Cape Wrath

Wow! When I read "JusttheFacts" review below, and his mention about Pacific Grove, I had to give this fragrance a try. I moved to Pacific Grove in 2007 and lived there until 2011. It is and was the best time of my life to date. I am always trying to find a way to reconnect with the smell of the ocean. Alongside, Durga's "BigSur"/"Eucalyptus and L'Occitane's Bois Flotte this is the closest smell I can find, and its long-lasting. It's stronger, and sharper (in a good way), very green, with undertones of salt and sea. Minerally, but botanical. Seaweed but not "fish"-y. It's not floral. It's strong enough to pierce a room. It might, dare I say become my signature scent alongside, Bois Flotte. I found it researching similar make-ups to Durga's Big Sur and Stora Skugga's "Hexensable". I'd place it somewhere between there. It's so refreshing. There is a pepper note, doesn't quite read as citrus, but I'd say it has some dna of Acua di Gio, another classic aquatic scent. It's green, and the incense is not at all over-powering or churchy. Resinous, without sacrificing the coastal feel. There is a subtle eucalyptus menthol somewhere in there, but not dominant. It does remind me of Pacific Grove. I'd place the smell I'm looking for, somewhere between this, Durga's Big Sur/Eucalyptus, and Bois Flotte. It DOES NOT include any sunscreen-y type of smell to give the impression of a beach-side. This is the raw, temperate climate, untamed, salty, ocean rocky shore with cypress and eucalyptus you're looking for. Strong enough to be warm, and provide a presence. I'm still enjoying it, and it goes a long way. Also, similar to Terre d'Hermes without the bergamot orange, in exchange for a balsamic/resinous/green/fresh green in its place, almost, almost a green banana, but more earthy-fresh plant almost grass. I smelled the seaweed later. I did notice everything smells fresher and when I went to light some sandalwood incense later in the evening, wow did it smell sweet next to this on my chest. I think the salt, magnifies the sweetness around it, alongside the summer fresh plants. Smart. Same minerall-y accord as Terre d'Hermes, without "orange" screaming alongside it. Also, it is not OVERLY abroxen-ated/ambergris-ated, like Lorenzo Pazzaglia's Black Sea, which is all I smell (and threw away within a month of debating over how averse I found it). Cape Wrath is delightful, and more than wearable as a masculine/men's fragrance LOVE

it opens like a wave hitting you in the face, with pink pepper, in a way that reminds me to Risvelium from Orto Parisi, but with no - or almost none - citruses. You are soaking, you are covered in moss, humid, laying on your back in a clump of pine trees, face looking up, into an hypnotically green view shattered by fragments of grey skies. You are now fully absorbed by Cape Wrath: crusted in salt, dry seaweed dripping their juice leftovers, the northern stormy wind drying you into stone that once was underwater. This Scent is an absolute wild take on Barbershop scents, exasperating the natural notes in an almost trippy experience. Still, Beaufort London managed to create a scent that is both loudly niche and incredibly appealing at the same time. Cape Wrath has a beautifully mature scent profile. Fresh, vibrant and somehow balsamic. It has a very similar vibe as Risvelium by Orto Parisi, with less citruses (or none) and a generally colder, northern stormy aura, whereas Risvelium is a tropical storm in a exotic fruits orchard. On my skin it lasts 6 to 8 hours, sillage is noticeable, not overwhelming. 9/10

I have been wearing this today and let me tell you it is n-i-c-e-. There are a lot of nuances and details that one could go into, but since I don't want to make it too complicated, let me tell you that this one smells like you're standing on a rocky beach next to a mossy seaside cliff where you just smashed a bottle of Frederic Malle's French Lover against. It's camphorous, herbaceous and salty. Here and there I also seem to get whiffs of bergamot and orange. But if I have to make it even more concise, I'd say this stuff simply smells like salty eucalyptus oil and pine needles. Gentlemanly with an artsy twist. One for the people that love to smell like a forest (near the sea in this case). Some extra comparisons: Apart from French Lover I also get similarities to Ormonde Man, Victrix and DS Durga's Coriander. But take into account that this has salty and aquatic components that the aforementioned fragrances lack. Now that I'm thinking it's almost like they took something like those fragrances and added a big dash of Heeley's Sel Marin. Enfin, maybe this helps to get a clearer picture.

