Tokyo Spring Blossom (Urara’s Tokyo Café)

In a continuation of yesterday's "Spring has Sprung" mood, I am wearing another spring-themed perfume today. It being England though, we seem to have bypassed the rest of spring and plunged straight into summer. I'm sitting in the garden in full sunlight - not a cloud to be seen. The reason Brits talk about the weather so much, is that we get an awful lot of it. Less than four weeks ago, it was snowing. Today the temperature is in the mid 20s. My Tokyo Spring Blossom is called "Urura's Tokyo Cafe", so it must be an older bottle. I'm not sure when or why the name changed, but for the sake of clarity I'll refer to it as TSB throughout this review. TSB bounces and fizzes out of the bottle when first sprayed. It's really joyful - a citrussy, effervescent burst which has the ability to change my mood, from being doleful (as I am, having broken the top of my humerus and ribs and am feeling rather fed up about it all) to feeling quite optimistic and cheery again. That fizzy, citrussy opening subsides, and then the flowers come into play - a light pink, fresh "modern" rose and then a delightful, powdery violet. Accompanying the flowers is a low-key raspberry, which has the effect of gently sweetening the perfume (although this is not a toothache inducing sweetness). Underpinning the flowers is a creamy sensation, which I think is coming from the balsam and the myrrh - again, these are just the lightest of touches, which give a little body and richness to what otherwise may have been a rather ordinary and transient floral perfume. Both longevity and sillage are moderate - I do like to reapply every couple of hours though, for the therapeutic value of that joyful opening.

Beautiful cherry blossom fragrance that doesn’t actually list cherry blossom as a note...but evokes the promise of Spring. Raspberry jam, a touch of green sparkle and fizz, a sexy, powdery, violet dry down with gentle, grounding woodsy notes. This manages to avoid being overly sweet and is instead a beautifully subtle, 'adult' fruity-floral, with a deep and dreamy effect that my nose just can't get enough of! This was my Spring 2017 signature and I have a huge bottle gifted to me for my birthday (thank you, Sis!). I will be visiting Tokyo for the first time this summer and guaranteed this will be my holiday signature. I can also see me wafting this around my workplace come September. Despite it not being an 'autumnal' fragrance on paper, its just SO more-ish, grown-up, fresh and yet deeply sensual. I can't get enough of it. I love this. I love 4160. I love Sarah. British perfume at its best.

I get a lot of juicy tart and sweet citrus upon initial spray. I sense a bit of conifer in there - a wisp of a conifer sap already in the opening this creates a paradox in the scent it is at once juicy and citrus and yet dry woody sap in the opening. This opening act lasts for ages on fabric. It settles fairly quickly on skin though - I barely detect violet or rose...if it is there it is creating a slight powder effect on top of a warm yet dry opoponax base. I am not sure what I was expecting here but I like to think that this delicate dry, woody slightly citrus and hinting of a gentle floral to come is what Tokyo may smell like in the spring - I haven't been to know for certain. Regardless this fragrance is serene, smooth and gentle.

A citrus opening gives way to crisp violet and tart juicy raspberry, not too powdery at all, the tart fruit and violet flowers stand out way above the powder. And there’s a touch of balsamic woodiness to keep it grounded. It is a little but like Parma violet sweets, but just in that sweet, fizzy, violet way. This is simply the best violet fragrance I’ve smelled. Perfect for spring and summer days. Love. Edit: on clothes this is quite different, and it becomes dry, spicy and woody with a slight green spice fresh feeling to it, and the barest hint of tart raspberry. It stays much sweeter on my skin (but is still a great unisex violet fragrance). But I love it both ways.

OK this is not my type of perfume at all. I don't care particularly for florals, fruity perfumes, and where are my beloved patchouli and vanilla? But I love this! The florals are natural, beautiful and delicate and the raspberry gives this a zingy freshness. These aren't big, blousy in-your-face florals, the sort I don't like, but beautifully balanced violets and raspberries and roses like a British stately home Garden on a summer's day. I am eking out my little bottle of this but hope to buy a FB of this in time for the Spring when I think this will come into its own.

