4160 Tuesdays The Sexiest Scent on the Planet. Ever. (IMHO)

The Sexiest Scent on the Planet. Ever. (IMHO)” is quite a name for a fragrance, and a tall order to boot, subjective humble opinions notwithstanding. I personally don’t share the sentiment described in the title, but “The Sexiest Scent” (as I shall call it here for reasons of simplicity and speed) from 4160 Tuesdays is not a bad perfume, and has some enjoyable aspects. I can’t say the same for 4160 Tuesday’s other vanilla scent, The Dark Heart of Old Havana, which I shall cover in a different review.

Source: The Daily Mail.

Source: The Daily Mail.

4160 Tuesdays is a small, British house founded in 2013 by Sarah McCartney, who spent 14 years as the head writer for Lush. Her new venture is essentially a one-woman show, as she creates the perfumes, apparently bottles them herself from what I’ve read, and deals with all aspects of the business. On her website, she explains about the history, philosophy, and name of her house:

Sarah had been writing about perfume for 15 years, then started making the scents she’d described in her novel, fragrances that reminded the characters of a happy time. Then friends started asking her to make perfumes to capture their own happy times. […][¶]

The name: if we live until we’re 80, we have 4160 Tuesdays.

That’s all. Let’s not waste them.

Let’s use them to write, think, make and do lovely things. Or, if that sounds great but you don’t have time, to buy lovely things that other makers have put together.

On a Tuesday, do something different.

4160 Tuesdays is all about being creative: mindful observation, nerd-like fascination, endless exploration and – fingers crossed – mixing it all up and having good ideas. At least once a week. If we can’t be bright and brilliant every day, at least let’s have a crack at making Tuesdays interesting.

Source: Luckyscent.

Source: Luckyscent.

The Sexiest Scent is one of fifteen eau de parfums released last year by the fledgling perfume house, and its name stems from a remark by a journalist who loved the fragrance. Sarah McCartney explains the story briefly on her website, along with the perfume’s notes:

Woody oriental
It started life as the background for a bespoke fragrance event we did with The Gin Garden. It was specially designed to be smooth, unassuming, quiet, sensual and to stay close to the skin. (We would take this, then add the gin botanicals to make a gin inspired scent.) But then we did a special event for two VIP guests, and one was a journalist. She liked it on its own, as did many of the other visitors, and declared it, “the sexiest scent ever!” and so it came to be named.

Hints of citrus, of wood, of soft sweetness and a sensual musky ambergris blend. It’s all heart.

Ingredients: Alcohol, Parfum, Citral, Limonene, Linalool.
top notes: bergamot
heart notes: woods
base notes: vanilla/ambergris

There are two things left off that list, in my opinion. First, and most importantly, ISO E Super. Lots (and lots) of ISO E Super. Second, clean, white musk. I’m not alone in my beliefs, either. On Fragrantica, white musk garners the most votes (19) for any single ingredient in The Sexiest Scent, followed by vanilla at 15. And several commentators find the perfume to have enormous similarities to Escentric Molecules Molecule 01, which is practically 100% ISO E Supercrappy.

ISO E Super. Source: Fragrantica

ISO E Super. Source: Fragrantica

Regular readers know my feelings about both those elements, especially the latter when it appears in vast quantities. As I’ve written in the past, some people find ISO E Super to have an aphrodisiac or pheromone-like quality, while others are largely anosmic to its aroma. (Lucky devils). Even those who can detect it often don’t have problems that I do, perhaps because of the fact that the chemical’s very large molecules can block out the nose’s receptors. It is one reason why fragrances with a lot of ISO E Super can be hard to detect when smelt up close for too long, but are easier to notice from a distance or with some time between sniffs. Significant quantities of the aromachemical are thereby sometimes responsible for what I describe as a “ghost scent,” a fragrance which seems to vanish away completely for a while, only to pop back up a few hours later.

Source: Nathan Branch.

Source: Nathan Branch.

