Insomnia – Francesca Bianchi – Mineral notes, ylang-ylang, cypriol, and sandalwood

Top notes: Bergamot, black pepper, mineral notes

Heart notes: Ylang-ylang, jasmine, narcotic flowers

Base notes: Sandalwood, cedarwood, patchouli, cypriol, tonka bean

Insomnia is Francesca Bianchi's scent of the night when everyone else is asleep. She created her first perfumes at night, after her day job, and it is the awake, slightly tense freedom she has wanted to capture: the conversation that is too good to end and the ideas that come only after midnight.

The fragrance opens coolly with bergamot and black pepper, and a mineral note that she herself compares to tired eyes that refuse to close. Then the flowers take over. Ylang-ylang and jasmine are heavy and intoxicating, with a small dose of indole that gives them something animalistic. In the base lie sandalwood and cedarwood together with smoky cypriol and dark patchouli, and tonka bean makes the finish warm.

Wear it one late evening with black clothes and blue-black eyeshadow, as in Bianchi's own picture of the fragrance. It also suits an ordinary Tuesday when you want to feel a little more dangerous than the calendar says.

Fragrance family: Woody floral with a mineral note

Insomnia is an extrait de parfum. It is available in 30 ml, as a 10 ml travel atomizer and as a 2 ml tester if you want to try before choosing a larger bottle.