Pinched With Four Aces

[iiinterstate]

Pinched With Four Aces, C.M. Coolidge.
Colorado Maduro tobacco wrappers, cinnamon bark, coffee bean husk, and dry woods.

Mmmmmmmm sweet tobacco and cinnamon. After a little while, there is a tiny bit of coffee. Or maybe I only imagine it. Either way, it's great. Coffee is very hit-or-miss on me.

Overall, the woods and the tobacco dominate, with cinnamon as a nice afterthought. It's very warm, very comforting, and PERFECTLY balanced. I really do like this a LOT, but I probably wouldn't fork over my paycheck for a bottle. (however, if it ever makes a return appearance I would stock up.)

Okay, in reality I would probably splurge a bit on a bottle if I ever got the chance and the $$. This is really wonderful.

[angelicruin]

I finally scored a bottle of this after searching for some time. And it's definitely worth the hype.

 

Inside the bottle, butterscotch latte with just a whiff of smoke.

 

Wet on the skin, caramel coffee and tobacco, a teensy bit smoky. On dry down, no more smoke or tobacco and I'm left with caramel coffee. I never got any cinnamon out of this, but I'm so very happy to finally have a bottle of this.

 

A must for coffee note fans.

[moonstonemama]

in the imp: mmm, doesn't smell that great to me

 

wet: smells better, woods and cinnamon

 

dry: this is really remarkable. it smells so freaking good. I think I would bathe in this blend if it weren't so prohibitively costly.

 

I absolutely understand what all the fuss is about with this blend.

 

 

 

(fortunately for me, Velvet Dogs Playing Poker actually smells better on me or to me.)

[sirensea]

I actually moaned when I smelled this one. This is creamy coffee topped with the warmest, smoothest cinnamon you can imagine. I think I'm in love.

[pugmom]

frimped this by an awesome forumite!!

 

wet - unfortunately a large blast of cinammon for me, but I tend to amp it.

 

20 minutes in - cinnamon burned off thankfully and now I am left with a smooth creamy coffee with the slightest bit of sweet tobacco and vanilla notes. Gorgeous and I can see wearing this a lot in colder weather.

 

I am so happy I got to try this!

[devilot]

Pinched with Four Aces

In the Vial: Woody, cocoa?

 

Wet: Creamy, hint of wood, like a latte. Very light.

 

Drydown: Still so faint! Definitely creamy, sweet, and slightly woody. But the combined blend with the sheerness of it (light throw) means that it almost fools the nose into thinking it's a light floral!

 

Verdict: It's lovely, but for a much-loved rarity? It's not for me. My stupid skin chemistry eats fragrances up and the gorgeous subtlety of this blend is swallowed up and is almost impossible to detect on me. I can see how this would just be to-die-for on other folks whose skin don't make this disappear. Sigh.

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Golden oil. Rich coffee, tobacco (almost a foody tobacco note), light cinnamon. Almost-foody, very rich and deep and luscious.

 

Wet: Tobacco really blooms on my skin, and the dry woods come out - sandalwood and mahogony and teak. This is one of those foody-masculine scents. Almost buttery on my skin, and quite sweet - definitely some tonka. The coffee note is very light and like real coffee, not artificially flavoured stale coffee as the lab's note usually is. And the cinnamon doesn't amp like crazy on my skin!

 

Dry: Not a morpher, this one, although it does become more beautiful over time. The woods are dry, but not too dry, and they are deep and masculine - they cut the sweetness of the tonka and the almost-foody, super-rich tobacco. The coffee and cinnamon are very light notes on me - these are notes I can never ever wear and yet they are true on me here - no weird morphing, they just smell exactly as they should.

 

Summary: This is too rich, foody, and masculine for my tastes, but I absolutely understand its popularity. Tobacco, tonka and woods (with the teak really standing out on drydown) dominate with lighter touches of coffee and cinnamon. It is a very well-made, superbly blended scent with intense throw and fabulous longevity.

Edited December 30, 2009 by fairnymph

[tsarina]

The scent is like a heavenly cinnamon rich coffee cake, mellowed out with that fragrant note of fresh tobacco. I don't smell any of the wood, which is a blessing for me, as that often goes dry and dusty on my skin. The coffee is strong, but it is a very creamy, brewed coffee instead of just beans. The cinnamon note is not sharp. It's remarkably smooth. There's that sweet push of tobacco leaves and then more rich coffee goodness. It seems to last forever on me.

