Agni’s thoughts on the January Joy Box 2026 fragrances

It’s a toss-up which part of the JJB experience feels most special: waking up to another intriguing fragrance from Sarah’s endlessly inventive mind, or opening Facebook to read the wonderful story Agni has written to go along side it. Luckily, we got both. 

If you’d like to read Agni’s beautiful descriptions of the fragrances and how they made her feel, which she shared on Facebook, you can read them below. These fragrances aren’t available to buy, but hopefully reading about them will almost make you feel like you’ve experienced them.

Posted on 1st January 2026

Hello and a very Happy New Year to all you lovely people! Welcome to yet another year’s January Joy Box unboxing together (I actually wanted to use the coffee cup emoji because I am pretty sure everyone rose early to sniff & chat? No? Only me?)Okay then- here we go!

I have always been a bookworm way before it was a fashion statement, before the dressy “bibliophile” was used by any and everyone- in a different time & age where books were the only escape & friends (I was an only child & a shy one!) and not bought as accessories to show off on social media or kept as decor on Ikea Billy bookcases. Anyone who knew me even a bit knew my wildest fantasy- to be locked in a library for an entire day & read undisturbed & undiscovered We had “library classes” in primary school where we all had to select a book & sit down to actually read it (most of my classmates were busy prodding & punching each other & getting punished consequently which they didn’t seem to mind as long as they didn’t have to READ) & I wished for that class to simply stretch endlessly on. I was that proud nerd who hid Enid Blytons & Agatha Christies then graduated to Arthur Conan Doyles & Perry Mason novels inside all her school books & wait for a chance to devour more pages. My dad is an avid reader & he bought me more & more & we liked nothing better than to read the same books & discuss (he reread the Harry Potter books as many times as I did!) so you can imagine the delight that a library based fragrance made by Sarah would ignite in my book-mad world St.Paul’s Cathedral Library was originally made by Sarah way back in 2017 as a part of a research project to remake lost aromas and I wasn’t lucky enough to smell any inside the labelled bottle on the shelf (yes I tried, of course I did) but I had read/heard that it was loved by everyone & they kept requesting a return. Well, no wonder! SPCL starts off on my skin as a beautiful warm smoky sweet tobacco mingled with woods and instantly transports you inside a beautiful heritage library with rows & rows of tall wooden antique shelves stacked with leather bound & paperback books, the wooden desks polished & gleaming, stacks of yellowed newspapers, slightly curled manuscripts, articles & everything you can dream of. The fragrance gets warmer & sweeter as the gorgeous vanilla surfaces properly & anchors to skin with the smokiness of frankincense. I was surprised & delighted to find this projects well & lasts super long on my skin with the vintage woodiness mingled with hints of beeswax polish (I know there is none!) but it’s the beauty of expert blending- to transport you to a different time and place among mountains of well maintained books, polished wood, the stillness, the calm, the sheer comfort of finding yourself inside your childhood fantasy. I have of course tried different “book/library/bibliotheque” fragrances but have mostly been unswayed or disappointed SPCL however, invokes my nostalgia & places me inside my long coveted comfort bubble & I definitely need a bigger size to tide me over the unforgiving cold weather outside because my JJB size is dented quite significantly Please Sarah can you make more?

The first two photos are courtesy of Google & these are pictures of the actual St. Paul’s Cathedral Library & now I need to go there badly (seriously how beautiful is it ?!) and the others are of my own bookcase (I moved numerous times with my ever increasing number of books & this is the first time I actually have a proper bookcase which me & my husband assembled ourselves & so proud that I have trailing plants & bits & bobs sitting on the shelves as I had always imagined!). Also, isn’t my book lamp absolutely brilliant?

Posted on 6th January 2026

For me, the term “grounded” started off to mean punishment in my childhood thanks to my appetite for books in which children constantly got into trouble at home for meddling & investigating in grown up mysteries (Hello Famous Five) but as I grew up there was nothing better I would have liked than to be “grounded”- to the delightful peace & quiet of my own room, not having to engage with unwanted small talk or people.

It was years later when I found & understood the best interpretation of the word which made the most sense to me and this serene fragrance for our JJB #2 is what it’s all about.

