The Lion Cupboard

Quite simply one of the best scents of all time. The story behind the creation of this scent is touchingly lovely. And the scent matches its origin perfectly. The scent was made to recreate the scent of a favorite piece of furniture from the maker's late dad, to remind the family of happy times. And from beginning to end, its full of lovely smooth masculine and reassuring notes and incredibly wearable. Its maker described it, very accurately, as emulating a lovely hug. Not only is this perfume wonderfully comforting and easy to wear. It provides a delightful journey. A truly original perfume, its exciting without ever crossing that line of becoming either jarring or cloying - its just right! And without a doubt, this is the perfume I get the most compliments on. Completely random strangers regularly stop me in the street when I'm wearing it to enquire after it and tell me that they've never smelt anything like it. Interestingly and somewhat unusually (I'm quite certain this fact should form the basis of an anthropological study on scent) it is the men who are especially intrigued by it. Excellent longevity and a nicely moderate silage too. Go and buy some immediately! What are you waiting for?!

At last!!!! I can be massively complimentary about a 4160 Tuesdays fragrance...I knew I'd get there in the end. The lion cupboard is a superbly crafted scent and has that token bizarreness I've come to expect. The opening is a sharp hit of juniper and citrus then BAM! like a puff of coco powder in your face. The heart of this scent is the cacao but with a rich tobacco vibe and maybe some patchouli too, then a blackberry and anise type of smell...I love it. Reminds me very vividly of something (not perfume) which I can't quite place ? The drydown is very nice warm a hint of earthiness but not too much. It's a bit subdued and lasting power a little lacking considering it opens strong but I will let The Lion cupboard off because it's seriously interesting piece of work. Great stuff, gourmand lovers should try this one even though it's not just a straight up foodie scent.

It's fascinating and evocative. I recently cleared out my perfume tester collection and gave many away, but this is one that I kept. I love the story - if I remember it right, something about Sarah and her sister as a child playing in an old wooden cupboard with lion feet? Well, I think this is one of their most successful concept perfumes that I've tried. I'm right in that cupboard with them - and then suddenly I'm in a Chinese medicine shop in Nanjing, wondering why there's a dried lizard shrink-wrapped under the counter (medical reasons, obviously...) I wouldn't wear this near people, but I've worn this on my wrists while writing at my little writing bureau. I got the bureau free on Facebook, it's a humble mid-century veneer one, but if you wear this perfume, any furniture feels like it's got fancy little feet... This house is a gift, honestly.

Sarahs hits the nail right on the head for capturing the smell inside good quality old furniture. On me the wood is most definitely to the fore before I detect the vanilla or cacao. You really need to love woody scents to love this. I particularly like the mint, anise and lavender in this as they make this a unique wood fragrance and add another dimension. There is little sweetness so it's not really a chocolate gourmand. I am not particularly a girly type of woman but you need to be a confident women to wear this. A strong fragrance with good sillage and it lasts a few hours. I have layered this with Dark Heart of Havana and it really is amazing. They were made for each other.

This is my fourth 4160 Tuesdays sample from my lovely sample box. I approached this with slight trepidation; I suspected this perfume would be quite out of my comfort zone. And so it proved; however it also proved what a talent Sarah McCartney is. This smells identical to an old mahogany bureaux I had as a child. The aromatic woodiness is spot on. It is actually quite uncanny. This is quite masculine so not quite my cup of tea usually but this really is an amazing scent. And I recommend any perfume fan to try it.

For months, this scent smelled like nothing I could possibly wear. I felt it was too masculine, too deep, too intimate. It smelled like an old shoe polishing box, perhaps after it survived a house fire... but I kept going back to it. Soon, I accepted that I adored the smell. Finally I wore it all day - and it lasted all day. But when could I wear this oddity? I've come to make this my autumn, winter, and spring, jacket- and sweater-weather scent. It makes me ridiculously happy.

I have to say 4160 Tuesdays seldom disappoints. This is another wonderful scent from a house that holds many surprises for the lovers of a bit of eccentricity. Love this woody scent and I definitely want this one too!

I get mostly woods and tobacco with a light dust of cocoa...the wood of the cupboard with the treasures housed inside...slightly sweet...a great fall scent...totally love this...

Totally love this fragrance. Absolute gem.

Opens with a definite herbal kick, a hit of lavender and aniseed, with a pinch of citrus. Slowly unfurls with woody notes building up and it settles into a dreamy sort of masculine scent, that is extremely comforting. Smells to me like Sherlock Holmes study, of old books and a trail of a traditional gentleman's cologne rising from a wool scarf, a pipe sitting on the desk. A hint of something like camphor swirls through it, making me think of a crackling fire smoking merrily in a candle-lit room. A hum of juniper does provide a small boozy tinge, which underpins the warmth of the smooth aromatic woods. Creamy sandalwood and smoky vetiver provide an amber-like haze that keeps the whole scent anchored. Completely fulfills its brief, IMO. It makes me think of the scent of Old Spice that used to hang around the old cedar chest my mum kept my grandfather's things in. It is indeed like a warm hug, and comes complete with a mild twang of bittersweet nostalgia. Total magic, one of those rare scents that evoke a visceral reaction when you smell it.

I've had a sample of this for ages and I pulled it out this morning and put some on my arm. It smells like the inside of my great uncle's camphor-wood chest where I store my Christmas decorations. It's so woody and brown, I can almost smell the sawdust of a chest being made, but it also smells of age. The vetiver and mint are obvious close up, but from a distance I'm getting a resinous wood smell. It's so evocative, I'm really pleased I kept this to try again.

