Centrepiece

Centrepiece began as an accident of hospitality. A perfume connoisseur who visited 4160 Tuesdays' studio after a chance meeting at Fortnum & Mason's ice cream parlour picked out his favourite materials on the spot, honey, green tea, frangipani and cedarwood, and asked if they could be turned into a perfume. Sarah McCartney took those and folded in extra ice cream fragrances of her own: vanilla, citrus sorbets and a hint of chocolate. This is that same recipe at full parfum concentration. Honey and a light green tea freshness open it, with a thread of citrus sorbet keeping the sweetness from feeling heavy. The heart is unmistakably frangipani, tropical and floral, backed by a smooth cedarwood that gives it structure rather than letting it turn purely sugary. As it settles, vanilla and musk take over, warmed by a hint of chocolate, a gourmand base described by one taster as intoxicating and very sexy without ever tipping into cloying. At parfum strength this reads richer and longer-lasting than the lighter concentrations, a dense, comforting scent built around the same sense of calm the studio felt while sniffing the original blend on the lab bench. It suits close, personal wear more than a room-filling statement, equally at home on a date night or a cosy evening in, and it holds its gourmand warmth for hours. Centrepiece made its UK debut at Fortnum & Mason on Piccadilly and remains sold there in the house's own perfume salon rather than through general retail, a fitting home for a scent built from one connoisseur's own favourite materials. It sits alongside the house's other honey-forward gourmands, for anyone who wants that same decadent warmth turned up to its fullest strength.