From its beginning in 2015, for its artistic creations and intriguing perfumes, BeauFort London has always been an exemplary of the true niche perfumery, for their artistic olfactory creations and for their renown steampunk style of art; certainly arguable! Lignum Vitae is a weathered compass spinning wildly through tar, salt, and sun-blistered decks. With BeauFort London’s signature ferocity, this composition crashes into the senses like sea spray slamming against oxidised brass—sharp, metallic, resinous. But beneath the turbulence lies an unexpected elegance and delight.
The inspiration behind this perfume comes from the age of exploration and the metaphorical weight of the eponymous "tree of life"—a wood so dense it sinks in water.
Coming to the scent itself, it unleashes with an unexpectedly prominent, yet quite measured, burst of ozone and a radiant, surrealistic citrus that slices through the air like lightning in a bottle. Immediately, the composition introduces a high-shine, lacquered brightness that borders on the surreal. Then, without warning, the current shifts. A dry, almost crackling woodiness takes hold. This isn’t forest-floor or firewood; it’s engineered timber, baked by sun and salt until it bleeds.
Lignum Vitae is one of the few fragrances that successfully integrates the resinous heart with marine and mineral top. It pulses with faceted aromatics—labdanum, maybe elemi—held in tension by metallic soil-like vetiver and the static cling of ambergris.
What sets this apart is not the olfactory notes themselves, but the precision of their deployment. The composition is taut, but not minimal. It’s dense, but never heavy. There’s motion in its stillness. BeauFort London doesn’t offer comfort; it offers vision, and its method is contradiction. And this one, especially, demands rapt attention.
Projection is assertive, but not bombastic. Lignum Vitae occupies space like a carved sculpture, casting a silhouette that is tactile and strange. Longevity is significant, yet it never devolves into monotony; it evolves with a quiet ruthlessness, softening only slightly into a dry, warm sheen that clings to fabric and skin.
The most interesting part of this perfume is its play and development of layers on the skin. It shifts so gently like a novel from the first page to the last. By far, the most interesting combination of marine and delectable notes.
Lignum Vitae
$175.00 USD
Lignum Vitae by BeauFort London is a fragrance for Women & Men. Lignum Vitae draws inspiration from the revolutionary advancements in clockmaking during the 18th century, particularly the creation of the first marine chronometers that enabled safe global travel.… read more
