Chocolate. We all love chocolate. (Most of us, anyway. There are a few aberrants in the species.)

I fucking loove chocolate.

Until a couple of years ago, I didn’t think I wanted to smell like chocolate, but things being what they are (tastes change, yo) now I do.

It started very innocently with a little California Chocolate by Olympic Orchids. Smells exactly like those orange/chocolate candy things in the shape of an orange that you can pound on a table, and when you unwrap the foil, it has split itself into pieces of chocolate molded to look like slices of orange. Very clever. Anyhow, the perfume. It was enjoyable, a cheap thrill. Much like the candy. Brief, and to the point.

Then there was Seattle Chocolate, also by Olympic Orchids. This one just smells great on a foggy night. It clings and wraps around the wearer like a fluid scarf of cashmere, warmth, and… chocolate. (You see where I’m going with this?)

Well fine. That’s all very fine and dandy. We don’t really get any foggy nights here in the Mission, they happen once in a blue moon, so See’s Candy was safe, it still had the bragging rights to perfect chocolate olfaction.

Until THIS.

This would be none other than 4160 Tuesdays Over The Chocolate Shop.

Oh damn.

It is ooey. It is gooey. It is sticky. It is sweet, and it is perfect. It smells like Betty Crocker’s box cake mix in, you guessed it – chocolate flavor!

It’s amazing.

There’s something incredibly warming about it, something very comforting about it. Depending on the day, I’ll get a whiff of coffee beans, maybe I’ll imagine some burnt caramel into there. Other days it’s just straight up box cake mix. It’s really fabulous.

It’s very simple, and some days, that is all that you need.

It’s on my wish list. I think Santa is done with me for the year, but I’m a big girl and I’ve got a job lined up for January, so I think you can guess what happens next.

If you’re in San Francisco, you can smell it at Tigerlily Perfumery at 973 Valencia Street in the Mission. If you’re not in SF, you can order yourself a sample here and support a small, woman-owned business while you’re at it.

Peace, love, and chocolate to you all.