“Grounded” for me is very real, having the time to deep breathe, the headspace to revisit old hobbies, going back to basics, trimming off as many frivolities and pretentious things as possible, feeling at peace with myself when I look in the mirror, a dreamless deep sleep engulfing me every night my head hits the pillow (*touchwood*) .

This beautifully meditative fragrance is right now my most sprayed one after my shower & before bed (yes I have different fragrances curated very carefully for different times of the day, also yes of course I am mad).

It starts off with a clean, green yet extremely soft and cozy vetiver- not the sort which decongests your sinuses but the creamy sort which calms you down in the midst of all chaos and uncertainty. I am immediately transported to a sun dappled forest on a cool but brilliantly sunny day (my favourite sort) and can smell the fresh, slightly damp soil (it must be spring!) , the new wildflowers and some mossy rocks on top of one of which I am sitting in a Pranayam pose (meditative yoga) and yet somehow nearby my familiar incense cones are wafting their soothing tendrils of smoke (I love frankincense used so beautifully in a fragrance!) and I am zoned out yet alert, calm yet not spaced out and love how “Grounded” remains on my skin as a soft, green, zen vetiver-y floral (must be the carrot leaf absolute!) with pops of soft hay without morphing much. Those of you who are familiar with the masterful blending of Sarah’s fragrances already know her strengths in green, woody, calming fragrances and those of you exploring our January Joy Box for the very first time- oh you lucky lot!

The first picture is courtesy Google & captures perfectly my headspace while wearing this beautiful fragrance, the other pictures are my own- my zen yoga cat sitting under my plant, properly grounded, keeping my JJB “Grounded” in very good company.

Posted on 13th January 2026

This JJB fragrance was the one where the name itself was so romantic and intriguing that I was dying to smell it. Paris, the city of romance has been done to death everywhere & in everything and I should ideally not fall into the same trap (I avoid things which are hyped immeasurably, for example- Stranger Things, viral videos on TikTok, new Selfridges exclusive Jellycats etc etc) but Paris? Even after multiple times of visiting, I am unashamedly in love with it .

I visited Paris for the very first time with my parents while I was fresh faced & just out of university , knowing nothing but “bonjour” and “merci” (I have now been learning French on Duolingo for the last couple of years and while that’s just a drop in the ocean, I can awkwardly read/write and even understand a bit of French..passably at least) and even then, despite the cold, hard stares of the locals (the lady at the Gare du Nord information counter almost rolled her eyes at me as she took in my obvious lack of anything French ) I loved everything about the beautiful city. The Seine, the countless perfumeries, the quaint coffee shops serving fresh espressos and obviously the bakeries .

The boulangeries of course, were one of the first things I got acquainted with and even set an alarm to wake up early (unthinkable for a late riser like me and on a holiday too!!!) to stand in a queue of hopefuls in order to be able to buy the oozing cream chocolate eclairs which were inevitably the first ones to be sold out after which the french lady at the counter would purse her lips up & say mercilessly “Non!” when I had asked her hopefully if there are any more.

“Paris Before Sunrise” for me is the rosy nostalgia of the bustling boulangeries where bakers in their starched aprons & hats are checking on their beautiful croissants & choux buns & tutting as they crank up the heat in order to get them out, all golden and beautiful, just in time. This beautiful JJB fragrance transports me instantly into the warm, slightly yeasty (because they are not baked all through yet!) pastries baking in the oven with their generous sprinklings of sugar getting golden and caramelised and this is how it stays on my skin the longest. Needless to say, it’s addictive to the point where I cannot stop smelling my arm or the scarf I had sprayed it on when I first got my hands on it and love how it has a warm toasty dimension to it which softens to a sugary almost powdery floral (do I smell a hint of jasmine??) and lasts on my skin for ages without being cloying or overwhelming. I love my share of gourmand fragrances but too sweet and that’s a no-no for me because it inevitably triggers a headache so I am always searching for the beautiful perfect balance.

“Paris Before Sunrise” for me is one of the few gourmand fragrances that I can actually wear and enjoy while inside my head I am still waiting for the sprinkled crystals of sugar to turn into sticky caramel, the pastries to turn flaky and golden brown, the still warm custard buns to adorn the shelves and for my early morning alarm to ring so that I can enjoy one more boulangerie adventure in Paris before the sun rises and it’s time to come back home.