When I first sprayed this I was amazed how much it smelled like Serge Lutens' Arabie (which I prefer). After the initial Arabie type clove fest it calmed down to a sweet, aromatic and medicinal smell (which I also like). This is a really odd perfume on my skin, it smells like it could be a liniment or a remedy of some kind. So I would say it's unique but pleasantly so - however I can imagine this perfume will divide opinion because it's so unusual.

Starts out sweet and boozy, ends up earthy and boozy. It's fine, but I wouldn't buy it. I guess that's irrelevant since it's discontinued AFAIK.

Big medicinal opening moves in a minute to what smells like Ginger Bread for 3-10 minutes. After 5 minutes a sharp strong menthol/camphor almost like linocaine, almost numbing becomes pervasive over the top meanwhile the ginger bread has moved too a slightly musky urinal scent - which is the tobacco - here listed is more like that of a cigarette tobacco rather than pipe. Just under the camphor emerges just a hint of chocolate - hardly worthwhile as it is only found with a deep intake nose to skin. Basically it is what it says it is - lion in a cupboard or more like cat hair and a furball with a camphor moth ball (that ends up quite strong). Or as some suggest old furniture like an old fabric chair that a cat has sat on for years covered in old cat hair... Suggesting this is a tobacco scent is misleading - the only notes that the silage provides to others around you are the wrong ones - maybe making people think your jacket has been slept on by your cat with mothballs hanging around. The notes in the table are mostly nose to skin. I like 4160 scents but this one is a big miss... i think people here forget that whilst a smell maybe interesting and you can be amazed by its construction you musn't forget that an instant impression on someone else is very important too! Creative marketing though... I bought Memo Tigers Nest, similar idea again and also weird but it pulls it off for me...

I had the same experience that the previous two reviewers had. Just awful, camphorous, messy, dry-weeds, super flat. I don’t like a single offering from this house, and never get any of the accords that are listed. It’s as if they used essential oils to mimic a lot of the notes, but this literally smelled (and looked, frankly) like nearly-black muddy water with an overlay of naphthalene. I find the listed notes so appealing, as well as the theme & name, but sadly, I had the exact experience with their Buddha Box; just harsh, weedy, flat, and that one smelled almost exactly like wet dog. I’m baffled as to what’s happening with this brand’s fragrances, as they garner such glowing, favourable reviews when first released, then they end up horribly less than 5 years on. If there’s a limited shelf life, due to lack of preservatives, or seriously compromised essential oils (which don’t age well)...something’s wrong, and they need to fix it. I’m sure I’m not the first to give up on 4160 Tuesdays, and I won’t be the last. Such a shame! I’d say try before you buy, but one can’t ensure that one batch from this brand will smell like another.

i like or don't mind any of the notes listed, however, this ends up being messy, disharmonious and hence unpleasant to me. Smells like an experiment with essential oils gone wrong. It's not good coz I can see the beauty in many frags that are not even my kind of genre, however, this one I don't see any appeal. Very rare for me.

The first spray amazed me so much as I get a harsh splash of cacao in the face with hints of slight woods and tobacco. As it calmed down the cacao spreads out on the wall and the woods turned into woods fillings that u get after cutting woods. Ironically, I kind of sense the type of wood after the calm down in "chene" by Serge Lutens but more animalic and sweaty. It's quite interesting with that spicy anise and lavander that gives woods fillings effect, and only if the cacao would have lasted as THE conquered note. Edit Same day, After applying more, now i sensed the minty sour licorice, something floats between the wood fillings, & the Tobacco with hinted cacao. This fragrance is very interesting and indulging my sense on different corners! it's just the name of it, it doesn't help at all :/ Edit (6th Oct 2016) The problem is when it calms down (after 1 to 2 hours) unfortunately it turns into minty, quite a mint conquers the whole juice and makes it unbearable to me. Mint now became one of the notes that i dislike very.

After testing this several times over the course of a few months, I've decided that I do in fact like it, but not on me. I'm typically one to stray away from herbal/medicinal fragrances, and lavender is usually a huge no from me. But 4160 Tuesdays always surprises me, so I figured I'd try it out. For me, I really don't get much of the cocoa. It's primarily woods and herbal notes at the start, which gradually turns a bit warmer and sweeter with tobacco and vanilla. This comes off just a bit too masculine for me, but I think this is definitely one I'd enjoy on a man. It's unique but not too crazy. Moderate sillage and pretty good longevity as well. I also think this is one of those scents that can truly work well in any season, as different notes will shine based on the time of year. I definitely recommend giving this a try.

I think if I could make a wish come true it would be to make a perfume that captured the smell of my Dad. There are fragrances that come close. In his last days he smelled like fluff and baby powder, when I was a kid it was Lynx and Brylcreem. Fat Electrician is Dad working in the garage. My Lion Cupboard was a Danish Meredew Wardrobe. When I was little I thought the door to Narnia was in the back of it. Last week it went to auction as I sold our family house. Meredew smelled of wood and oil, ties and wool. Lion gives me lots of lavender, it's astringent opening gasps as it frees itself from the bottle. When it settles it mellows to a soft rounded wood and I get my hug. Sarah is master of the base. Maybe one day I'll have enough money to ask her to have a crack at making Meredew for me.. but in the meantime...

I'm not a huge fan of 4160, most of them smell very similar to me - often lemony, sweet syupy concoctions. There are about 3 exceptions that aren't samey - this being one of them, brigadoon shazam and crimes of passion the others. I was proud of myself for correctly identifying the mint and juniper straight away without looking at the notes :D Small victory but still. Other notes are lovely but sadly those two are not to my liking. Gives this a mouthwashey gin feel for me. Drydown is nice though, tobacco and cocoa and woods.