As a whole, ISO E Super’s smell can vary, from the “woody buzz” described by Luca Turin, to a very peppered woodiness, or pure rubbing alcohol with a revoltingly medicinal, antiseptic vibe. Some people think it smells of somewhat sweet skin, though that’s never happened to me. On me, the particular aroma varies from fragrance to fragrance, and often depends on the amount that is used. The greater the quantity, the more it smells like rubbing alcohol, and the more that it is guaranteed to give me a raging migraine. I have made it abundantly clear that I do not like fragrances with hefty amounts of aromachemicals or ISO E Super, and that I will criticize them sharply.

It is in this context that I say that 4160 Tuesday’s fragrance isn’t bad, relatively speaking, and almost pleasant on occasion. It don’t find it to be “The Sexiest Scent on the Planet” (let alone “Ever“) and yes, the ISO E Super acts up in all its problematic ways, including its ghostly dance, but I have smelled substantially worse things in my life. I certainly don’t think perfume is anywhere close to being as bad as Molecules 01, the absolutely terrifying Ormonde Jayne Montabaco (which cemented my ISO E Super trauma and whose name pains me to this day), other Ormonde Jaynes, the nightmarish Montale Lime Aoud (which I deem to be an olfactory Chernobyl), or several scents from Andy Tauer, Imaginary Authors, Parfumerie Generale, or Montale.

Art: Byron JonJorian at http://www.byronjorjorian.com/detail/5217.html

Art: Byron JonJorian at http://www.byronjorjorian.com/detail/5217.html

In fact, “The Sexiest Scent” is an approachable, almost fluffy, somewhat decent vanilla with fluctuating levels of sunny lemon and dry woodiness. It’s an extremely simple scent, without much complexity or depth, but it’s quite pleasant at times. At least, when I can smell it. And, yes, I actually am as surprised as I seem, because I fully expected “The Sexiest Scent” to be a full-scale trauma between its two problematic notes. What is pleasant about the perfume is that it isn’t a cloying, sugar-fest with saccharine-sweet, candy cane vanilla that will put you into a diabetic coma. It opens with visuals of sunny light from the juicy bergamot, even if its freshness is amplified by a clean, white musk. Then, later, it turns significantly drier and woodier in nature. So, onto the specifics.

Painting by Moon Beom via lostateminor.com

Painting by Moon Beom via lostateminor.com

“The Sexiest Scent” opens on my skin as lemony vanilla with cedar, ISO E Super, and white musk. There is a sunny, almost child-like innocence in the brightness of its lemon notes and in the fluffy, softness of its airy vanilla. While the latter is thankfully free from the cotton-candy vibe, there is a heavy synthetic feel to the scent as a whole, especially when sniffed up close. In fact, the white musk is almost as prominent as the ISO E Super at first. Yet, to my surprise given the quantities in question, neither one is particularly harsh or strident. In fact, there is only an occasional nuance of antiseptic rubbing alcohol to the aromachemical. By the same token, the white musk never turns into the dreaded hairspray note.

What’s pretty about the start is the juicy richness of the lemon which infuses every part of the vanilla, creating an endless vista of yellow in my mind’s eye. The vanilla is perfectly balanced as a counterpart, even if both notes are sometimes overwhelmed by…. yes, you guessed it. Lurking in the sidelines is the cedar which is initially quite pleasant, though it later takes on a subtle nuance of pencil shavings.

Painting by Moon Beom via lostateminor.com

Painting by Moon Beom via lostateminor.com

“The Sexiest Scent” changes slowly, though its core essence remains largely the same. The bright bergamot-lemon fades roughly 30 minutes into its development, while the woody notes grow stronger, vying with the vanilla and ISO E Super for dominance. The perfume is now largely a woody vanilla with aromachemicals, white musk, and a touch of citrus. It turns slowly drier in nature, as the cedar and the ISO E Super’s woody undertones become more prominent. By the 2.5 hour mark, it is largely just a dry vanilla fragrance with some woodiness.