The first photo is actually of the sunrise in Paris from our hotel room while we were running to get ready for our early morning Eurostar back to London and I can actually smell “Paris Before Sunrise” whenever I close my eyes .

The others are of my daughter discovering her favourite thing from the Paris trip (she is mad about cheese in general and errr so am I!) and my beautiful JJB perfume with a fun cat poster I bought from one of the countless art shops along the banks of the Seine and it’s special to me because I could understand all the french words myself without Google.

Posted on 19th January 2026

Precisely what Sarah said after I had almost given up hope for this year’s JJB to even happen- yes, really. 2025 had been a very busy year for us (of course even more for Sarah!) and she was so incredibly caught up with various diverse projects that there seemed to be no way that we would be getting our yearly January Joy Box to look forward to in 2026- something to cheer us up through the most dismal month of the year when it’s damper, darker, colder and people are trying to be upbeat and mostly failing. I look forward to unboxing these little treasures all year long (as I am sure you all do) and to discuss and catch up with all you lovely fragrance freaks and to accept that it might not happen was upsetting. I think it was towards the end of October that Sarah announced that JJB is still on because she somehow managed to make time to create some new beautiful blends for us & I almost skipped around in glee (well inside my head I did!) and yes, for me that’s what “All is Not Lost” was at that moment

If you remember “Invite Me In “ from JJB last year which was a deep dark rose, this is a cousin version because a lot of our projects are “work in progress” but to me personally, this version is more beautiful because I prefer my rosy heart (in a fragrance I mean ) to have a light & fresh opening as this perfectly does with a squeeze of juicy citrus fruits.

“All is Not Lost” opens with fresh tart rhubarb & a beautiful citrus (must be the quince!) and for me that makes it a perfect pick-me-up on dark, dreary days and the juicy fruits bow down (but never out) gradually to a velvety red rose with an almost green edge to it, like I am putting my nose inside the flower & inhaling the entirety of it, not just the petals but the stalks and leaves & the shy buds about to bloom all together and happily this exists on my skin as a fresh, just bloomed red rose which you are smelling in your garden on the way back from the farmer’s market where you got long fresh stalks of rhubarb to make a pie perhaps?

The rose garden feeling intensifies as the heart of the fragrance reveals itself with a slightly mossy (not too much), sweet earthy hint (the rooibos?) and anchored to skin by a creamy sandalwood and earthy fresh vetiver base which is never overwhelming (I wouldn’t want to smell of fresh soil ). I always am a fan of fresh, fruity rose fragrances & definitely wear a lot of “Mother Nature’s Naughty Daughters” and with “All is Not Lost” I feel the similar elation, the freshness of a breezy, blooming red rose edged with green, surrounded by leaves & fresh soil (like working in the garden, feeding your rose bushes or pruning them) but never overtaken by anything else. It’s a light hearted fruity floral with a true roseheart and I cannot stop smelling my jumper which I have sprayed it on.

Two pictures of my beautiful orchid plant which hadn’t flowered for a long long time and we had almost given up on it and then with the onset of the sudden freezing weather, its buds appeared again, signifying “All is Not Lost” A picture of me on my birthday trip last year where my daughter made me stop & pose in front of the stunning overladen rose bush and one is courtesy Google, summing up this gem of a fragrance.

Posted on 25th January 2026

For me at least, Sarah herself is the “Fount of Wisdom” and usually knows everything about everything (not exaggerating). I can talk to her about Indian spices as well as Japanese fountain pen inks and ask her about old English proverbs or how to pronounce a particular french name (and that’s not even anything remotely to do with perfumes!). So if a person like her has made & named a fragrance “Fount of Wisdom” it has to be a remarkable one right? It is.

We at 4160 Tuesdays have a lot of lovely friends and ballet dancer/choreographer Marika is one of the loveliest (she also brings us delectable sweet treats whenever she visits us and that’s not even the reason! ). She visits us at regular intervals and parts laden with original fragrances for her dancers to wear during the performances in accordance with a particular theme.