EN Cape Wrath comes across as pure, transparent marine freshness—without unnecessary extravagance or loud statements. There’s no overload of accords here, only the gentle breath of a sea breeze, the tang of seaweed, salty spray, and a sense of boundless space. Its strength lies in this simplicity. The fragrance doesn’t try to impress with complex transitions or sophisticated notes; it simply offers a feeling of cleanliness and freedom. That’s why, in the summer heat, Cape Wrath is absolutely splendid—cool, sincere, and natural. ⸻ IT Cape Wrath si percepisce come una fresca trasparenza marina, pura e limpida—senza inutili eccessi o dichiarazioni altisonanti. Qui non c’è sovraccarico di accordi, solo il lieve respiro di una brezza marina, l’acidità delle alghe, spruzzi salati e una sensazione di spazio sconfinato. La sua forza sta proprio in questa semplicità. La fragranza non cerca di stupire con passaggi complessi o note ricercate; offre semplicemente una sensazione di pulizia e libertà. Ecco perché, nella calura estiva, Cape Wrath è assolutamente splendido—fresco, sincero e naturale.

Quite a fan of this house, I own and wear Coeur de Noir and Acrasia, I liked Absent Presence very much (but didn't buy it), and overall find all their perfumes very interesting, altho not all wearable, to me this is what true niche is, very ballzy and with a very unique position on the scent profile map. So I immediately went to sample this new collection, very intrigued on how they would bring their smoky DNA into acquatic fragrances. I smelled all 3 of them, and definitely Pyroclasm is not for me, it's really too ashy for my taste (the ashiness reminded me of Vi Et Armis, too intense on the smoky ash). So I got two samples, one for Grudge and one for Cape Wrath. So far Cape Wrath is my favorite; I have just sprayed it on my wrist and it smells like a divine Gin and tonic on a sunny summer afternoon, with ballz and personality. I love it. Fresh and bitter at the same time. I'll update my review in the future after I wear this more. My intention is to wear this on summer, as I see aquatic fragrances more appropriate for that season.

Preparing to test all free of the new Force Majeure fragrances. Reviews will probably get updates as I get more usage out of these scents. Cape Wrath seems to be this kind of scent you should grow your moustache for. Add some array of turtle-necks, little pipe collection, homoerotic longing to the other man you share the lighthouse with and this fragrance will but complete the picture. It is dark, deep. It reminds you of sea as experienced out of the tourist season. You feel it around you intimately, it doesn't blast its presence. It is not really a fragrance that feels approachable, adaptable to you - it commands certain decorum, elegance. I do not feel I wear it adequately while sitting in the bed in my jersey pants and some random t-shirt. After the first wear: longevity is decent but way worse than Fathom V on my skin. It easily survives over 12h mark but with significant loss of projection. Drydown is subtle, close to the skin.

Absolutely incredible. I bought a full bottle of this. At first sniff, it is shocking. It is incredibly earthy. This is basically an oakmoss/vetiver bomb. It feels very dry yet damp at the same time. The fragrance profile almost WANTS to be sweet but has virtually no sweetness at all- I don't mean this in a bad way at all. Smells very similar to Terre D'Hermes, but stripped of any sweetness. This comes across pretty masculine and I would not say it is easy to wear, but it's not super difficult to wear either. The scent is very addicting and I kept ordering samples of this because I couldn't get enough of this before I finally just ordered a bottle. I did get several compliments my first time wearing this. This caused me to order samples of the rest of Beaufort's lineup.

