4160 Tuesdays Faerie Queen for ÇaFleureBon Review (Sarah McCartney) 2024 +A Seductive Giveaway

Sarah McCartney holding 4160 Tuesdays Faerie Queen

“The Faerie Queen we picture isn’t a little Tinkerbell or a sweet, friendly fairy of modern children’s stories; she is powerful and wayward and lives in an alternate reality which intersects with our own and will use the glamour to draw unwary humans into her world”.– Sarah McCartney

4160 Tuesday Faerie Queen marks the fifth collaboration between London based perfumer (White Queen, Red Queen  Dark Queen and Pirate Queen) Sarah McCartney and Editor-in-Chief Michelyn Camen of ÇaFleureBon, in celebration of an astonishing fourteenth birthday this year. This Queen follows her colourful antecedents, and carries both an ethereal beauty and a veil of mischief. Be wary of this Sovereign Ruler; first impressions can deceive.

 Cicely Mary Barker- The Harebell Fairy-this is NOT a Faerie

Traditionally, fairies have a spotless and wholesome public image, encapsulated by the famous illustrations of England’s Ciceley Mary Barker (1895- 1973). Her artwork depicted fairies wearing bluebells as hats, with peachy cheeks and woodland creatures as pets. Barker’s fairies were fully embraced by their public and frolicked gaily in the imagination of sleepy children for generations. However, the faeries (to give them their old school spelling) that inspired Faerie Queen are playing a long game and you may not even know you’ve been seduced until it’s too late. Replace the bluebell hat with a slash of lipstick and a glint in her eye. The peachy cheek is a chiseled cheekbone. Change the woodland creature to a raven.

Faire Queen 4160Tuesdays for CaFleurebon

 Faeries are everywhere, if you know where to look, photo Sarah

This faerie beguiles with her beauty, her red lips and her violet breathed kisses, and leaves no fingerprints at the scene of the crime. You may find yourself helpless in her thrall, despite the great PR job that faeries have pulled off about their ostensibly spotless reputation. If you’re familiar with the Rivers of London series by writer Ben Aaronovitch, then you may feel at home with Sarah McCartney’s muses. They may reel you in with their beauty, but they will always have a secret agenda.

How can you capture such mischief in a bottle? Therein lies the perfumer’s alchemy. With an accord of violets, lipstick (powdery and lustrous) and of course, big old-fashioned tea roses, you are already wide eyed at your first encounter.

 Iris by John Atkinson Grimshaw

The patina of powder (and here it is the work of orris butter and a careful hand) evokes Elizabethan Comfits, also known as rose or violet scented breath sweets. I have a vague recollection of them from my 1970s childhood when handbags were mysterious, and every wardrobe housed stockings and a smart frock for town. The unmistakable lipstick accord lands and lingers mere seconds after spraying. It could be the glossy cupid’s bow of centuries of glamour, or it could be the disembodied and mesmeric mouth of the Samuel Beckett Play “Not I.” Faeries are capricious, and like Mary Poppins, they never explain anything.

So far, so comfort zone, until the classical string quartet starts playing Ziggy Stardust and you’re not sure what world you’ve just entered. This where the well-behaved princess takes you on a journey until she is Queen of your Soul. Through the portal you must go, experiencing the Narnia strangeness of fir leaf and kumquat with its alluring golden sheen and its sharp and sour centre. Sensual musks beguile your senses and heady, strident jasmine absolute lures you into a world where inhibitions lie crushed underfoot on your way in, along with the bluebell hats.

Sarah McCartney and 4160 Tuesdays Faerie Queen in their spiritual home of London

My overall verdict of 4160 Tuesdays Faerie Queen? I smell as if I have just awoken to find myself in a flower bed, feeling slightly drunk, madly in love and with a feeling that I need an alibi, but I’m not sure why.

4160 Tuesdays Faerie Queen is the most playful of all the 4160 Tuesdays Queens but you will need your wits about you not to surrender to the disarming charms of your captor. Or maybe just give in and enjoy the adventure?

Faerie Queen for CaFleureBon by 4160 Tuesdays

Sarah McCartney is holding 4160 Tuesdays Faerie Queen in their spiritual home of London

–Samantha Scriven, Contributor, perfume writer and co-author of The Perfume Companion with Sarah McCartney.

