VIANNE'S CONFESSION by 4160 Tuesdays

The recipe of emotions and inspirations that go into a perfume are equally as important as the ingredients that the perfumer chooses. This is because the direction that a fragrance ultimately takes can be a very linear affair if there is little substance to the background story. Unveiling these multiple layers is one of the joys of wearing a scent that defies convention because, just as you turn the pages of a book, the development of a perfume transitions from prologue to epilogue. The perfect example of this has to be Vianne’s Confession from 4160 Tuesdays, and it’s a scented story that has been waiting patiently to be told.

Joanne Harris is a literary name that, if you haven’t actually read, you will definitely have watched. She was the writer of Chocolat, the 1999 novel that became a successful film the following year. Originally a French teacher, she once said that she had been told her writing style was “neither commercial nor fashionable enough to succeed”… well, that person is probably choking on their bar of Dairy Milk right now! The film brought the life of Vianne and her daughter Anouk to a worldwide audience and, while further books continued the story, there was so much still to be uncovered in Vianne’s past.

Twenty-six years later we are finally being given the answers in Joanne Harris’ new book, simply called Vianne. Set six years before the original story, it literally takes the ashes of grief and transforms them into bittersweet awakenings, but always with the eternal warning of the danger in revealing the true desires of those around you. With flavour and scent being so closely associated, having a perfume created that was inspired by both Vianne, her environment and her journey was a stroke of genius, and there was only one person who could possibly take on such a task.

Sarah McCartney of 4160 Tuesdays is a maverick in the perfume world, and has never been afraid to use bold flavours and intoxicating aromas. To create Vianne’s Confession, she worked with Joanne to explore how different ingredients resonated with the writer, but they also considered how they would be perceived through Vianne’s eyes. In the same way that books are wonderfully challenging, so can be perfumery, and so the pair have really gone to town with their choices. In an industry where new releases don't often smell "new", prepare to take notes, because Vianne’s Confession is no fictional frivolity.

The perfume opens with a smoky bergamot, immediately amplifying the church-like incense notes, before a rose geranium makes itself known. This adds an earthiness to the fragrance, along with its androgynous floral aspects, before a green-leaf aroma seems to expand the scent outwards. You get wonderful whispers of ancient books, perhaps Vianne’s journals, and the promised bitter chocolate. This unsweetened quality is fascinating, especially when added to by a whopping dose of dry and piercing oakmoss, because it’s given a sensuous edge thanks to sticky labdanum. A final glass of cognac places us happily back in Marseille but, with a scented spell in every bottle, there are definitely secrets waiting to be revealed.

Vianne’s Confession is available from the 4160 Tuesdays website at 4160Tuesdays.com, in a limited edition of 1000 bottles, and is priced at £75 for 30ml. [Sample provided by Sarah McCartney]