Another one of my favourites from this house and I am so glad it has finally been added to the database. This scent is simply delicious! It smells sweet, fruity, slightly powdery, a little bit oriental but at the same time I can smell cherry blossom candyfloss in the spring air. It lingers on one's clothes for a long time and wafts in the air deliciously, almost demanding to be sniffed and liked. How could you not like this??? Very good longevity and projection yet again. Well done Sarah!

Fizzy raspberries and violet, some abstract rose. A more spicy and balsamic dry down. I can almost smell a cocktail in this one. Think a sparkling wine cocktail and liqueur de violette mix. This is nice. All occasions, all weathers (probably not for heatwaves though). It has enough character to be worn during Winter no problem, especially because of the slightly balsamic background. Super feminine but not childish. Longevity is great and a 2 sprays go a long way.

Initial application: . . .Fresh, effervescent like a fizzy sweet soda pop but with floral arrangements mixed in. The fresh floral-fruity blending is exceptional. I have never smelled something like it. Gin fizz with all the trimmings. A woodiness to balance and ground the sweetness and light at the end of the day. A very nicely done fragrance. Definitely unisex. Love this one.

I love this. Delicate and not too sweet. Initially the citrus comes on strongly on me but settles gently into powdery violet (but the raspberry note keeps it fresh). Good longevity on me too. I'm a huge fan of this house and have developed a small addition in sampling as many as I can, but this the first I tried and an instant favourite.

Very unsurprising that this fragrance has a Lush cosmetics quality to it. The opening is a toxic brew of fruits, sharp and highly concentrated like crushing up and bath bomb and snorting it. (Not that I would ever do that!) The sharpness of pink grapefruit and lemony notes mixed with raspberry is quirky but a little bit of a mess. As it settles though the violet lends some clarity, makes it a bit powdery and adds some relief from the hyped up jelly baby opening. To be fair the drydown is quite classy with these three R's Rose and Raspberry and Resins! The Tolu and Oppoponax base are really nice and balance out the fragrance well...giving a slightly earthy creamy warm base which isn't sweet. Kinda reminds me a touch of Royal bain de Caron in spirit. I actually like this scent, it's good stuff. Lasts well and transitions nicely. Like all 4160 Tuesdays its a complete oddball but does perfectly translate all the notes sharp and fruity to begin with, leading into powdery rose and violet then a hint of warm in the base. Not my cup o tea for wearing but I appreciate this one at least.

4160 Tuesdays is olfactory entertainment. I've tried several in their lineup, and even if it is not a love match, I always find, at least, that I'm amused or intrigued by whatever it is I've tried. Urara's Tokyo Cafe is a scent I'd call girly-girl. A powedery violet is the star of the show, tempered by a slightly sweet raspberry, a note this house seems to like a lot. Resins lend it some balsamic depth. I do get occasional whiffs of sheer rose, and the tolu (a note I love) is subtle and delicious in the drydown. Overall, I would say this is a lovematch for me, but no one else in my family likes powedery scents, so I doubt I'd wear it all that much. I'd save it for those times when my husband is out of town and I want to dose up on something lovely and comforting at bedtime. Very feminine and pretty. It is hard for me to imagine this on a man, just because I do find it so feminine, but you never know. Chemistry is a marvelous thing, and it would be fun to hear how it works as a unisex scent.

This perfume never quite turned into what I was hoping for. It was as if I sprayed two scents at the same time and they never ended up blending together. The candied, powdery violet that everyone speaks of is definitely there, but it clashes with something that smells like a tea note. I understand both notes' presence, but they never come together. It's like smelling two things at once. I'll definitely have to try this one again, but for now I'm not a huge fan.