“The Sexiest Scent” is an airy fragrance with initially moderate sillage that soon turns quite discreet. Using the equivalent of 2 good smears, the perfume projected about 3 inches, but it weakened substantially after 30 minutes. At that point, it hovered a mere inch at best above my skin. Roughly 75 minutes into its development, the perfume turned into a skin scent that became hard to detect.

Source: 123rf.com

Source: 123rf.com

And that is due primarily to the ISO E Super. Not its actual aroma, but the way it can turn scents into a ghost act when a lot of it is used. On my skin, The Sexiest Scent in the World starts to fade in and out as early as the end of the first hour. There is so much ISO E that the extra-large molecules overwhelmed my nose, and blocked out the remainder of the notes. I frequently had to take pauses, go aside, or sniff something else entirely and then come back to the scent later in order to detect it. I was almost certain the perfume had permanently vanished from my skin around the 2.5 hour mark, and, in fact, it actually did “disappear” for a good 60 minutes. Then, suddenly, “The Sexiest Scent” returned as a blur of slightly dry, woody vanilla. It lingered as a subtle skin scent for a short while longer, then died away completely right at the end of the 4th hour and the start of the 5th.

On Fragrantica, there is a lot of love for The Sexiest Scent, with some commentators raving about the vanilla’s richness, its woody aspects, or the boozy element that a few posters detected. Others, however, find the cedar to render the fragrance rather masculine in nature; note the perfume’s short duration or skin scent characteristics; or talk about its similarity to the ISO E Super-centric Molecule 01. A lot of people spend a significant amount of time discussing the perfume’s name, or that of 4160 Tuesdays as a whole. There are many critics. I personally really like what 4160 Tuesdays’ name symbolizes, because I think it’s a very positive message about life and living it to its fullest. That said, I do think there is an overly clever, intentionally manipulative marketing aspect to the actual perfume’s title, and it would be disingenuous if anyone were to pretend otherwise.

Moleule 01. Source: mygazeta.com

Moleule 01. Source: mygazeta.com

Ultimately, however, none of that is particularly relevant to the issue of how “The Sexiest Scent” actually smells or to its quality, so here is a sampling of the various opinions about the fragrance itself:

  • I’m surprised to see the iso-e-super isn’t used in this perfume as it smells very similar to Escentric Molecules Molecule 01, but with a dash of vanilla. Anyway if you don’t know what iso-e-super smells like, it’s basically a peppery, woody, musky smell. I like that this has vanilla, but I think if I were to buy either of these I’d go with Molecule 01 simply because it has better sillage and longevity.
  • I find this quite masculine with a cedar type of note the most persistent. It does seem to want some top note so I layered it with some Rose cologne and that set it off quite well. Not very strong and only the darkest woody notes persist beyond an hour.
  • Drydown smells like Molecule01 with spicy vanilla. Sexy by association.
  • IMHO; this is one of the best vanillas out there, and I have many! It’s a gorgeous, woody vanilla with a slight boozy note. Very cozy, and comforting. It kind of reminds me of sitting beside a campfire on a cool evening. Perfect for fall, and I would love to get a bottle. [¶] Vanilla lovers, you’re missing out if you haven’t tried this one. It’s amazing!
  • This is a beautifully addictive citrus and vanilla that has me sniffing my arm all day. Clearly high quality ingredients and great longevity on my skin.
  • It’s crazy but occasionally you open a sample and go YES. This is it, I love this. […] Straight away my husband said bonfires, and now I read that we are not alone in thinking this. It’s familiar, comforting, simple, complex, creamy, uplifting, cozy, known, and yet different and unique.
  • this, in my opinion, is done very very well. Goes on smooth, rich, “full”, it is not at all watery or insipid. Lovely natural smelling vanilla, this smells expensive, the bergamot lifts it and makes it light and airy, and the woody notes give it a firm grounding and depth preventing it from floating off into the total fluffy-bunny arena! The musks add a warm sensuous note, and all together, with the 4160Tuesdays base recognisable in all their scents this makes for a really good perfume.
Source: wallpaperscraft.com

Source: wallpaperscraft.com

On Basenotes, there are two reviews which are split down the middle. The first one is sharply negative, and talks about how the “dreadful” white musk ruins the scent with its resemblance to “those god-awful plug-in air fresheners,” as well as the perfume’s linear nature and short duration:

This is definitely overhyped, I think.

