Description
“White Queen came to be during a long trans-Atlantic phone call between Michelyn Carmen, editor-in-chief of perfume community ÇaFleureBon, and Sarah McCartney, indie perfumer here at 4160Tuesdays.
Many things came to light, including their joint fanship of Star Trek The Next Generation, their love of Alice in Wonderland (and Sarah’s history growing up in one of the gardens in which the real Alice used to play), and and how to go about making the fragrance Michelyn wanted for the community’s next anniversary: a gourmande with Sarah’s favourite materials, with absolutely no candy notes, but including lactones, the compounds which make fragrances smell creamy.
Oddly enough, even though it does have our favourite materials, including labdanum, opoponax, raspberry leaf absolute and pink grapefruit, using Michelyn’s special requests – frankincense, lactones and a drop of jasmine – we’ve managed to create something which reviewers are finding totally different from our usual style.
We wanted to create a sense of wonder, and to celebrate the idea of disappearing down the rabbit hole and finding ourselves in a new world of aromatic delight, and we think we succeeded.” – 4160 Tuesdays
White Queen was launched in 2018.
vassylyskiy – :
Second time testing this and to be honest I’m still none the wiser. On my skin it’s like a subtle, expensive bar of soap (nothing harsh or overly floral) has been smothered in cream.
My nose is confused in the same way it is with Narciso EDP (white cube). Both have jarring notes that come together in a way that’s almost curdled.
Interesting is the only thing I can confidently say.
toddrus – :
The recent 2018 release and Perfumology exclusive from 4160 Tuesdays, White Queen, is a sweet semi-gourmand with some literary inspiration and in celebration of a Cafleurebon anniversary.
Its most dominant note by far on my skin is hazelnut, which itself fosters a bit of a cococnut, smell, as well, almost a mix between hazelnut itself and coconut.
Texture-wise, it’s very creamy, not really dry, but rather immersive and warm, surely more apt for cold weather than warm weather, though as with many cases, it could probably work on some warm weather evenings.
It’s sweet, certainly, but not a full gourmand, and its sweetness is subdued, in part, by the earthy mix of patchouli and incense, smoothed over by musk, but not without the overall dominance of the hazelnut, sprinkled with raspberry.
Pricing is more or less standard for the line, at $180 for 100ml and $110 for 50ml. Again, only available at Perfumology in the US, at least for the time being. A highly-recommended try, not one I’d know I’d love from the notes, but one that Sarah crafted so carefully that it ended up being a nuanced beauty.
8 out of 10