i am absolutely floored by this perfume every time i spray it. its incredible. whenever i describe this fragrance to people, they are skeptical of it, not expecting to enjoy it. but then you spray, and they fall for it in seconds. in the first few moments the pepper notes are undeniable and carry a lot of weight. on the dry down, youre presented an image of gentle water trickling through mossy river rocks. a forest stationed next to the vast sea. oakmoss is key to this fragrance, embroidering this image of damp soil, somehow interestingly coupled with the dryness that vetiver introduces. this is perhaps the earthiest scent i have tried, but even people i know that dislike earthy notes are fond of this. definitely worth sampling!

Second review of Cape Wrath after sampling it some months ago - wearing it again and finally goin g for a full bottle. This scent is just WONDERFUL, complex, magical, fresh, slightly bitter and sweet at the same time- definitly reminiscent of a fresh Gin-tonic in summer , with a touch of saltiness and fresh herbs, it's so unique and distinctive... How I wish it was stronger and lasted more.... :( I get a moderate longevity on my skin and slightly better on clothes (3h-4hrs good hours then it starts fading and I get a slight aroma off my clothes around 6hrs in), and a mild projection. My almost perfect summer scent...

What a masterpiece! I was caught by surprise by the opening which was very unusual. Something like the smell of a mossy rock by the beach just before the sunset somewhere in the Mediterranean, while you are peeling of an orange and your fingers smell the zest of the peels but also a note of something ominous which i cannot detect. Then in the drydown... OH MY GOD... it gets a bit sweeter and saltier but a distant mossy/briney note remains... I am obsessed... Dare I say my signature scent? We'll see... So far extremely happy with this

Richly green and bracingly aromatic, with just a touch of seaweed and ambergris to remind you that you are on a rocky Atlantic headland. Lasts for several hours on me, and the drydown is quite true to the initial impression, but the sillage is not massive - OK by me as I am not a fan of fragrances that can knock a cow over at twenty paces. Leans slightly masculine but that will not put me off wearing it.

Delicious spicy herbal Angelica and galbanum (like Rake and Ruin without the smoky degradation) underlain by fruity frankincense. This is wearable! It has well blended complexity that I look forward to getting to know better over the coming weeks and months. I was hoping for more obvious mastic as that’s a great note but this is a fantastic scent as it is so no complaints.

My two favorite fragrances from Beaufort London are Cape Wrath and Terror & Magnificence. They also couldn't be more different. I get a strong petrichor note from this one along with black pepper. There might be other fragrances that smell like this, but I've never encountered them. It's signature worthy in my opinion. I'll be picking up a full bottle.

One of my favorite fragrance of all time. It smells like a storm. Actually, it smells like before the storm on the seafront when everything starts to go dark and the petrichor sent is in the air... I associate this fragrance with the movie "The Lighthouse" by Robert Eggers. Absolutely love it.

On me this is a very green, aquatic scent. Beautiful and wearable. I would say this works better on a sunny / hot day buuut, as it is a cold fragrance it pairs excellent with colder weather, amping up the vibe.

Probably one of the most gothic perfume I have ever smell. Beautiful, bold, dark, deep and meditative. Smells like a cave or a centuries old crypt covered in moss.

Orphan of Kos in a scent Ocean waves crash onto a cathedral on a rocky shore. Cold air rushes from treacherous seaside cliffs. 10/10

A refreshing, clean aromatic. Best to wear on a cool day. One of my go-to fragrances.