[Imbrium]

Some time ago, a very kind forumite gifted me with an imp of this in a swap. I read the notes and thought, I can imagine why it's so popular, but it doesn't sound like me. Then I promptly put it in my imp box and went blissfully on with my life...until something possessed me to try this out tonight.

 

Oh. My. God. This smells amazing. Somehow, the notes listed combine on my skin to create this warm, creamy vanilla--not foody, and not resin-y/spicy the way that the vanilla single note is on me--balanced with musk, perhaps? Possibly the dry woods? Warm and comforting, it sits close to the skin and reminds me of the vanilla perfume I used to wear when I was a ridiculous pre-teen--only so much better. WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED?

 

Ahem. In any case, I love this. I absolutely understand what the fuss is about. Luckily for me, Antique Lace develops similarly on my skin. Otherwise, I might possibly go insane and/or broke tracking down more. As it is, I will treasure my imp.

Edited July 28, 2010 by Imbrium

[ami226]

On the skin: A soft cinnamon wood. Huh. Not something I would normally expect from a blend with cinnamon! This is actually a very smooth, slightly sweet blend.

 

Hmmmm, something on my skin is turning even sweeter. Tobacco? Not very strong at all on me though. I really have to lean in to sniff it. Can't smell any cinnamon anymore. Or woods. Just a sweetness.

 

Quite nice smelling, but it just sticks too close to my skin for my taste.

[CreamyJade]

In the decant: Much sweeter than expected! Sweet cherry tobacco, sweet cinnamon, a bit of woods.

Wet on skin: Sweet tobacco, hints of coffee, spices, woods.

Dry on skin: Sweet tobacco backed up by creamy spices, true vanilla bean and woods. It's rich, warm, delicious, oh my.

Final thoughts: I got myself in trouble by trying it, because it is amazing! It's a non-foody foody (more gourmand than edible), but I don't detect a straight coffee note out of it. The blends evolves in a creamy, smooth, sweet, gourmand, slightly woody but still sophisticated scent. I'd love a bottle, and I may start looking for one soon...

Try if you like: Black Lace

[fetish911]

Every now and again, I have one of those "WTF? BPAL!" moments. This is one of them.

 

Most of the notes listed on this blend should not work on me and aren't even my taste. Except for anything coffee. I LOVE coffee notes. But the way people go crazy over this one, I figured there must be somthing up. So when I put it on and my "OMG WTF BPAL this is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" moment happened, I was sad and at the same time so surprised. Surprised because this is the most gorgeous creamy vanilla & sweet cherry tobacco scent with not a trace of cinnamon (I hate cinnamon)and a hint of wood. I love it. These notes all blend superbly and smell just beautiful. Based on the notes, I would never even have given this a second look. I am sad cause this one is so expensive on the rare occasion that it goes up for sale. I probly won't ever find anymore than this tester. I haz the sad.

so. damn. lovely.

 

[crebbsgirl]

This should not work nearly as well as it does on my skin. Coffee is usually a no-go. But all of the other notes usually work, so I had hope. And boy, am I glad I got to try this because it is PURE WIN. It's the tobacco scent I've been searching for. Sweet and rich, the coffee adds a gourmand edge to this. I effing love it.

[OctoberGwen]

Oh dear God, this smells wonderful.

 

It's just a perfect balance of not-too-sweet (is that subtle sweetness from the cinnamon bark?), a tiny bit of an edge from the tobacco (wrappers), and a gorgeous woody quality - nice and dry, just how I want my scents, but with a lovely depth.

 

Absolutely wonderful.

 

Thank you so much for the tester, sunshinedaisybliss. Should I kiss you or kick you, as I will never ever find any more of this?

 

 

Honestly, I'm so glad I got to try it.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2013 by OctoberGwen

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Mmm, rich. Warm, spicy, woody coffee. Despite the distinct coffee and spice notes, this somehow totally avoids being foodie. It comes across very unisex. I love how it smells on me, and I think I would love it on a man as well. I think I get what all the fuss is about, this is pretty amazing. There is something so comforting about this. It has just the right amount of sweetness (which, for me, is quite a bit, I love sweet perfume). I can't stop sniffing my arm. Mmmmmmm.

