Shazam!

I've had this sample for quite a while but waited for the autumn to try it - it's fabulous, spicy and woody, just the kind of scent I love. it's not too 'girly' and would smell wonderful on a man. labdanum is missing from the scent profile, but it is definitely present, to my nose (the website description says that labdamnum & vanilla make up the amber - see below). here is the scent description, as written by Sarah: "Amber oriental An Oriental fragrance, according to the world of perfumery, is not one which started life in the East. No, it’s a French early 20th Century vision of an Oriental woman, sometimes Japanese, often mysteriously Middle Eastern. When one of our friends wanted a real Eastern fragrance for a real Oriental European woman - herself - we went for something rather more realistic: a strong, independent, unambiguous fragrance. Something to suit her personality. Its amber base is made with sticky dark labdanum and soft vanillin. Then we throw the whole spice market at it and add the scent of freshly squeezed oranges. top notes: pink pepper, juniper berries, tangerines, basil heart notes: frankincense, cedar, cocoa, cardamon base notes: amber – vanilla and labdanum, patchouli"

Tried a sample of this a couple of years ago and thought gawd, that’s a bit like I remembered Lush karma in the opening and I was a bit “hmmm” that’s a bit too zingy for me! I left it a bit and tried it again on another day. It was a bit of a rubbish day and I decided to use up my sample and I was unexpectedly cheered up by the scent! The zing was there but several minutes in I got a lovely frankincense/orange/patchouli that grew sweeter the longer it wore on. It was a mood lifter so I bought a little bottle. I now want a bigger bottle as I can see myself giving it a lot of wear over this wintertime, a mood-lifter for 2020! It’s definitely a great Christmas scent although I’ve found different facets come to the fore in different seasons and weather, sometimes more patchouli/orangey, sometimes more resinous/sweet. Oh and my husband noticed it and commented on it in a positive way without being asked first! I reckon he could easily get away with wearing it too!

4160 Tuesdays Shazam is another sweet, semi-gourmand entry from the house that is quite delightful. Mostly resinous, Shazam is dominated by labdanum, amber, vanilla, and incense, with a trio of juniper, basil, and tangerine in the opening and a heavier-handed use of patchouli, and to some extent, cocoa, in the dry down after several hours. The key player, if there is one, is labdanum, the resin that leans smoky, smoky, and ever so slightly animalic on my skin. It leans slightly to a gourmand, but is distant enough from being a true gourmand. It's pleasant while not being as delectable as a gourmand, either. Performance is good--the projection is not loud but it's strong on longevity and does not lose much power over its first 4-5 hours. Shazam reminds me significantly of Benjoin 19, the Le Labo Moscow city exclusive, and against the Le Labo city exclusive pricing of $300 for 50ml, the Shazam pricing of $90 for 50ml is modest. 8 out of 10

I first smelt "Shazam!" from a sample I was sent when I bought another fragrance from this fabulous perfume house ("Over the Chocolate Shop"). I kept going back to it, knowing I would need it one day. I wasn't sure when, I knew the time would come. Well, that time did come. I wanted something spicy, heady, a definite oriental, but with softness and femininity. Shazam! has that initial powerful spicy opening but dries to a musky spice with amber pushing up through. It smells sweet on my skin, but never cloying, never overpowering, but the kind of sweetness and creaminess that brings out the spice perfectly (think a nip of brown sugar in a chai tea). Shazam! is the perfect oriental - so many go too full on and forget to balance the spice which results in a hair lacquer effect. 4160 Tuesdays nail it. If you love a proper oriental fragrance, this is the one for you to try.

All my other favorite “feminine woody” scents were overtaken by this one. It opens peppery, cologne and fougere-like, but settles into a very sweet dusty juniper with orange chocolate. Since my city has so much cedar, I find this warm and nostalgic. The patchouli is perfect, earthy and woody rather than cloying or synthetic like so many others, and all on a bed of dry, cozy incense. Evergreen woods, spice and aromatics make this a very suitable male scent, and a slightly challenging women’s scent-- though with the trendiness of Baccarat and Santal 33, I think this will only become easier to wear with time. It’s not exactly sexy, having the aloof hipster aura of sandalwood, but I can see this outdoorsy scent drawing in lumberjack-styled urbanites like a siren’s call.