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.

Of course, you smell the chocolate, hazelnut, praline, coffee and vanilla. But as it dries down all of the notes underneath the chocolate begin to mature, blend together and turn into an almost ambery wood note. And I say, almost because it's not exactly Amber or wood. It's just this wonderful, warm blend of the hazelnuts, the coffee and a dark vanilla. All of these lovely notes nestle, comfortably underneath the chocolate. I've been looking for the perfect chocolate scent for many years now and I think that I have finally found it. Not only does this smell like realistic chocolate.It lasts for hours. I think it's important to note that unlike a lot of other "chocolate" scents, this one places chocolate as the main character. Yes, there are other notes softly hushed underneath it to support it. But what you really smell is it deep, complex chocolate 🍫. 10/10

Delightful, woodsy, nutty chocolate. Opens as a realistic Snickers candy bar and settles into a more grown-up gourmand. The woods really make it wearable and the dark undercurrent balances the sweetness. I get about 6 hours wear time. Perfectly unisex if you're into woody chocolate. Review of full bottle purchased after sampling. NOTE The sample from LuckyScent.com only gave me 2-3 hours and was lighter with more vanilla so I was unsure if it was worth picking-up but the full bottle, (bought directly from 4160 Tuesdays website), has atleast twice the lasting power so I'm satisfied. Full bottle also keeps it's darker scent story overtime. Even though it has no cherry note, I think that "Black Forest" would be a better fitting name for this frag. It wears as a dark cocoa and woods scent for most of it's time.

This is gorgeous. This is gourmand done the right way IMO. It's sweet and delectable without being too foody or cloying. It is chocolate and coffee without a doubt but to my nose it always reminds me of Guerlains Angelique Noire too. For some reason I relate the Angelica note in AN to a softer accord in OTCS, even tho Angelica is not listed. It's a softer intimate chocolate powdery scent with the dark roasted coffee lifting it all. Maybe it's the vanilla I am thinking of as in AN, (thinking aloud at this point) They are not copies of one another by any means just maybe like distant cousins. Some complain of sillage but I find if I overspray and spray on my clothes I can get whiffs of it all day. Safe blind buy if you love Angelique Noire🥰

Like hot fudge sauce from DQ! This is so delicious. Some chocolate perfumes smell like Tootsie Rolls (I'm thinking of Dulce Diablo by Narcotica), but Over the Chocolate Shop is more of a pure, dark, chocolate note. It leans just a bit into tobacco, which I love. Spraying this on always makes me happy. I don't get coffee until the dry down, and even then there's still much much more chocolate than coffee. If you are into gourmands this is a must try. Projection/silage are on the weaker side; it becomes a skin scent after about 30 minutes. I have 20% left in my bottle and I am unsure if I will repurchase because of that reason alone. Not everything has to be "beast mode" ...but... I wish this was slightly longer-lasting.

This is a really smooth and enjoyable fragrance. Nothing groundbreaking, but simple and enjoyable, especially on those days you really just want a comforting and relaxing, simple scent. This fragrance emulates cocoa powder, or a sweet, but not sugary darker chocolate. I really enjoy pairing this with Angel's Share by Killian to add a little more depth to that fragrance. The two pair beautifully. This really goes so well with many different fragrances. Another pairing I have loved is with Strawberry Shortcake by Canvas Beauty, specifically the body glaze - this gives you that chocolate covered strawberry goodness. I'm sure with Silk Lace and Chocolate would pair nice with that strawberry fragrance as well.

Smoke and coffee beans. I have a bag of dark chocolate flavored coffee beans that I'm going through, and this smells like when I open that bag of beans. Not too sweet at all, I definitely get kind of a powdery cacao vibe from it, but also some smoke. Like yes you could be "over" a chocolate shop, but in reality it's more like you're in a wet alley behind a chocolate or coffee shop in a quaint romanticized European alley. While it's powdery I also get something that gives me a bit of cigarette butt/wet cardboard, or underground cellar? That may not sound like a flattering description, but it really does kind of transport you to a time and place.

