Over The Chocolate Shop

4160 Tuesdays Over the Chocolate Shop is perhaps the best-advertised of Sarah McCartney's numerous gourmand or near-gourmand fragrances, so with a month of anticipation, I had high hopes upon receiving my sample and giving it a first try. The note listing is humbly small, a simple-ish nod to gourmand lovers like myself: only cocoa butter, the nuts of praline and hazelnut, coffee, and vanilla. Fittingly, the chocolate takes center stage from the onset, not a more familiar dense semi-dark chocolate but rather, almost exactly as another has put it, like milk chocolate cocoa powder, somehow at the very intersection of sweet and dry. It's plenty sweet but not over the top, and the sharpness of the cocoa powder is somehow there. Another similar analogous experience is the smell of a milk chocolate bar when first being unwrapped. A brilliant capture by Sarah. The praline/hazelnut mix starts to emerge in the background quickly after application. Hazelnut alone is more familiar, and I like to think I would've pointed it out without knowing about it ahead of time, but the addition of praline makes for a more nuanced and alien blend, albeit very desirable and certainly not taking much away from the cocoa-dominance of the fragrance. I can't really pick out the coffee and vanilla individually but certainly they could, respectively, enhance the sharp and sweet touches of the fragrance. Overall, I'm delighted that Over the Chocolate Shop gives me something new, slightly unexpected, and not just a near-copy of another chocolatey gourmand I've smelled before. The "dry cocoa powder" aspect of it makes it unique among the chocolate fragrances I've smelled, and as often, I'm impressed by how polished the finished product is. It's definitely a standout entry in the 4160 Tuesdays lineup and an all-star gourmand, a must-try for gourmand lovers, especially lovers of cocoa. In addition, it performs very, very well, I dare say exceptionally, even among other similar cold-weather-leaning fragrances in the house that are generally strong, its dark juice selling its strength fairly convincingly. Its boastful projection of a few feet for at least a couple hours followed by a good scent cloud thereafter, suggests high value. Fortunately, the pricing is rather in line with most of her offerings, at $110 for 50ml, and is sold in the US at Luckyscent. In conclusion, I'm dazzled. Over the Chocolate Shop is a fragrance that I smell and want to keep smelling over and over again, among my favorite of Sarah's creations. Bravo! 8 out of 10

This is a milk chocolate, as opposed to dark. It has none of the bitterness you expect from dark cocoa, it's a light and milky chocolate. It's powdery and dry in the coarse and grainy sense, reminding me of Iso E super, with its woody facets. I attribute this to the hazelnut, as I have noticed it behaves in similar ways in other gourmands, for example Praline de Santal. It also reminds me of the same dryness in Jeux de Peau and Bois Farine. The coffee note sure is there, but it's hard to separate its naturally dry, coarse, warm and chocolatey aspects from the rest of the composition. It takes a secondary and supporting role, and is well rounded. I imagine there could be the smallest trace of tobacco somewhere, but maybe I'm reaching. It has just the tiniest hint of some kind of kick, some spice, which could very well just be the nature of the cocoa. Overall, a dry chocolate milk powder. I'm very happy to find a gourmand this literal and with a real gourmand aura - no earthy patchouli or vanilla or any other figurative chocolate - this is the real deal. Highly recommend. I even reach for this more than my signature chocolate Oui Plus, that is a whole other deal - it's big on the graham cracker and is waxier. Anyway, you CAN'T miss this if you're a chocolate fan.

This is EXACTLY the scent of walking into a chocolate shop in Italy or Switzerland. I mean -exactly-, photorealistic European chocolate shop. It's not just a chocolate shop, but a cafe a la Sprungli (the Swiss chocolatier) so that you get a hit of espresso with your little truffles and pralines. The light, almost milk-chocolate cacao, the nutty freshness (almost woodiness) of the hazelnut and espresso and lightness of a sweet vanilla somewhere in the background. It really does smell exactly like these places to me, which is a huge compliment and it is weirdly...light and clean and fresh for a chocolate fragrance. Not as gourmand as you might imagine and I almost get a note of freshly cleaned linen with my cacao. It stays complex on my skin and I get all the notes even hours later and there is something so unique and enchanting about this one for me. I looove this one. My skin does very well with gourmands and this isn't different...it smells exactly in the bottle, as freshly sprayed, as hours and hours later. Longevity is fantastic, as is sillage. I, for one, love smelling like a Sprungli cafe. Probably best suited for fall and winter, but honestly is there a bad time for a chocolate cafe? 10/10 for me.

This is so good! I was apprehensive as someone who isn’t mad about coffee notes, tobacco, nutty notes or heavy spices, but it’s so well balanced that all those facets just add to the richness of the chocolate. It smells like the Cadbury Bournville hot chocolate powder (the fancier one in the red tub)- it’s very photorealistic cocoa but the complexity makes it less cloying and more wearable. I saw someone mention masculinity in the drydown and I sorta get what they’re getting at, I have a similar experience with other chocolate frags like Zara Cocoa Bliss but it doesn’t read masculine in the whole picture of the scent: it just gives it a more mature edge that makes it a fragrance you could wear, rather than a straight dessert bomb. Definitely overall a true, sweet gourmand though! So glad someone gifted me a sample of this, ordered a full bottle the next day as a gourmand girlie with quite simple tastes (usually the sweetest, plainest vanillas possible) (and this also pairs beautifully with vanillas for something lighter/more daytime friendly)

This is rich and decadent but not sweet. Opening is a dark chocolate. A lot of the darkness comes from the coffee which is paired with the chocolate. It is opulent pairing, so lovely on a fall day. As the scent dries down, I’m getting a woodsy vibe. I know wood notes are not listed but the effect created by the overall blend is that. At points during the dry down, I’m transported. You know the morning after you go camping, the camp fire has a very specific aroma, right? Like, burned wood, warmth, cooled by night and misty air, and again that very specific freshly burned, deep, woodsy smell. Periodically during my wear of Over the Chocolate Shop, I get that vibe. Maybe because the nuts are roasted or there is a smoky effect? Anyway, seconds later, I’m back to the coffee/chocolate pairing. I get ebbs and flows between these two aroma profiles as I wear OTCS. Magical. Another thing I love about this scent is how natural it is. I’ve tried other chocolate scents but they often come off synthetic. Not this one. Full bottle worthy.