On initial application, there is a full, fresh bergamot, not too sharp, but smooth and clean. After about 15 minutes this goodwill is utterly destroyed by a dreadful, off-key white musk that reminds me of those god-awful plug-in air fresheners. Luckily, vanilla arrives to smooth this off and finally vetiver lingers in the background. The sillage is weak after the bergamot and the longevity only around 2-3 hours.

This is very much a feminine scent (and this comes from a guy who wears Black Orchid) and is linear in delivery and execution. All mouth and no trousers, IMHO.

Cedar. Source: mlewallpapers.com

Cedar. Source: mlewallpapers.com

The second review is more positive, though:

Cedarwood seems to be the main player here but the whole fragance has a ‘musky’ feel. I’m a little worried about the longevity — I need to give it a proper day’s wear. [Snip irrelevant part about the perfume’s title.]

Very nice indeed and, yes — it is sexy

On MakeupAlley, there is only one review thus far which rates The Sexiest Scent with 2 lipsticks out of 5, and essentially finds the perfume to be pleasant, over-marketed kitsch that is more boring than anything else. The review reads, in part:

It’s likeable and smells . . . nice. But this is sexy only in a very obvious, well-it-has-vanilla-so-it-must-be-sexy way. There’s nothing complex or interesting to it, and ultimately I don’t recommend it because the lasting power is terrible, and it’s . . . well, BORING. The scent is good enough, and I probably will use up my sample, but I wouldn’t buy a full bottle of this frgrance. In MY honest opinion, I’ve tried a few samples from this line, and I think it’s more kitsch and marketing than substance.

There are many more reviews out there for The Sexiest Scent, most of which are almost entirely raves from British bloggers.

My assessment is that The Sexiest Scent is pleasant, incredibly simplistic, and terribly over-hyped. It’s better than what I thought it would be, but that may well be because I braced myself and expected to be brutalized, thanks to all the comparisons to Molecule 01 and my personal aromachemical issues. Still, it’s not a bad scent, and there are some nice bits that float in and out of the woody haze. On the other hand, I do not think it smells particularly expensive, and $90 for 50 ml of heavy aromachemicals with vanilla and a fleeting touch of lemon seems a little high. I also wonder if perhaps a few of the rave reviews have been subconsciously influenced by the perfume’s name.

At the end of the day, The Sexiest Scent is not my cup of tea, but if you enjoy woody vanilla scents and don’t mind a lot of synthetics, then give it a sniff. You may like its initial lemony sunniness and its subsequent dryness, especially if you’ve been looking for a vanilla scent that isn’t extremely sweet or cloying.

Disclosure: My sample was kindly provided by Luckyscent. That did not influence this review. I do not do paid reviews, and my opinions are my own.

DETAILS:
Cost & Availability: The Sexiest Scent is an eau de parfum that comes in a 50 ml bottle for $88 or $90, but is available overseas in a 100 ml bottle that costs £90. In the U.S.: you can find it at Luckyscent, which is the exclusive U.S. distributor for 4160 Tuesdays and also sells samples. Outside the U.S.: In Canada, you can find the whole line of 4160 Tuesdays at IndieScents which sells The Sexiest Scent for $88 (possibly CAD pricing?), in addition to a $60 sample set of all 15 fragrances in a 1.5 ml spray vial. In the U.K., 4160 Tuesdays’ E-Shop has the perfume in a variety of different forms and sizes, ranging from 30 ml bottle for a £40 to 100 ml, or a “Commitment Phobe” set of minis. There are also various sample formats in much smaller sizes, like a £5 vial. In London, Roullier White sells the 100 ml bottle for £90. The 4160 Tuesday line is also available at Les Senteurs. For all other countries, your best bet is Luckyscent which ships worldwide. Samples: Luckyscent sells samples at the link provided above, as do a few of the other sites mentioned here.

