious presence felt. In the sensual and decadent atmosphere created by the powdery floral fabric, there is a new undercurrent lurking in, the lens zoom out to the vision of a dusty attic, where one too many rains have seeped in the old woods of the ceiling, slowly forming a black heart that feeds of the silences that bloom beneath it. A combo of subversive damp patchouli and earthy cypriol unite their forces, climb the stairs, and clear their throat outside the door, taking a long pause before they knock.

AI-generated mood picture by Nicoleta, for Francesca Bianchi Perfumes Unspoken Musk ©

“Full moon. Her carriage brings her home. I see
her every movement in my head…. Undressing,
taking off her jewels, her slim hand reaching
for the case, slipping naked into bed, the way

she always does…. And I lie here awake,
knowing the pearls are cooling even now
in the room where my mistress sleeps. All night
I feel their absence and I burn.”*

AI-generated image for Francesca Bianchi Perfumes Unspoken Musk by Nicoleta©

The sweetness of tonka and vanilla ignite the most carnal facets of musk, for an animalic soft dry down that lasts for ages on the skin – a post-fever dream that has both the comfort of a  velvety cocoon and the intense naughtiness of a silk corset – all at once. Francesca Bianchi Perfumes Unspoken Musk feels like a poetic exoskeleton, to be worn when all that is unspoken needs to be said. A fragrant “observer effect” in all its quantum beauty.

A note from the brand: “Unspoken Musk is my personal musk, and on the olfactory map, it’s located in a region closer to Humanity and Sensuality. It is an Emotional Musk since it almost generates a physical reaction whilst you’re experiencing your deepest emotions. Sweet, velvety, persuasive, dirty, flowery, human; innocent, and sinful at the same time, musk represents the dichotomy that defines the human being. (…) I didn’t look for a realistic rendering of natural musk, which is where the inspiration comes from. Moreover, if natural musks cannot be used in perfumery, the varieties of synthetic ones embrace the most disparate olfactory categories. From “clean” musks in the “laundry-fresh” direction (not arousing any artistic imagination in me, however pleasant in its mere functional use) to the “dirty” ones that reached some interesting interpretative excesses, these two extremes define a very broad “musk map”, where anything is possible. Unspoken Musk is the fruit of my fantasy: despite being undoubtedly inspired by the natural musk, it is enriched by the stratification of memories, suggestions, and readings on this mythical ingredient, which has inebriated human beings for centuries. And while developing this fantasy, its symbolic character was strengthened in my mind: Humanity, gentleness, intensity, and passion.” – Francesca Bianchi

*Passages from “Warming her Pearls”, a poem by Carol Ann Duffy, written for Judith Radstone.

Main accords: Bergamot, Immortelle; Magnolia, Iris butter; Musk, Castoreum, Civet, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Cypriol, Tonka Bean, Vanilla

Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor

Disclosure: A sample of Francesca Bianchi Perfumes Unspoken Musk was kindly offered by the brand, opinions are my own.

Francesca Bianchi Unspoken Musk via the brand

Thanks to the generosity of Francesca Bianchi Perfumes we have a 30ml bottle of Unspoken Musk for one registered reader in the EU, US, or UK. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on Nicoleta’s review and where you live. Draw closes 11/23/2023

Also, check out the reviews for: Encounters, Byzantine Amber Luxe, The Lover’s Tale, Calme Volupte, Dark Side, Sex and the Sea, Sticky Fingers, Angel Dust, Lost in Heaven

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