One of the most realistic earthy YET pleasant scents out there

Working on reviewing all three of the new Force Majeure scents from Beaufort. The Grudge is my favorite, and while I like all of them, this one might be my least favorite, or perhaps tied with Pyroclasm. Cape Wrath is a concentrated green fragrance stripped of all sweetness. The aesthetic thesis of Beaufort is very much about confrontational harshness and austerity. In the past they have relied heavily on smoke notes to accomplish this attitude. With Cape Wrath, they take a different tack. This one is cold, wet, earthy, deep-dark-green, and a little bit spicy. My first impression was a green watery accord which immediately presented an illusion of mildew: dank, wet, moldy, claustrophobic. A very pleasant earthy smell, but highly concentrated. Smells cold, like the sea air blowing through a rotting hulk. As I spent more time with it, the more the "mildew accord" unraveled into constituent notes: bitter and fresh green herbs (probably the angelica), aquatic notes, cypress oil (not listed but I certainly detect it, or at least a clever illusion which closely resembles it), a very strong vetiver, labdanum, frankincense. To my nose the cypress, vetiver, and bitter greens are predominant. Aquatic notes support this main bitter green accord. Finally, the resin / incense notes play a supporting role in the background. This structure makes Cape Wrath very similar to a few scents we know and love: primarily Every Storm a Serenade from Imaginary Authors. Cape Wrath lacks the eucalyptus aromatic and substitutes cypress. Also, Cape Wrath is much stronger and more concentrated than ESaS. It projects further and gives a stronger impression. Worth mentioning as well are Beach Geeza's Ocean Water and 4160 Tuesday's Saltburn Driftwood – to me, both of those scents are also incredibly close to ESaS; close enough to be functional substitutes. In addition to the ESaS similarity, Cape Wrath is also very close to Coastal Cypress & Sea Fennel by Molton Brown, but where the herbaceous cypress in CC&SF turns toward "kitchen herbs" for me (specifically tomato and carrot soup), thankfully Cape Wrath stays firmly planted in the realm of windswept headlands and Pacific storm fronts. The aquatic-earthy accord found here also reminisces momentarily of Kenzo's Homme EDT Intense – the "wet cedar chips" one. However, Cape Wrath is much fresher, greener, brighter, and airier than that one. Every Storm a Serenade has been a benchmark bitter marine green fragrance for me, but to be honest I think Beaufort has outshined it with Cape Wrath. I haven't smelled the new ESaS v2 formula, but for the moment I'd say that Cape Wrath offers the stronger contender within this profile category. I'm still trying to figure exactly where I rank this one, but for now let's say 77%.

#1685 in my “Tour de Fragrance” When I lived in Pacific Grove I would go walking down the waterfront from Cannery Row, feed seagulls and ground squirrels, climb out onto the rocks, and let the ocean spray hit me. Kind of a meditation for me. Smelled a lot like this, or at least that came to mind the moment I smelled this. They weren’t kidding about the seaweed note here. You can pretty much smell the saltwater though more peppery than salty. I don’t know how many will find this attractive, but it is certainly unique and interesting. Of the almost 1700 fragrances I’ve tried out since starting this journey nothing similar to this comes to mind even among other scents I would categorize as "very Marine", like Lorenzo Pazzaglia’s “Artik Sea.” There is some resemblance in the dry down to Nautica "Acqua Rush Gold" once the citrus of the Nautica fades out, but the Nautica is an EDT and doesn’t make it to morning coffee break with any significant aroma left. This is a moderate performer that will make it to lunch. Leans masculine. But $180 for 50ml. I’ll have to think about it. Good Luck and Good Hunting!

This i Love. A Strong, aromatic, earthy, woody, citrusy, very slightly marine, fragrance. Clear sharp Geranium. A citrusy barbershop/shaving soap smell. Could be perceived as a little bit "older man" smell (40's and up). Going from "The Grudge" to this is day and night. "The Grudge" smelled like old piss and body odor. This is freshly cleaned and shaved and light. Personal score: 9.25/10. I have no real issues with it, and a lot of things I love. Definitely get a sample of this if you like the idea of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ax1Hxwi303U

Less ambergris compared to The Grudge, but just as salty. Galbanum and Angelica are the stars here. This one is more herbal and aromatic and reminds me a good deal of Penhaligon's Blasted Bloom. It's less the seaweed infested tide pools of The Grudge and more the dry, salt-sprayed grass flirting at the edge of high tide. I'm really pleased with how subtle both this and The Grudge are on skin. Neither this nor the Grudge has a great deal of projection outside of the aggressive first spray opening which means their more 'disagreeable' quality can be kept more intimately for the wearer's enjoyment.

