Coeur De Noir

Suffice to say this fragrance is not charming as much as it is intoxicating—it has the same sort of immediate allure, but far from being surface level, it draws you in—intriguing—unfolding darkly. Oddly enough the first note I get from this is very distinctly the paper. It’s actually rather remarkable how utterly distinct it is, imbuing the scent with a pleasant sort of dryness at first, before enveloping you in its darker notes. But under that there’s a sort of sweetness—rich, lovely, not cloying at all, almost choclatey. And yet this is not a gourmand sweetness, regardless of the vanilla note—even as someone who doesn’t lean toward vanilla scents, this is a pleasant richness, I think in part due to the leather. And through it all, a solemn undercurrent, pervaded by the darkness of the ink. I wouldn’t be able to describe it but this too is oddly distinguishable. I think of a gloomy boudoir, or a secluded cabinet in the back of a study, well-used. I eagerly anticipate the turn in the weather for this fragrance. I think this would wear excellently with an autumn chill, or on a brisk winter’s night. It doesn’t have the brightness that I seem to lean toward when looking for a signature scent—it’s almost purely dark—and I do wish I was getting a little more from the rum/ginger/woody base notes to warm it up a little, but that certainly does not make it any less enjoyable. It’s an academic fragrance, with an antique sort of intrigue. I know this is meant to evoke nautical illustrations—I wonder about pairing it with something with a strong yet simple marine note. I’m surprised at the gendered reviews on this fragrance. I think this is perfectly androgynous—refreshing in the midst of other Beauforts.

Another incredible fragrance from the house of BeauFort. I knew Coeur de Noir would be one of my favorite fragrances from the house because it bears some resemblance with another fragrance I adore (or fragrance line I suppose, since there's three flankers), this being Interlude Man from Amouage. Now granted, they're not identical fragrances or generally too similar to one another, but they share a commonality in their "labdanum" centers. I'll admit I'm still not entirely sure if it is labdanum but I get this specific, almost candied sweetness out of this, the Interlude line and Le Labo's Labdanum 18, so it's my assumption labdanum is the culprit. Surrounding this light sweetness are robust woody notes, an incredible leather note and an almost too strong inky ginger, which has a pungent green facet to it similar in style to Vi Et Armis's green accord, but considerably less offensive. Smokey, as many BeauForts tend to be, and eventually light vanilla and a rum-like fruitiness come forward to become the figurative "cherry on top". Coeur de Noir is an absolute stunner and it will make deciding for a BeauFort fragrance to add to my collection a pretty difficult decision. Performance is quite decent and I assume it would only be better if sprayed off a bottle, and I've heard this can be quite a powerful fragrance. Projection was moderate with a dense sillage that lasted for a couple of hours. Longevity is really good, as this has lasted 9 hours on my skin and it's still easily detectable.

#1317 in my "Tour de Fragrance" The annoying thing about BeauFort London is their apparent inability to meet the demand for their amazing fragrances as the retailers are always out of stock. So you'll have to hunt around. Their scents run $120-150 typically, but they are unique and unexpected. This scent really reminds me of the in-house barbershop in the old Elks Club in Tacoma. The smell of old wood paneling, the accretion of decades of pipe tobacco smoke, mixed with the scent of shaving cream and hair tonic. I was not a member, but was occasionally invited there for lunch by members, one of whom was a former pro baseball player, local sports team owner, and reputed retired Mafia Don whose son worked for me, another a retired Air Force general whose daughter I briefly dated. I was invited to join, but had no interest in joining. The lunch was great, the atmosphere fascinating, and one visit I got talked into sitting down for a straight razor shave while "Big Frank" got one (hadn't had one of those since I'd left Korea). That barbershop smelled just like this. For me it's a "must have" fragrance. Solid performance. Go easy on this in the close spaces. Definitely gets noticed, but of course, comes off dated, as all barbershop fragrances do. On the other hand, at least around here, barbershops have made a comeback, especially with the younger guys. I'll leave explaining that one to the cultural anthropologists.

The pursuit of the perfect masculine leather fragrance continues apace. Ford's gorgeous Tuscan Leather, easily the best of this over-rated collection, because it actually delivers on its promise of being uber sexy, and Dior's Leather Oud, with it's heavenly, addictive drydown notwithstanding, we arrive at Couer De Noir. Calling a fragrance 'black leather' is a bold and dicey endeavour, especially if you seek to win over those of us who wear a lot of black leather, and have found that most don't delver... so I was not expecting too much. But it was love at first squirt for me and my partner on a cold January day. This is a bit of a beast, in the best way, because it hits you with an elemental force that speaks of the dirt and salt of the Earth and Sea. It conjures the smell of a campfire on the edge of a beach backed by woodland, probably as night falls. It suits men who like to rough it, to bivouac under the stars in whatever the weather brings. It IS a gentleman's fragrance, but this is not for the fey gent, the be-suited dandy, who doesn't like getting his hands dirty. This is far too rugged for that. Of course there is no such thing as the perfect leather, so that goal is destined to always be out of reach. But Beaufort have achieved that rare thing and come closer than any I've encountered before.

Fragance of the Night: Do you want to feel a men's perfume? Coeur de Noir from the London niche house Beaufort London is spectacular, and excellent cost benefit fragance. Top notes are nanquin ink, rum and ginger; middle notes are leather and vanilla; base notes are birch, tobacco and cedar. Tonight is raining and cold, I wear it and two things come to me very strongly, the smell of forest and burning wood. When you wear this perfume you project yourself in the middle of a rainy forest, wet soil and then you put yourself in a tavern where there are people with leather clothes and next to you a stove with firewood burning all this mixture aroma and you feel super comfortable, perhaps it is the vanilla that gives this feeling of comfort. It also seems that this tavern has old books, this feeling comes from the ink ink note. It is not a perfume for anyone, it is for those already initiated in niche but if you allow yourself to see that it is a wonderful fragrance. Claps to the house and its perfumers Julie Dunkley and Julie Marlowe. Grades: 10/10 fixation (15h + easy) 10/10 Projection (2 meters +) Aroma 10/10 Versatility 5/10 (cold nights) Trail: 9/10 Final technical note 9/10 My personal note: 12/10