Notes: orange, kumquat, vanilla, violet, orris, jasmine absolute, rose, fir balsam, musk, styrax.

Disclaimer: I was sent a bottle of Faerie Queen by Sarah McCartney of 4160 Tuesdays for this review. Opinions are my own.

4160 Tuesdays Faerie Queen for CaFleurebon 14th anniversary

4160 Tuesdays Faerie Queen photo by Samantha Scriven

Thanks to Nir Guy of Perfumology and Sarah McCartney we have a draw for a 50ml bottle of Faerie Queen by 4160 Tuesdays for a registered ÇaFleureBon reader in THE USA ONLY. If you are not sure if you are registered click here (you must register on our site, or your entry will be invalid). To be eligible please leave a comment with what you thought of Samantha’s review of 4160 Tuesdays  Faerie Queen. Draw closes 4/15/2024

Michelyn’s Note: We welcome back Samantha Scriven, who is a former contributor and also reviewed our 10th Anniversary Queen-Dark Queen

Available only at Perfumology HERE in the USA and soon on 4160Tuesdays site.

Read Sarah and Michelyn’s creative process here

Aether Arts Perfumes Vampire Queen reviewed by Lauryn here.

Can you guess our third Queen?

Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebonofficial @4160tuesdays @sarahmcartneythinks @iscentyouaday and @perfumology

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22 comments

  • Teresa C says:

    Great scene painting in this review, culminating in the wonderful image at the end and the idea that an alibi might be needed! Great story! The scent sounds like a great ride too. I do love a good orris scent and I’m always interested in the fragrances that take us back to another era with a makeuppy vibe.

  • LightOfJoy says:

    Samantha Scriven and Sarah McCartney? What a team! I love their book, so I clicked fast.

    As an overexplainer, I loved the line, “Faeries are capricious, and like Mary Poppins, they never explain anything.” The older I get, the more I’m learning to snip my speech appropriately.

    I live in Texas, USA. Thank you for this giveaway!

  • INYA says:

    I’ve always loved those whimsical pictures of garden fairies. The styrax and kumquat notes are perfect for a scented faerie. Thanks for another wonderful review and draw. MI USA

  • Beverly says:

    Samantha and Sarah and CaFleureBon back together!
    Excited because I adore you all. A wayward lipstick fragrance sounds dreamy and very saucy.
    My favorite line was “a peachy cheeky becomes a chiseled cheekbone. Change the woodland creature to a raven.”
    I love Sarah’s and Samantha’s book Perfume Companion. It’s well-written and I like the mic of high end and drugstore perfumes.
    Fan of White Queen. Sample of Dark Queen used up so it may be time for a bottle.
    How about “dancing queen”?

  • snowflake15 says:

    I love a lipstick accord in fragrances. The review makes me want to rush out and try it. Thank you for the giveaway. NY state. This tickles me extra because we just had the full solar eclipse.

  • Sherin Thomas says:

    I’ve always loved those magical pictures of garden fairies. The styrax and kumquat notes are perfect for a scented faerie. Thanks for another wonderful review and draw. PA, USA

  • SandiL says:

    After reading this review, I’m even more motivated to make the most of the adventure with this Queen and create unforgettable memories. I am excited to see where this adventure takes me. Great review, Sam.

  • Jake Dauod says:

    I really love the imagery in this review. Samantha did a great job of delving into the notes and how they all contribute into making this playful fragrance. These notes are not typically something I would go for, but this review was very intriguing and I would love to try this fragrance. Warm regards form Illinois, USA.

  • Trinity33 says:

    What a delightful review Samantha! I’m gratified to hear that wearing Faerie Queen makes you feel a little bit naughty. Why else would you need an alibi? The fragrance sounds like it encompasses a riot of flowers with well blended fruit and earth and a finish of sensuous musk. I’m in the US.

  • mmerline says:

    I like this spirited, seductive take on the fey in McCartney’s tribute to ÇaFleureBon’s fourteenth anniversary. It’s interesting to see a modern spin on powdery orris lipstick accords, which feel like a nod to the past, and the fir leaf and kumquat are certainly an unexpected twist. Fun concept. Thanks for the fun review, Samantha.

