After reviewing independent perfumer Sarah McCartney’s collaborative Zoologist Macaque yesterday, I thought I’d review one of her fragrances for her own brand 4160 Tuesdays.
Ms. McCartney has been making perfume for about five years now. The name of her brand comes from the idea that if you live to be 80-years old you will see 4160 Tuesdays. Ms. McCartney has admirably crated a brand which is eclectic in all the best ways that adjective can be applied. She has no hesitation to take risks which also allows for her to find really great combinations in the unexpected. I had fallen behind on her latest releases because she is a prolific perfumer, too. She kindly sent me a bunch of samples to catch me up. The one I liked best was last year’s Maxed Out.
Maxed Out is a tribute to Ms. McCartney’s friend Max Heusler a perfume vlogger from New York City. Mr. Heusler had allowed perfume to replace his hard partying days as a younger man. Ms. McCartney wanted to design a perfume which reminded him of those hard charging over-the-top nights. To that end she chose to make Maxed Out an overstuffed night out.
Sarah McCartney
Maxed Out opens with a rum cocktail cut with coconut and lime. Ms. McCartney wanted Maxed Out to be decadent and right from the first moments she accomplishes this as the rum accord burns with intensity, what goes with a drink at the bar is something to smoke. Ms. McCartney provides both options as a honeyed tobacco mingles with cannabis accord. Like a snowball going downhill they pick up the rum and head for the base. There they are met with a piquant sweaty accord of musk, cumin, and black pepper. My favorite part is the final moment is a wonderfully sly wink of a coffee note to remind you of every cup at a diner just before the sun comes up.
Maxed Out has 10-12 hour longevity and as an extrait has low sillage.
Maxed Out is of a class of perfume which is almost like tossing a kitchen sink worth of notes together. It takes a lot of patience to keep all of these notes working towards an effective cohesion. Ms. McCartney does make it happen seemingly effortlessly. Ms. McCartney is one of those recent additions to the ranks of independent perfumers who blazes her own path fearlessly. I continue to look forward to what comes next.
Disclosure: This review was based on a sample provided by 4160 Tuesdays.
–Mark Behnke
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