 

 

Dry: Pure love. The tobacco in this is gorgeously subdued, everything is just so well blended, perfectly balanced. It makes me sigh contentedly when I sniff my arm.

[milo]

I have been wanting to try this for AGES, so thanks to Lizzie, I was able to get a tester. At first, I'm getting vanilla and spices (cassia). At this point, it is reminding me of my favourite Scentsy scent EVER, Vanilla Suede. This scent is now discontinued, (I'm not sure why, it was very popular), which I stocked up on when I knew it was going. After a bit, there are more spices and just a touch of tobacco, and SWEET. A little too sweet, actually. This blend is also reminding me of something else bpal, but I can't think of what at the moment. Maybe Storyville, so I know that doesn't help, haha. So basically now, its Vanilla Suede with baking spices and a touch of tobacco. I like this, but I know how hard it is to come by. All you clever bpals may be able to get something similar if you layer Inez or Edith Cushing with some cassia and tobacco, and you may get something similar. I actually prefer Vanilla Suede, which I have in perfume form too, so I guess I dodged a bullet.

 

FWIW, I don't get any coffee, which I really don't like in perfume. Weird how this one is different on everyone.

Edited December 10, 2016 by milo

[Deceitfuldescender]

This is not my typical sort of blend, but it melds together seamlessly. A slightly sweet blend of chewy tobacco, understated cinnamon, a breath of coffee maybe a whiff of wood, sweet. It is nice and comforting, like cuddling in on a cold autumn evening with a great book and a big slouchy sweater. I has considered selling this before retesting it, but nope, staying staying.

Edited August 24, 2017 by Deceitfuldescender

[hackess]

In the bottle, it's...y'know the caramel flavoring syrup for coffee? It's that, the second it hits your cup. Sweet, but not saccharine. It rolls around in the back of my nose and makes me crave a macchiato. No spice, no dry or dusty here, just a sticky coffee I want to slurp.

Wet: Right away, it's dry, sweet tobacco leaves & warm spices. There's a hint of something creamy in the background, as though I'm drinking Kahula in the study while appreciating unlit cigars. It's rich and warm and makes me think of sitting on a leather armchair commandingly...seductively.

Dry: I licked my arm, it's that sexy. It reminds me so strongly of the sandalwood lotion an old flame used.

I've been using a drop at a time, so the throw isn't huge, but this doesn't feel like a scent to be broadcast. It's intimate, for dark deeds in dark corners. You know exactly what you're doing, and you're annoyed by interruptions.

...It's going to be hard to resist wearing this all the time.

[doomsday_disco]

Pinched With Four Aces starts off with a waxy sweet tobacco, like the kind that tends to be used in wax melts, but then the waxiness goes away, and the coffee husk somehow adds a bit of creaminess to the tobacco, and the cinnamon, while present, is light and never takes over. It ends up being a warm, sweet tobacco scent that's complemented perfectly by the other notes.

 

When I first applied this, I thought I didn't get the hype, but once the waxiness went away, I totally got why it's sought after. It is really nice. And I am so glad this was frimped to me so that I could try it.   But I won't try to hunt down more of this, since there is always new stuff coming out to discover and love.

Edited December 28, 2020 by doomsday_disco

[AbbyNormal]

A few years ago I bought Pinched w/ Four Pumpkins and fell head over heels. I knew there was pretty much zero chance of ever being able to try the original Pinched but I adored it so much that I didn’t care. 
 

Thanks to a very generous forumite I now have a tester of the OG in my grubby little hands. I can see why it is so sought after! I put on the tiniest drop and it bloomed into a glorious tobacco with a touch of cinnamon and creaminess. I don’t get any coffee, and the woods are there but hanging out in the background. That said, and this might sound a bit blasphemous, but I actually prefer Pumpkins 🤫 (probably just because it was the one I encountered first). But that doesn’t mean I won’t treasure every drop of Aces and be so grateful that I was given the opportunity to try it 🥰