    I’m in the midwest, USA.

  • NewSmells says:

    Love the review by Samantha and excited for this collab fragrance. Really enjoyed the details and background stories of the context behind the name, and some very unique accords in this fragrance that I look forward to.
    Love from the TX, USA.

  • Doubleoh says:

    When I think of Faeries I think of whimsical, magical forest creatures. There are legends that say they lead travelers astray when they comes into contact with them so the story with the painting and everything tie in well. The rose or violet scented breath sweets that is evoked from the orris butter Samantha mentions brings me to a forest scene in my imagination and potentially running into one of these mythical creatures. The whiffs of kumqat and sensual musks would definitetly have me following that scent with a smile

  • opalbear says:

    Ooh I’m so pleased this is out and ready!! I love love love kumquat and it’s such the perfect citrus for a faerie- smoll, quaint, sweet but tart and I even eat the skin and all! And of course I will always be charmed by violet. How could you not? Always unique, confident but not over bearing. I love Sarah’s work and I’m so excited to try this! Thank you Nir and Sarah for the chance to win. I am in California.

  • sav17 says:

    I’ve wanted Faerie Queen since I read Michelyn’s article about the fragrance. I am glad to see it featured again! Violet, lipstick, and rose are some of my favorite note combinations. I loved Samantha’s comment about how Faerie Queen ultimately made her smell, like she had “awoken to find myself in a flower bed, feeling slightly drunk, madly in love and with a feeling that I need an alibi”.

    I have no idea what the third Queen will be, but I know it will be lovely. Maybe it’s Disco Queen? Thank you, Samantha, for the great review, and thank you to Nir Guy for the giveaway! I am located in the USA.

  • foreverscents says:

    I like that the faeries that Sarah McCartney is championing have a cheeky and seductive side. Faerie Queen sounds beguiling and alluring. The violet, vanilla, jasmine and kumquat notes sound very glamourous and inhibited. I like the idea that faeries are everywhere, that we just need to know where to look.
    I live in the USA.

  • madamepeace says:

    What I absolutely love about Samantha’s review of 4160 Tuesday’s Faerie Queen fragrance is how much more grownup of a fairy type this is than the traditional folklore faeries we are taught to perceive as the Fae. This is Fae that sounds a bit more mysterious and tricksy, just my kind of fairy! The orris, styrax and kumquat all in one fragrance sounds like it holds innocent violet daydreams with an undercurrent of mischievous twilight within it. Thank you for the opportunity at this draw for one of 4160 Tuesdays fragrances! Would be out of this world ecstatic to get my nose on this! From OR, USA.

  • roxhas1cat says:

    Love that overall verdict of Faerie Queen and being in the flower bed with an alibi. I shall imagine what that will be for, might make a good movie opener. I do enjoy violet mints, they aren’t so easy to fine. I hope Sarah captured mischief in a bottle. I wore White Queen this weekend and am pulling out my sample of Red Queen tonite. Thanks for the chance! USA

  • TheTara says:

    Sounds lovely! I enjoyed Samantha contrasting fairies (and yes I grew up looking at Cicely Mary Barker’s illustrations) with the far more dangerous and beguiling faeries, who can make you lose time like Rip Van Winkle. I also felt very sophisticated the first time I found violet mints at World Market, so I enjoyed that comparison as well. Thanks and hello from CO, USA!

  • realtyisme says:

    Sarah McCartney has a very special way of bringing her olfactive stories to life. Two of my favorite stories that I currently own from 4160 Tuesdays, are “Brackenbury” and “The Dark Heart of Old Havana”. Every time I apply, I’m taken away to a special place.

    Faerie Queen has captured my attention. Samantha has wonderfully described this creation as “Mischief In A Bottle”. I love the concept. 🙂
    USA

  • wallygator88 says:

    Thanks for the great review and thanks to Nir and Sarah McCartney for the great review.

    I think it’s quite cool to see iris being used in the context of mischief, rather than comfort or sensuality. Violets, roses and kumquats just add to the charm of this fragrance.

    Cheers from WI, USA