Lignum Vitae Review

To attempt an analytical evaluation of Beaufort London’s latest release would be to entirely miss the proverbial forest for the trees.

Lignum Vitae presents a singular olfactive portrait whose subject I could never have imagined judging by its name. Equally surprising is just how uncannily realistic its interpretation of this theme is.

Want a hint?

Ok: Proust.

Got it?

Yup; Lignum Vitae offers a remarkable simulacrum of the smell of petites madeleines – those small, scallop-shell shaped sponge cakes that have become a virtual by-word for involuntary reminiscence (parenthetically, it was only in Proust’s third draft of À la recherche…that he decided upon madeleines; previous drafts attest to biscotti and honey on toast). From accurately capturing the zestiness of lemon and lime drizzle to the sweet breadiness of the cake itself, the un-named perfumer (shame) has achieved something very clever indeed.

All of this though, rather leaves me scratching my head:

Firstly, I just cannot reconcile the perfume with the brand’s nautical aesthetic, nor the début trio in the ‘Come Hell or High Water’ line which Lignum Vitae apparently joins. Secondly, the name. Lignum Vitae is synonymous with Guaiacwood, and while this oil does have a sweet milky quality that can work very well in gourmands, one is here effectively led to expect a soliwood (cf. Carner Barcelona’s Palo Santo), not an afternoon accompaniment to tea. Thirdly, the mental gymnastics required to get from the brand’s own description of the perfume as being ‘inspired by the innovative use of materials that allowed 18th Century clockmakers to construct the first accurate marine chronometers’ and combining ‘elements of wood, metal and salt’ to what emerges from the bottle is just too exhausting (lignum vitae > chronomoter > time > À la recherche du temps perdu > petites madeleines). It’s almost as if the formula existed before the brief.

Nose: Unknown

House: Beaufort London

Release date: 2016

Notes (per Fragrantica): this perfume has no entry at the time of posting.

1805 Tonnerre Review

My least favourite of the Beaufort trio, 1805 Tonnerre jarringly juxtaposes the phenolic, smoky scent of birch tar with a sharp, ozonic-metallic-citrus accord built around Floralozone (vel.sim.), rose oxide and lime. 

Like surface cleaner sprayed on a recently used barbeque.

Nose: unkown

House: Beaufort London

Release date: 2015

Notes (per Fragrantica): lime, smoke, gun powder, blood, brandy, sea water, amber, fir balsam, cedar.

Vi et Armis Review

The perfume-formerly-known-as ‘East India’, Vi et Armis (Lat. ‘by force and arms’) is to my nose the most successful of Beaufort’s current lineup.

Here, the thematic birch tar is allied to a powerful tea note that results in a smoky black blend. A judicious amount of ethyl maltol sweetens the deal and helps bring out the tea note’s fruity overtones, while frankincense links to the woody, resinous base that’s much better incorporated than in Coeur de Noir.  

Nose: Unknown

House: Beaufort London

Release date: 2015

Notes (per Fragrantica): black pepper, tea leaf, whisky, incense, opium, tobacco, birch, agarwood.

Coeur de Noir Review

The red thread running through all three of Beaufort London’s début offerings is birch tar and how much one enjoys these fragrances will likely depend on one’s tolerance for the overtly meaty, smoky qualities it expresses at higher concentration.

Coeur de Noir is the most singular in its darkness. Riding shotgun with the birch tar is a significant dose of isobutyl quinoline which not only develops the former’s leathery facets, but brings with it a pungent, earthy greenness. The listed notes speak to a myriad ideas but unfortunately, these are under-developed and smothered by the aforementioned materials. So it is that the ‘rum’ note, built with ethyl acetate, fails to convey much booziness at all by instead being a mere ghostly presence, and the ionone+vanilla ‘paper’ note is fairly illegible as such. The exception here is the nice addition of ginger whose warm, amber-like sweetness works, for a short while at least, as a counterpoint. The cedar too, is very clearly detectable, but its persistence is unmatched, meaning after a good few hours on skin/a few days on paper, all I smell is a dry, powdery woodyness.

Nose: unknown (brand owner Leo Crabtree)

House: Beaufort London

Release date: 2015

Notes (per Fragrantica): rum, ginger, ink, paper, leather, vanilla, cedar, tobacco, birch tar.