The Lover's Tale Francesca Bianchi 2018 Extrait de Parfum

The Lover's Tale is a compelling and pretty unique example of leather fragrances in independent perfumery. It is an animalic and emotionally charged (you will need to read about its inspiration to understand this) composition that balances raw aspects with delicate nuances.
The leather here is the centerpiece, as you'd expect: a bold, vintage-inspired, and animalic accord with a slight barnyard edge, but with an intimate twist.

The fragrance opens with a sparkling and effervescent quality, with notes of bergamot and aldehydes providing a bright contrast to the richer elements that follow.
Jasmine and a powdery Bulgarian rose create a floral tension, while the sweet and fruity presence of peach and honey adds a touch of creamy smoothness.
In this perfume, the dominant raw leather is supported by castoreum and labdanum, but softened by a floral chypre structure. In my opinion, this balanced duality makes it one of the rare unisex leather-dominant fragrances.

During the very long dry down (easily up to 24h), The Lover's Tale reveals its classic chypre structure, with oakmoss and vetiver providing an earthy and slightly bitter elegance. Sandalwood and iris butter will become more evident and add a soft, velvety texture, creating an enduring base.

For lovers of leather, it’s without a doubt, a must-try.
Compared to Cuir Intense, Lover’s Tale feels more mellow in its opening, thanks to the presence of honey and peach. It also outperforms it in longevity and sillage. While Cuir Intense is still a strong, well-crafted leather, it plays (slightly) safer and leans more traditionally masculine.
Lover’s Tale, by contrast, is more daring and evocative, though potentially overwhelming for those unaccustomed to the boldness of independent perfumery (i.e. sample first).

There are fragrances you understand immediately.

The Lover’s Tale isn’t one of them.

It asks for patience, an open mind and, perhaps most importantly, some experience in the world of perfumery. I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to someone just beginning their fragrance journey.

The opening is bold, animalic and unapologetic. For the first fifteen minutes it makes a statement that won’t appeal to everyone.

But then something beautiful happens.

The fragrance begins to soften. Peach, florals, orris butter and leather gradually come together, transforming the composition into something creamy, elegant and surprisingly comforting without losing its unique personality.

That evolution is exactly what makes this fragrance so rewarding.

It was the second bottle I chose from Francesca Bianchi after Sticky Fingers, and it confirmed that this house isn’t interested in creating easy fragrances. It creates memorable ones.

Performance is another highlight. Longevity easily carries me through most of the day, while the projection leaves a noticeable trail that rarely goes unnoticed.

If you appreciate leather and orris butter, The Lover’s Tale is a fragrance that deserves your time.

Not because it tries to please everyone.

Because it never wanted to.

Few weeks ago I got the full discovery kit from Francesca Bianchi, not knowing what to expect from it. I was more curious about Sex and The Sea, The Dark Side and Sticky Fingers. The first time I smelled Lover's Tale it was a bit redundant, seemed not for me, but the next day I got back to it and gave it another chance, this time wearing it outside in the cold weather. Then it him me :D. I was constantly getting whiffs from it and it smelled amazing. The animalic notes tone down after 10 minutes and then you are left with a very sexy , powdery and slightly sweet leather. I could smell myself easily, I can only imagine how strong the others were perceiving it around me. Basically I fell in love with it and at the moment it is my favorite FB creation. Performance and silage through the roof.

The Lover's Tale provides an interesting experience, or tells a tale, as it drys down. Opens bright, fresh and somewhat sweet. Interesting to notice as the peach and florals appear, with the peach being more prominent. At this point, it was a little too sweet-fruity for my taste. That didn't last long as those accords retreated and the leather became more prominent. Dries down to a very smooth, creamy and animalic leather scent that struck me as quite masculine and more formal. Performance is overall very good with longevity a good 12+ hours and strong projection. Would make a great addition to any guy's collection, especially for those who like leather fragrances.

The title might surprise you— but fear not

This feels so classy!

With its big aldehydic peach note up against leather— it feels like the guerlain family could have accidented into this fragrance

Yet it’s utterly modern

I’m proud of this world that this fragrance exists

It’s almost a Ombre Nomade or "Sapphire Collection - London | Widian / AJ Arabia" or Tuscan Leather Eau de Parfum or type fragrance but with a distinct more patron and melancholic feel

It’s truly beautiful— a fruity-leathery-bitter-smoke chypre that might be seen on Rick Owens’ or Boris Bidjan Saberi’s person.

Thus it is a love!!