Our JJB#5 “Fount of Wisdom” is an absolutely beautiful fragrance which started off as being the “one” for Marika’s ballet troupe last time but then she decided to go with a slightly different version of this and the lucky people (us of course!) got this one to keep, unwrap & spritz! It was love at first sniff for me- the perfect green woody floral “Fount of Wisdom” starts off with a fresh clean bergamot and lemony cedrat giving me the perfect crisp green but not vegetal vibe and the fragrance gradually softens to a floral heart of soft rose and geranium expertly layered with my favourite linden which steps in to transform it into a beautiful green powdery floral and this is my favourite and long lasting bit by far and I keep catching whiffs. This beauty eventually settles down into a soft, nuzzle-y addictive skin scent due to the presence of all the comfort elements of Tempest Rose “Skin” (which I wear all the time!) a bit of honeybush for the smooth sweetness, musks & woods. I almost slipped into a reverie while sniffing and reflecting on this particular beauty- it’s everything done right- fresh, clean & green with creamy powdery florals & woody musks- literally my spring garden of dreams that I am pottering around in, led by my olfactory senses more than my vision and my nose is twitching in every different direction drinking in the “Fount of Wisdom” so as not to miss out on any of the beautiful smelly things all around This is definitely the ideal epitome of what January Joy Box is really about- to snap away all those pesky January blues into oblivion and this does exactly that

The first photo is the “Fount of Wisdom” for me OG version (we were actually wondering how much packing material was in the box so…) the second of the perfume while I was bottling it in the studio & couldn’t stop sniffing my arm and the third one is a cute illustration I found on Google 

Posted on 31th January 2026

I cannot quite believe that January is over! Hurray! But it’s also bittersweet in the sense that our time together has come to an end today with the last beauty of our January Joy Box 2026 One of the most important projects of the year 2025 was definitely Sarah’s collaboration with celebrated author Joanne Harris (Her newest book “Vianne” which was released last March and our exclusive fragrance “Vianne’s Confession” was created by Sarah to enhance the story telling experience) whose best selling book “Chocolat” is the inspiration behind this very delectable JJB #6, “A Banner Unfurls”. Sarah has this habit of being so immersed in her work, too busy to do anything else, constantly in and out of meetings, forgetting to even have lunch if Nick doesn’t remind her (he does, every single day!) but she will have a sudden inspiration and disappear into her lab & emerge triumphantly holding a scent strip aloft, dipped into her newest creation. “A Banner Unfurls” was created exactly like that and I think I was filtering something when Sarah had rushed in bobbing her head and beaming and proffering a new scent strip (she knows how excited I get whenever she makes anything!). I listened to her, entranced, about the priest who sees the chocolaterie display and tries to resist the immense temptation in his hallucinatory state, sniffing my paper strip and slowly getting addicted. “A Banner Unfurls” for me kicks off as a melange of so many of my favourite smells together- it’s like stepping inside Fortnum & Mason- being surrounded by delicious candied fruits, tins of fruity refreshing teas, shortbread biscuits studded with chocolate pearls, chocolates displayed in lined boxes, the crisp newness of the wrappers and ribbons and the overall happiness. It transports me directly to the feeling of walking along aisle after aisle filled with all the delicious treats and beautiful tempting boxes and I smell a bit of strawberry, some vanilla and the perfect snap of chocolate- not the gooey sweet kind, but the light dusting of cocoa kind, drier, airier. It’s not an entirely chocolate centric fragrance at all but my nose detects it in every step, slowly moving towards the heart of the beautiful fragrance- a velvety apricot-y peachy goodness which resemble dried stone fruits enrobed in dark chocolate (my absolute favourite snack - I cannot stop once I open a packet) and I love how it melts into my skin & becomes a fresh, beautiful skin scent tied down with skin musks. Like sweet, clean skin, only so much better! Just like a no makeup look is usually achieved by a lot of deftly applied makeup, a pure clean velvety skin scent has to be achieved by the masterful blending & perfect balance of the materials. We all know Sarah excels in her art and our last JJB fragrance of the year is tangible proof that a perfume can smell like warm soft skin and velvety peaches covered in chocolate - simple beautiful elements but a rare feat to conjure up in a fragrance. Overall it’s happiness which I smell and happiness which I feel whenever I spritz this on myself and I have multiple small vials of this around my home- always the proof of how much I am enticed by a fragrance and how often I spray it! 

A few pictures of the gorgeous chocolaterie we visited while in Brugge a couple of years back and we came back to the UK laden with goodies and one of my perfume vial with yellow fleshy ripe peaches I bought yesterday from M&S and I was sitting in the sun writing and biting into one which made me very happy indeed.