Smells fresh but in a dark, edgy way... definitely for people who want to stand out.

extremely salty, dirty, mineralic, aquatic. this is definitely something you wear for yourself for your own enjoyment. it perfectly creates a scene and a space but i personally find it slightly repulsive. it’s like being on a cold windy beach with decaying organic matter i guess i don’t romanticize that

A vibrant and energetic opening, with lemony elemi paired with a spicy bouquet of pink and black pepper. Angelica introduces a green, slightly bitter nuance that lingers delicately in the top notes. The heart of the fragrance is enriched by the fleshy depth of geranium, adding roundness and character. Despite the absence of lemon, the composition is suffused with a citrusy breeze, soft and rounded, created by the bright, citric facets of the resins: mastic, elemi, and lentisk. A synthetic ambergris accord brings a salty, rough texture, while fiery vetiver and oakmoss absolute anchor the fragrance with an earthy depth, giving it a solidity that sets it apart from the usual wave-inspired scents. The drydown offers a surprising twist: ambrette seeds emerge, adding acidity to the resins and creating a lemon accord that this time evokes the real fruit, complete with its juicy pulp. It’s unexpected to find such a vivid lemon note in the drydown rather than the opening. In my opinion, this will be a perfect companion for the summer season: it strikes the right balance of lightness, cleanliness, salinity, and carefree energy, making it a great fit for the “sailing fragrance” category. This is the second scent I’ve tried from the Force Majeure line, and it’s the second one I can confidently recommend.

My favorite from the Force Majeure collection. As the review below mine mentions, this has less ambergris compared to The Grudge, but I find the two to be very similar overall. The Grudge is a mossy musks fragrance, whereas Cape Wrath is a musky moss fragrance. The opening is dominated by the oakmoss, its vegetable smell so strong it oddly reminds me of the taste of beet roots. I've always found oakmoss to have a slight citrusy undertone, and it helps softening its green vegetable facet. Just like with The Grudge, I can't say I detect notes other than musk and oakmoss in a significant way, maybe my sample's batch didn't come out right, maybe I need to spray more to really get a full picture with these fragrances, who knows. I find Cape Wrath very interesting because, despite the fact it has a distinct damp smell that evokes an overcast coastline, it smells relatively clean, fresh, marine in a non-calone overdosed way and somewhat mass appealing.

I used to live in ireland, on the coast, just across from Scotland and I cant tell you HOW close this smells to standing on some of the beaches and cliffs and marshes. I got it as a sample and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Its earthy, aquatic, shore at lowtide with seaweed sitting on the beach, the wind in your face whipping up salt from the sea. I could go on. Its different to and more pleasant than The Grudge IMHO.

Minty, mineralic, metallic petrichor and pulling a freshly planted geranium out of freezing cold, sodden soil with rooty textures therein, combined with thin and clinically sheer oak moss. So fresh and stormy it aches ones olfactory apparatus. Ozonic, electric like tang also and all in all, some stellar, though provoking work from Euan McCall.

This one has sting to it! Something green and zesty among the briney notes. A gin & tonic while the stormy sea splashes you with salt water. Never goes full seaweed or full ambergis, stays balanced between freshness and dankness. Quite remarkable, one of Beaufort's best and also one of Euan's best creations.

At first it smells like a good, very aromatic artisanal gin, a classic and concentrated masculine scent, soapy, aromatic, not a galbanum bright green but a dark and resinous green.

Smells almost exactly like cow-parsley root/stem kinda, if you've ever handled that. Initially kind of rough, mellows down into nicer and more wearable green vegetal scent.