This is a very interesting fragrance. On application, it smells of violets and roses with a hefty dose of balsam. As it dries down, I get the raspberry note - not overwhelmingly sweet at all. After a few hours the violet remains, with the resins still hanging around to keep it from being too sweet. Sillage is moderate, but the longevity is great. I've been searching for a violet scent - this may be it! This is my first try with this house, and I'm intrigued!

Sherbert lemons! This is an effervescent, lemony, uplifting spring/summer scent, unique as all of this house's creations.It's fruity but not sickly fruity sweet, I get the violet note and raspberry but with a little oriental twist. Good longevity and silage, I defy you to wear and not smile!

Just a lil note to the moderators - on my bottle and the one here on Fragrantica, the purple strip on the bottle with the name of the perfumes says - UrAra's Tokyo Cafe ;)

not much coffee, as i expected, but still very charming fragrance, uplifting scent!

Gosh I love this fragrance. A fruity floral with almost a sherbet fizz. Cool, a bit powdery, delicate but not weak. What an inspired combination of violet, raspberry and rose. I think it captures cherry blossom really well and the cool weather of the season. The sillage is moderate but the longevity is seriously impressive. Another beautiful and unique fragrance from Sarah. I think I should add that I also have Vivien Westwoods Let it Rock which is a serious patchouli bomb and nothing like this delight.

I do not like this one. The bitterness of the violet clashes horribly with the artificial sweetness of the raspberry. The backdrop is mainly a classic powder. For me this is a headache in a bottle.

This is a quirky little oddball. I was expecting a sweet, jammy raspberry kind of a scent, but what I got was a tangy, green trip to a Carnival owned by Tim Burton. It's a very difficult perfume to review properly because it evokes feelings more than particular scents. It is fruity, but not in any way you're likely used to. The fruit lurks in the background so that just when you're thinking this is a dark and ominous kind of fragrance, it pops out and makes it fun and silly. A lot of times, I find that perfumes I sample are either wearable but not very original, or original but not very wearable. This is the first one in a while I've found to be both highly original and highly wearable. Longevity and sillage are great, as is the case with all the perfumes I've tried from this house. This is definitely full bottle worthy for me. It's just so interesting.

For me this is totally gorgeous. I don't usually enjoy fruitiness in a fragrance but somehow this is different. The jammy raspberry note is hard to actually pick out for me, it just provides a syrupy feel and the grapefruit freshens it slightly whilst adding warmth. This fragrance to me is like sunshine in a bottle. A real stunner and unlike anything else I've ever sniffed. Longevity is at least 10 hours and projection is good but not intrusive, just how I want it, it will be noticed but won't be knocking people out. I love this house, the Perfumer Sarah Macartney is so accessible and interactive on social media and you can order samples direct from the website for very reasonable cost. Well worth testing.

I only discovered 4160 Tuesdays last year, but am totally intrigued by the fragrances and this is my current favourite. To me, this is the perfect big girl's version of those candy-sweet high street fragrances for teeny boppers. A big raspberry sherbet fizz explosion when it first goes on, but it settles in to a deeper and more grown-up raspberry/ rose/ violet smell with something green, maybe a bit of tea, in the background which I haven't identified yet. It fades in to slightly powdery violet after a couple of hours and has beautiful longevity. Absolutely LOVE this.

When I spray this fragrance all I get is Palma violets from my childhood / refresher sweets, the longevity is great it lasts all day and I get constant wafts of the violet note, it's quite sweet to my nose and a bit too powdery for my taste, it is a beautiful scent but it's definitely not my usual cup of tea. If you love violet you will love this sherbety confection

I'm beginning to feel jinxed with these 4160 perfumes: here's another one that morphs into thin metallic all-pervasive cheap aftershave that hums persistently on me! Whatever ingredient it is in these perfumes, it is something that I need to avoid because it is the same on skin and on fabric. Try before you buy, seriously.