I am a big fan of gourmand fragrances - especially chocolate! On my skin, it is bitter, dark and even smokey. But then when I breathe in all the way, it gives sweetness of vanilla and milk chocolate. I like it a lot, but not 'love' because of the overpowering bitterness. ---- I would like to add a couple of things from my previous review. I think this fragrance is quite versatile. Today is a bit warmer (it was 7°C yesterday and today is 15) and I get more sweetness, vanilla and milk chocolate from this. I still get bitterness of dark chocolate, but it is not overpowering. It blends really well with sweet and creamy vanilla. I LOVE THIS!

I really enjoy the relative simplicity of this perfume. I have trouble with a lot of gourmand perfumes because the vanilla (often) causes them to have a sickly sweet smell to me, and some dry down too powdery. This has none of the sweetness. It's dark roasted coffee and an 80% chocolate bar. After a bit it settles into a tobacco-y scent because of the mix of the nuts, coffee, and vanilla. I think this would also be fun to put as a base layer to a fruity scent (Blackbird by Olympic Orchids, especially, I'm thinking) for a mature chocolate-covered berry air.

Over the Chocolate shop? Well, more like over the mocha cafe latte shop. ☕️ It is very much strong coffee with chocolate drizzle and woody sweet cedar (isoEsuper) scent. I get the roasted hazelnuts in this too. Gets more chocolatey nutty as it wears, but never loose the coffee and isoEsuper cedar notes. Very long lasting. VERY. 12 plus hours. I love it. This is not melted chocolate on skin, so if you are looking for just chocolate, you have been warned to test first. Quite reminiscent of Akro Awake, which I love.

I found this sample in my room, it was empty, I desperately dabbed it on my hand... had to go to the emergency room for biting my hand off... jk but omg at first I thought "there's a burned cacao note to it that gives it a synthetic vibe" but omg it's heavenly! It smell's like nesquick, chocolate powder... it smells amazing!! so sweet! The more I smelled it, the more I couldn't stop It has a spicy element to it it's one where you go "oh my god what is that, I can't stop smelling it" I'm ordering this!!!

Thanks to my frangrantica swap partner, I’m finally able to sample Over the Chocolate Shop, a scent I have beeen curious about for months. Without looking at the notes I pick up unsweetened chocolate leading into an incense drydown. Looking at the notes, I realize that’s most likely a Tabacco note combined with vanilla. Yum. I like it. Over the Chocolate Shop feels like a comfortable weekend “hanging out at home” scent. It’s still cool weather in the PNW, I imagine this works best in Fall.

Finally a real milk chocolate scent! I’m so fed up of the bitter chocolate and coffee note, it’s so lovely to find one with enough vanilla and hazelnut to turn it into a milk chocolate praline scent. Wonderful, although maybe not for a full day! This one I spray on one wrist, just for me... This is just chocolate to me, but I can’t smell iso-e super or ambroxan so if there is any of that in here I totally miss it.

Amazing. Sweet, rich, lasts forever. I fell in love with a sample so then got a customisation with added biscuit - absolutely stunning fragrance. The original has the slight bitterness of dark chocolate and coffee, but it’s smoothed out with a vanilla sweetness so it almost goes creamy. Love. Then with the added biscuit it has more of a dark chocolate digestive edge to it, just slightly.

So far, this is one of the better chocolate scents that I have found that’s right on the nose, is cozy and actually enjoyable. There’s a lot out there that smell cheap or generic or high chemical associations. if anyone knows of chocolate scents that are better than this one, I would love to hear about it in the comments ⭐️⭐️⭐️

opens with an ooze of booze, like a chocolate liquor of the best kind; then dries up into pure cocoa delight. I wear it to bed after moisturizing with Palmer's cocoa butter and I feel so good I could eat myself up. If you use Palmer's cocoa lotions, buy a full bottle of this blindly right effing now and thank me later.