4160 Tuesdays: Over the Chocolate Shop Review

I've tried a few 4160 Tuesday fragrances before and definitely wavered on my love for them - I definitely had a brief love affair with Creamy Vanilla Crumble, and subsequently, Rhubarb and Custard, but I rarely if ever reach for them anymore. However. I've recently been dabbling into niche gourmands again to see if I've been missing any of the rare hits, and I picked up another one of the houses' scents just to give it another go. I picked my sample up directly from Luckyscent.com. 

Notes: Praline, cocoa butter, coffee, hazelnut, vanilla

Despite the notes, this is surprisingly not as sweet as I'd expected. From the reviews, it's been pretty mixed about the foodie/gourmand aspects of this scent, and I can definitely see why - it's a surprisingly bitter and almost woody fragrance, although mixed with the herbal qualities of tobacco, it does mildly lean towards a slightly too smoky cigarette scent. I do get whiffs of a too bitter coffee note on first spray which reminds me a lot of Followed (Kerosene) in a less than lovely way, and a very dry bitter dark chocolate powder, but this is not sweet - I don't pick up on any of the praline, hazelnut or vanilla at all. Considering I tend to amp sweetness in every single scent I own, this offers no sweetness at all. 

I've seen some reviews compare this scent to a chocolate shop with more of an atmospheric angle, and I agree - there's a slight mustiness, and dustiness in this scent, and the addition of the stained dark wood and the tendrils of cigarette smoke, this is definitely giving an old cottage with a pinch of chocolate. I really don't enjoy this one at all, and for these notes, I'd probably recommend checking out Jousset's Sheeesh! instead - a much more indulgent. Nutella adjacent chocolate scent for a niche alternative. Wish I liked this one more, but I'm sure someone else will love it more than I do.