Burnt Cedar Rainbow Doves

Burnt Cedar Rainbow Doves announces itself with smoke first: cedar bonfire, sharp and outdoorsy, like standing at the edge of a formal garden while something is burning nearby. It is a loud, distinctive opening, built to be noticed rather than eased into. The smoke gives way to a genuinely odd floral heart - wild rose and mock orange, with geranium threading through - that reads as more overgrown hedge than cut-flower bouquet, all set against the fading edge of the bonfire smell. From there it moves into its most divisive stretch: civet and oakmoss bring a warm, animalic, slightly powdered skin quality, while a very prominent musk and a genuinely unusual sugared almond note push the dry-down toward something sweet and edible. Wearers either fall for that combination completely or find it overwhelming - reception is genuinely split, with descriptions ranging from a rich princess cake to something closer to an artificial, hard-to-place musk that a few wearers find too much. Performance is substantial and it evolves noticeably over the course of a wear, moving through distinct phases rather than settling quickly, which suits people who like a fragrance that keeps changing on skin. It is not a shy scent, more suited to occasions where an unusual, conversation-starting fragrance is welcome than to a quiet office day. It was made for a London Craft Week collaboration built around the eccentric composer Lord Berners, and that theatrical, slightly absurd spirit carries through: it sits at the strangest, most animalic end of 4160 Tuesdays' catalogue, closer to a chaos-in-velvet-gloves personality piece than to the house's gentler florals.