31 thoughts on “4160 Tuesdays The Sexiest Scent on the Planet. Ever. (IMHO)

  1. I liked the idea of the “one woman show” and ordered samples of the entire line few weeks ago. Now, I wasn’t partuicularly impressed.

    Loved your review though. “ISO E Supercrappy” – big big LOL BTW, I’m in the lucky devil category 🙂

    • I’m afraid I can’t take credit for “ISO E Supercrappy.” A reader of mine, Sultan Pasha, came up with it eons ago. 😀 I used to put a trademark symbol in parens next to the phrase with credit to him, but I’ve essentially appropriated the term for my own use at this point, and given up on trying to remember the ALT-Control numbers for the “TM” symbol. But Sultan Pasha deserves all the credit for the very, very appropriate phrase. lol

      As for “The Sexiest Scent,” or the rest of the line, all I’ll say is that I’m not surprised you weren’t blown away or hugely impressed.

  2. So enjoy your reviews and writing.
    “olfactory Chernobyl” cracked me up, but am sorry the ISO stuff has been so painful for you.

    Thank you for such thorough reviews!

    • Welcome to the blog, Julie. And thank you for your kind words on my writing. 🙂

      As for Lime Aoud, it really is something beyond belief, but for more reasons than mere ISO E Super. A reader of the blog emailed me recently saying that she thought my description of it had been a mere exaggeration, but that it turned out to be even WORSE than I had said. I think she wrote that it smelled worse than rotting corpses, and she’s had experience with that aroma. lol. Also, if I recall correctly, another perfume blogger said that, if there were ever a nuclear holocaust, Lime Aoud would still be around, along with the cockroaches. So, yeah, whether it’s Chernobyl or worse, that is one to be careful of…. I’m wincing at the mere memory of it.

      Anyway, thank you for stopping by, and have a lovely weekend.

  3. Blimey, I hate that photograph. Anyway the name was a joke. It’s funny in the UK, promise. We have an odd sense of humour. (Can’t even spell humor.) I didn’t put any musk in it. Thought I’d better put that straight but I think I’m a bit too late…

    • I thought it was a very nice photo of you. I responded to the name and musk issues in a reply to your comment in The Dark Heart of Old Havana review. As a side point, I’ve lived in the U.K., and two generations of my family were partially raised there, so I know about the British sense of humour. 🙂

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  5. Escentric Molecules Molecule 1 was one of my earlier buys when I starting sniffing fragrances. It didn’t take long for me to realize I had made a mistake though and I gave the bottle away.
    Thanks as always for a thorough and honest review.

    • I would say that Molecule 01 is one of those “love it/hate it” scents, except I’m not sure many people can actually detect its aroma in a clear, obvious way. Just last week, in fact, I came across yet another discussion of that point. A number of people said they absolutely could not smell it, while others said that their Significant Others loved it on them. Distance is clearly an advantage given the large molecules.

      It seems you are one of the minority weirdos like me who can detect the ISO E Super *and* isn’t keen on the smell. Come sit in the corner next to me, Sandy, and we can commiserate on our shared misfortune. 😉

      • Interesting – in some ways, I think I found it a bit unintersting after wearing it. But maybe I was also put off by the thought of what it was?? And yes, we can sit together and share notes : )

  6. The dreaded Iso-E-Super got me as well on this one. I was hit with a whomping dose of what smelled like huge black pepper notes (cough inducing for me) and then what smelled to me like a lot of spices, peppery clove wrestling with the pepper. I saw a comment from the perfumer saying, “oh no, no spices in this.” Well, I have a good noise and I know what I smelled, and I’m glad to see my impressions confirmed by someone like you, Kafkaesque, whom I consider an expert on perfume. It was not pepper, indeed, but something that smelled exactly like it to my nose, major overdoses of ISO-E-Super. Not for me. Nothing sexy in a sneeze and cough inducing fragrance.

