I met Sarah McCartney of 4160 Tuesdays when I went to London last March. She is a quirky, funny and utterly approachable perfumer who is successful with her own small line.
Sarah gives the most unusual names to her perfumes (e.g.: The Sexiest Scent On The Planet. Ever. (IMHO) or Time To Draw The Raffle Numbers) and that alone tells me what an interesting person she must be. The name of her line refers to the number of Tuesdays the average person is likely to have in a lifetime.
Let’s see what she tells us about herself in the questionnaire…
A good day starts with…
a good idea.
I’d never leave the house without…
lipstick, glasses and an extra layer in case it gets chilly.
I always feel good when…
I’ve paid my bills.
My favorite thing in the world is…
flexibility.
The next thing I want to buy is…
Fortnum & Mason patês de fruits, and for work, some peach CO2 extract.
The place I always come back to is…
the Royal Festival Hall looking out over the Thames.
My personal style is…
quirky lighthearted kindness with extra added colourful. Plus rigorous nerdy detail.
My favorite perfume…
exists in my head but not yet in a bottle. In the meantime, Diorella.
When I travel I always …
pack a lot of spare socks.
To relax I need…
to remember to tell myself to relax.
When I have a bad day…
I remind myself that as long as the buses are running, I’ve got fresh water and no one’s shooting at me, I’m doing OK.
I like to gift people with…
things they can use up or give away so they’re not encumbered with my – possibly mistaken – vision of what’s perfect for them.
I find my inspiration…
by observing, paying attention: sounds, smells, tastes, words, colours. Then jumbling them up, blending and transforming them. I never stop. It’s quite tiring.
Something I would never want to miss…
My sense of taste. I lost it for a week, with the chance that it had gone forever. Eating was such a disappointment. Now, I really appreciate it. Really.
My last mistake was…
eating the ultra acidic raw rhubarb that took out my taste buds.
In my fridge there is always…
oatmilk, pink grapefruit juice, coffee & blackcurrant cordial, plain live yoghurt. (And pickled onions.)
On my nightstand I keep…
nightstand? On the floor by my bed I’ve got my diary, a pen, a notebook for ideas, a detective novel, lip balm and my alarm clock. And a spare duvet in case it gets chilly.
The perfect weekend starts with…
yoga, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.
My role model is…
non existent, as I don’t feel comfortable with the concept, but I admire the imagination and work of Sir Paul Smith and Jeremy Deller.
Something I always want to be asked in questionnaires like this is…
If you’d listened to your parents, what would you be doing now?
My parents wanted me to… be principal clarinet with the London Symphony Orchestra or an accountant but mostly happy and financially stable (father) and a Cambridge maths lecturer because she thought I was a great deal more mathematically minded than I am (mother).
I particularly liked Sarah’s answer to having a bad day, I’ve written it down in my notebook as a reminder to take myself a bit less seriously.
Thank you for taking part in the People in Perfumeland series, Sarah!
Have you tried anything from 4160 Tuesdays?
Olfactoria's Travels 
Thanks to cat antics I’m up an about early this morning, so thank you for a lovely read with my first coffee in bed. I do like Sarah’s habits of extra socks, layers and duvets; very Unbritish…
And I like her perfumes of course. My favourite is the sexiest scent ever, of which I keep a small decant (gifted by Sarah for the PLL xmas event) on my nightstand for comfort sniffing.
I’m very curious about the sexiest scdnt ever too. It sure sounds convincing. 😉
Hope you did get enough sleep!
Yes, I like the reasoning for bad day as well. 🙂
I wonder what the perfume in Sarah’s head is going to smell like… 😉
Hopefully one day we smell it!
She seems like a lot of fun. I also have to appreciate anyone who anticipates being cold all the time. I’m like that with the extra layers and blankets.
I recently won a bottle of one of her perfumes, Urura’s Tokyo Cafe. It’s not what I expected but in a good way. I’ve been wearing it for a few days now so I can review it and it’s like a different scent each time on me. I’m curious about The Sexiest Scent on the Planet. Ever. That’s something I totally need to try.
I can’t help but think of Starship Enterprise’s Lt. Uhura every time that perfume is mentioned. 😉
Looking forward to your review!
I love Sarah’s answer to “When I’ve Had a Bad Day” – and in regard to what was her last mistake, I can only say “ouch!” (I can’t imagine eating rhubarb raw, and now I definitely won’t try it. 😀 Glad she got her tastebuds back.)
Have not tried her perfumes, but the names she comes up with for them are fantastic!
I’ll steer clear of rhubarb too now!
The names are so creative and easy to remember. Take note all you number loving perfume houses! 😉
Raw rhubarb? Noooooooo. Never. Maybe Sarah confused it with celery? Must check this out when I am next in London. I take it Sarah keeps coffee in the fridge and blackcurrant cordial, as opposed to coffee & blackcurrant cordial?? Great answers to everything. xxx
You lost me at your coffee and cordial discussion… English is my second language after all.
What an interesting and astute lady! I haven’t tried any of her fragrances and unfortunately ALzD no longer offer 4160 Tuesdays…
Hm, I like the idea of a Tuesday fragrance.
I know quite some musicians with a deep interest and knowledge of mathematics and since music and composing perfumery is at least distantly related, there could be a link between father, mother and daughter (?).
Anka, I was thinking the same thing! I think Math and music and perfume composition are all related.
Yes, I have tried a few of the fragrances and they are too quirky for me. “Says Alice” so far is my favorite. The “Old Havana” one smelled like a dirty ashtray, empty rum glass next to a trash bin on me- not good! The “Sunshine & Pancakes” was equally bad on my skin. I’m trying the other samples I have, hoping for some good results.
I haven’t tried anything by Sarah yet, so I can’t say how they are on me. Good luck with your remaining samples!
Interesting timing. I was just in the middle of reviewing one of her scents yesterday, one that Duncan has really taken to heart. Sarah slipped a full bottle in my bag at the very same meet up in London!
I’ll be looking forward to that review then.
I thoroughly enjoyed Sarah’s answers, as I was sure I would. My favourite was a toss up between how she relaxes (so true), her various allusions to cold extremities (can relate to that too!) and the sensory overload inherent in the world around us. Which in turn reminds me of the line in Louis MacNeice’s Snow which I have probably quoted before on here: ‘the drunkenness of things being various’. So I agree with Sarah that it must be ‘quite tiring’ – a fine example of our great British understatement!
That is a great quote and no, I don’t think you ever used it here. I’m glad you did today!