Captured By Candlelight

Captured by Candlelight is a majestic scent, and marks another successful gourmand/sweet foray by Sarah McCartney and 4160 Tuesdays, though I confess I've mostly tried sweet scents from her thus far. CBC is inarguably a gourmand, though, conjuring the sticky toffee pudding vibe, the holiday dessert laden with sweet, bready, and spicy elements. CBC also has some sweet booziness from the cognac, in addition to the more solid food elements of cinnamon, toffee, fruits, hazelnuts, anchored with an inedible base of oak and candle wax. Overall the experience is sweet cinnamon/toffee pudding with a cognac vibe and some underlying woods. Very pleasant, very sweet, and rewarding it its comfort. I confess I don't specifically get candle wax from this but it does have a slightly waxy attribute overall and one could easily consider it similar in overall scent to a food-like candle, though I ultimately do not: it's far closer to actual food than to a candle imitating food, and in that respect, Sarah has created a superbly realistic and fun to wear gourmand. CBC seems to me to be a versatile cold weather scent, as I could see myself wearing it just casually around the house all the same as I could see myself wearing it on a holiday. It's also not heavy or dark enough that I'd totally shy away from wearing it on a summer evening, even. And perhaps it goes without say but this very true gourmand is quite unisex. Performance-wise, it's very good, perhaps not quite as boastful as Eau My Soul or Maxed Out but comparable. And the price point is fair, at $100/$90 for 50ml via Indiescents and Olfactif, respectively. I certainly intend to track down a bottle of this. Really delectable stuff. 8 out of 10

I received a sample of CbC from 4160T last winter, when I bought a FB of another of their perfumes - and promptly fell passionately in love. One of my daughters bought me a bottle for my birthday recently and I am wearing it now. I always select my SOTD the night before, spritzing a little on me and my clothes and then topping up with a couple of extra sprays when I get to work the following morning. CbC is a lightly spiced, warm and beautiful gourmand, reminding me of sticky toffee pudding, served with a rich and creamy vanilla custard. It opens with a sweet, powerful, boozy, caramel punch and dries down quite quickly to a lightly smoked woody base; much as I love the drydown, I wish that gorgeous opening would hang around longer, as it makes me very happy. Frankly, a large Cognac is the only thing that could make me happier on a cold evening... but perfume is far better for my health. You owe it to yourself to try CbC if you love gourmands; I doubt you'll be disappointed. It's an exemplary example and shows off Sarah McCartney's (who, incidentally, is a charming correspondent) talent beautifully. I am a huge fan of hers and now have 10 or 11 perfumes from 4160 Tuesdays (a house which is definitely worth exploring), some of which are limited editions and aren't in the database. ETA: Having owned my bottle for over a year now, either the perfume (or my interpretation of it) has altered slightly, as I am now picking up a very light but persistent smoky note, which smells exactly like an recently extinguished match. This is NOT a criticism, because I love that smell.

This fragrance is truly a masterpiece & I do not throw that word around often. For me, Captured By Candlelight transports me to an English stately home in the dead of winter. Secluded in the countryside & the house quite silent, apart from the murmur of conversation from the dining room and the flicker of an open fire. I can smell the oak panelling in the room, the Christmas pudding & boozy nuances from drinks on the dining table. Sarah McCartney did say that this was the scent of an English dining room at Christmas time & she created this absolutely perfectly. I must also commend Team Tuesdays for their amazing customer service - both of my orders have been sorted quickly, with a personal note included and also an extra sample of a fragrance thrown in for free. Super, super impressed and will be buying a bottle of this soon. Gushing over. Get your nose on this!

A love! I have 2 other from this brand Creamy Vanilla Crumble and Over The Chocolate Shop but this is gorgeous! I have many perfumes but this is in the top 10. The initial blast of sweetness comes from honey but not as strong as Zoologist’s Bee. The fruity notes and toffee dominate the scent but not in an obtrusive or cloying way. I believe the cognac is there but it’s so well blended it doesn’t jump out at me! Reviews are subjective but one almost tried and true trick I’ve found is if the crowd here can’t come up with not a singular negative review, or only one it’s probably a winner. the beeswax tempers it, or some other note but it’s pretty! Definitely has good sillage, projection is hard to judge as I am congested now. This the sweetness I wanted and didn’t get w/ the other two.

This is not just another perfume... This is pure poetry! So much more than a "Christmas" scent, this tells a story of love and passion, of sadness and joy, of bittersweet memories and feelings... It's full of paradoxes and mysteries. Its sweet, boozy and spicy top notes intermingle so harmoniously with the somehow animalic heart, leading to a wonderful base of dark, caramelized woods. To paraphrase the first line of Sylvia Plath's "By Candlelight" mesmerizing poem, "This is winter, this is night, big love". It's perfect and beautiful and addictive. It's all I want from a perfume. I'd only wish it lasted longer and had a stronger sillage... Still, full bottle worthy. Love it so much! 9/10