    • Oh dear, the ISO E Super got you too. I’m starting think that maybe more people suffer from the note than I had thought. Yes, it can definitely smell like a heavy, heavy dose of pepperiness in some fragrances. In general, if you detect that, but the fragrance has no notes which would indicate such an element, you may want to consider the unspoken use of ISO E Super. (And stay away from the Givenchy Black Dahlia line, as there is a HEAVY amount of the pepperiness there.) In my experience, ISO E Super seems to be used in very woody and/or vetiver fragrances, as well as in florals (Chanel does it a lot). I haven’t encountered it commonly in vanilla fragrances, though. Still, trust your nose when you have such a profound reaction. Perfumers may not list ISO E Super (few do, actually), but that doesn’t mean it’s not there.

      • Is there a list somewhere of scents known to contain ISO E Superduper?

        • Nothing complete or really exhaustive that I know of, no. I tried, but gave up adding to the list, as there were just so many fragrances that had either ISO E Super (or some clearly related brother). I think the Perfume Shrine once said something to the effect that it was basically hopeless to keep track of them all, particularly as most perfume houses don’t mention the aromachemical on their note lists.

  7. The name of the fragrance is irritating which makes me inclined to dislike it, but it sounds a bit generic anyhow. With that said, it wouldn’t be my cup of tea anyway, even if it were the perfect perfume for what it is.

  8. LMAO! Yet again my dear special K you have out done yourself! Sorry have not been here for sooo long as have been busy with 18 hours of fasting whilst Ramadan, composing and my little rascal of a daughter.

    • Oh, happy (belated) Ramadan, Sultan Pasha. I hope you’re doing well. I gather your daughter is keeping you on your toes. lol. Just as it should be. 😉

  9. Hello Kafkaesque,

    I’m here again because of ISO E Super, naturally.

    Thank you for your honest review of this humbly titled scent, which I won’t even
    have to try as I don’t like the most vanilla perfumes, either.

    Even though I found Montabaco by Ormonde Jayne to be quite interesting, I could never wear it because of this ISO ingredient; it’s nice as a sample, though.

    But now I’ve seen that there’s an Montabaco Intensivo out, I quote:

    “Reformulated from the original 25 per cent concentrate into a deluxe 40 per cent version,…”

    (independent.uk beauty website)

    Now this is scary. To me it sounds like overkill.

    Best regards

    Petra

    • I’ve heard about the new Montabaco Intensivo. I cringed. LOL. But there are people who adore ISO E Super and its kin, so they’re probably quite happy. Something for everyone. 🙂

  10. Drifting off topic, but just to be absolutely accurate and super nit-picky (sorry !), Molecule 01 does not contain Iso E Super, but a related captive. The same goes for a number of Geza Schoen’s other creations for Ormonde Jayne.

    • Related “captive”… ha. 😀 Well, I’m going by what the company says on its own website, where it describes the ingredient in Molecule 01 as “ISO E Super”:

      Molecule 01 consists of one single ingredient, ‘Iso E Super’. On its own it is less of an aroma than an effect. The wearer may notice a pleasant, subtle velvety-woody note which will vanish, then re-surface after some time, but more than this, she or he will notice the impact it has on other people. “Molecule 01 lends an indefinable radiance to the wearer,” says Geza Schoen. In fact, its effect is almost pheromonic.

      http://www.escentric.com/fragrance/molecule-01/

      So, what is the related cousin in question, if it’s not ISO E Super? I’m curious to know what other aromachemical I now have to dread and fear. 😉 lol

      • Hi,
        It’s splitting hairs, really. But the ingredient is Iso Gamma Super, a captive ingredient of IFF. It’s no longer a secret, but may be interesting for those who tried to make their own version of Molecule 01 using Iso E Super and found it smelt slightly different.
        Also, the fact it showed up in the GC-MS of some early Ormonde Jayne perfumes rather gave away the fact she wasn’t the perfumer, as she wouldn’t have had access to the material.
        In either case, there’s no cause for dread or fear ! hehe.

        • Fascinating. Really. Thank you for taking the time to share all that. I greatly appreciate it.

  11. Hello L.,

    Now this is really interesting. Please allow me to ask some questions as well, as I don’t have a degree in chemistry but am very interested in the matter.

    I have looked up ISO E Super (imagine here a little R for registered) in the Royal Society of Chemistry paperback edition of “The Chemistry of Fragrances”, 1999; also used as
    a reference was “Riechstoffe, zwischen Gestank und Duft” (my translation: Fragrances between stench and lovely scent) by Wolfgang Legrum, Vieweg + Teubner, 2011.

    If I get this right, ISO E Super is a molecule mixture, and a registered trademark of IFF.

    ISO E Super is a Patchouluol derivative, and is also called Patchouli-Ethanon. In this complex mix, there are to be found several positional isomers as well as isomers caused by different possible positions of the double bonds. “This mixture has a pleasant, woody, amber odour which is believed to arise predominantly from only a few of its components.”
    (quote from Chemistry of Fragrances)

    This mixture is obtained by an acid-catalysed cyclization of the 1,3-diene Myrcene, which itself is an acyclic monoterpene. These monoterpenes are chemically quite unstable due
    to their unsaturation caused by several double bonds.

    So “to improve stability, particularly in oxidative media such as bleaches and laundry powders, various hydrogenated analogues have been developed. In some, one of the double bonds is reduced, in others both are.” (Chemistry of Fragrances)

    So is this related captive Iso Gamma Super a mix containing different or more or less isomers? The producer, IFF, seems to be the same.

    Or will you reveal trade secrets by telling?

    Best regards

    Petra

    P. S.: Notwithstanding it being E or Gamma, as the molecules have been created in order to be chemically more stable, their reactivity decreases, which makes them e. g. less volatile and thus less bio-degradable. This represents a similar problem as with big synthetical musk molecules.

    • Hello Petra,

      Iso Gamma Super is richer in the gamma-isomer (unsurprisingly!). If you’re interested in the technicalities and intricacies related to the isocyclemones, I’d recommend reading Ohloff, Pickenhagen & Kraft’s ‘Scent and Chemistry: The Molecular World of Odors’, pp. 207-214.
      With regards to captive odorants, often when then legal protection against imitation is getting close to expiration, the manufacturer will release the product on to the open market.
      Iso Gamma Super is still a captive, but there’s a material called Timbersilk, also produced by IFF, which is both similar in smell and available to all. If one wanted to make a home-brew version of Molecule 01, it would get you about as close as is possible.

      • Hello L.,

        Thank you very much for your reply and the reading recommendation.

        To me almost everything concerning the creation of molecules
        is nearly beyond intricate.

        I am sure a lot of perfumers will be glad to hear about Timbersilk,
        as when searching for information about ISO E Super, I have quite often stumbled across blogs describing the difficulties of recreating Molecule 01.

        For my part, I prefer many layered scents, but, alas, they don’t make them like this anymore…or rarely…

        Best regards

        Petra

  12. Color me surprised that there is cedar in The Sexiest Scent (et al) as you know, cedar smells like pencil shavings to me and I did not even detect it. I actually do like this, especially the vanilla. It has a comforting spiciness and it smells a little bit of leather. As I mentioned in your other post, this is very similar to VC&A Orchidee Vanille which I love and own a FB…so unless I run out (which won’t be anytime soon, I guarantee), I will take a pass on this.

    I have a 15 sampler set of the 4160Tuesdays perfumes and I am actually looking forward to trying all of them.

  13. Finally caught up with this at the weekend and I liked it a lot. I didn’t detect any (phantom) white musk, and I am hyperosmic(?) to musk in perfumes. It was the (perceived) excess of musk that killed Puredistance Opardu for me while most people loved that scent, and I very much wanted to love it. Yes, I found Sexiest Scent etc cosy and comforting and subtly sexy. The Iso E Super (or related captive thereof) was also nicely in check and blended with the rest of the composition. All in all, this is the sort of perfume I would happily wear, probably more in the autumn, say.

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