Lignum Vitae

This is literally the smell of food storage on an old ship at sea. Biscuits, citrus, fruits, vanilla and caramel deserts. It all blends into an impression of a banquet to me. The salty sea surrounds you, as you stand on old wood boards, baked in the sun all day. The promise of a feast for the olfactory senses, fulfilled. The opening reminded me of caramel popcorn. Quickly, the citrus changed it, and made it multi directional. Like entering the candy store in a theater. The fruity accords floods in, and makes it almost impossible to know where one treat starts and another ends. There is a salty note to it all. Probably why I thought popcorn in the opening. As the scent develops, the woods rise through the fragrance and becomes the foundation on which the scent stands. And the smell of ocean water. Clean ocean water, like out on the open sea. What a Spectacular journey. I am impressed beyond expectations. After buying samples of the whole "Come Hell Or High Water" series, my level of impressed, is very high. First I sampled "Vi Et Armis" and being very impressed, giving it 9.5/10, planning to purchase a full bottle. Then 2nd smelling "1805 Tonnerre", which brought me down a bit, earning a 8.5/10. Impressive, and worth sampling/buying. 3rd, I smelled "Fathom V". That blew my mind, becoming my 5th ever perfect 10/10. I've smelled Well over 500 fragrances, probably closer to 1000, and that's my 5th 10/10. Obviously, bottle will be ordered Very soon. When I smelled this, as the 4th of the 5, I was again very impressed. The scent smells so realistic, so transportative, creating a perfect imagery of a banquet on an old naval ship. Personal score: 9.5/10. I can't do anything but give it a 9.5/10. I'll be purchasing a bottle of this as well (the while series will be purchased i suspect). This is olfactory art at it's finest. If you love art, get a sample.

A risky blind buy that turned out really well. While pottering about on the internet as one does, I was presented with a page of the Bloom perfumery, a niche specialist with a shop in London (which for the sake of my finances I must never visit). It offered me 50% off one of the Beaufort 'Come Hell or High Water' collection, 'Lignum Vitae'. I was tempted and I fell, or at least my credit card did. 'Lignum Vitae' is named after the tropical hardwood which had a significant role in solving the 18th-century "longitude problem" because it is self-lubricating, corrosion-resistant and allowed clock mechanisms to be produced that would keep accurate time on ships at sea. I vaguely remembered that a book about this, 'Longtitude', was popular a few years back so I beetled off to Ebay to get a used copy. You have to love a perfumery acquisition which comes with homework. And what does it smell like? Well, initially biscuits or cake, depending on whether your cultural leaning is towards lemon oatmeal cookies, ginger nut biscuits or Madeleine cakes. Apparently, that is the sort of smell Lignum Vitae wood gives off when sawn. Unexpectedly yummy. And not at all what I expected from Beaufort, whose enthusiasm for the tougher bits of British maritime history would have suggested hardtack biscuits with a sprinkling of weevils. The drydown (after eight hours) is an attractive skinscent of soft woods, vanilla, and a bit of ginger. Plus a distant echo of the citrus note, so I think it would pair well with a soft, non-astringent citrus scent like Rook's 'Jaffa' or Chopard's 'Happy Chopard Lemon Dulci'. If you are after a cheesecake effect, obviously

I found different phases un this perfume: - the opening is amazing. Is un this phase where i can find the lemon cookies wverybody speaks about, during this time the fragance behave as a proper gourmand... It is sweet, Deep, intense, tasty but citrusy. - after a while the perfume begins yo change and become a more classic fragance, It remembrr me a bit to some shaving foams. This monent i thought, ok, now is when the British gentleman that the brand name an the bottlw evoke appears. Is nice but during this time this is not really my vio of tea... - suddenly, some hours later, i realized the perfume had changed a lot again. It had turned very animalic and un this face the dry down remebered me a bit to some perfumes like kouros, but a bit more citric. - after 10 hours i can stil feel some smell on my skin but very subtle. Now It snells just like lemon candies and It remembrr me to the dry down of perfumes like habit Rouge or even q bit to terre d'hermes. Therefore i am not sure what to think... I really LOVE the opening but the first dry down gets me a bit bored... The middle dry down is interesting but on their last monents It is only a common lemon scent so... I would buy It? Probably un a Next futuro but not for now... Scent: 8 Longevity: 8 Sillage: 6 Originality: 7 Versatility: 8 Quality/price:5 Global: 7.5

Easily the most accessible of the Beaufort London line, having tested all four. The two that got me were 1805 Tonnerre, and this, both with prominent lime aspects. Lime can be deathly dull, but when it works it rocks, Tonnerre uses lime completely differently to this, amidst smoke, gunpowder, blood, etc, it's a lime for the night! I said that in a metal voice hence the exclamation mark. Lignum Vitae is a day lime, a lime shortbread, forget about everything else, this walks like a zesty lime/citrus shortbread biscuit, not too heavy or sweet, but decent sillage and longevity, an uplifting spring unto the shore after enduring a stormy Tonnerre night aboard the galleon, and all that jazz. Gourmand, fool! Unisex, love it, or die alone, pleasing. Oh yeah, you definitely get the ginger as part of the mix, it sits in there perfectly.

Salted lemon creme biscuits on the beach... that's definitely the vibe, and it's perfection! This note pyramid is also segmented perfectly. The oud accord, pepper and guaiac together with the aforementioned biscuits at the beach combine wonderfully together and I don't even know how. You would NEVER think of them going together all that well; it's a different mood to Oud Minerale, which is more like hot leather car seats. This is just memories being brought back. I honestly can't see this fragrance being "too much" for anyone. It's just a good amount of fun. I'd wanted to try this for ages, and when I was finally able to buy a sample, I was taken away. I left it until I got home, and it didn't disappoint. Perfect! Edit: the longevity might actually be too good. I love it, but it gets a bit much after a while.

lignum vitae smells just like having lemon curd shortbread biscuits for breakfast at a cute and cozy seaside hotel. it's a bit cold outside, but you might dare a quick dip in the water, as long as you get a big cup of spicy black tea with ginger and vanilla when you get back to your room. drying your feet you notice tiny grains of sand and salt crystals, rolling off your skin and onto the wooden floorboards... this is one of my all time favorite fragrances, and i'm so happy i finally got around to getting a full bottle. read more of my reviews on instagram: @scentrified

This is a beautiful citrus and baked bread fragrance that is just relaxing. It reminds me of living by a bakery or a brewery where you can smell the the cooked grains and hops in the air, first thing in the morning. Most people buy Tonnerre or Iron Duke as their first Beafort London fragrance. Lignum Vitae was my first purchase and if you want a uniquely delicious fragrance that's sexy, delicious and easy to wear, it will be your first (or next) purchase too.

I love this so much!!! It's so interesting. The opening was a bit shocking: it felt like I was just sniffing on a lemon with some salt on top. Some minutes into it, the biscuit comes through, it grounds the lemon and the salt, and they blend into this beautiful salty lemon cookie. It's really comforting but still fresh, very unique! I definitely feel like this is more masculine than unisex, but I'd love to smell a man with this on.

My personal hidden gem. Starts with a lemon cookie, then slowly steering towards deep and intoxicating oud / bergamot. I'd say it's a great choice for a non-banal everyday scent: accessible and pleasing so that people in the room will notice that you smell amazing. Dark enough not to be mistaken with some crowd-pleasers like Killian or Ex-Nihilo. Projection is moderate though (3-4 hours on my skin and on intimate distance).

Incredibly delightful and realistic lemon biscuits with a hint of salt. Masterfully combined woody, marine and gourmand notes are communicating harmoniously. Cozy, comfortable, positive and funny fragrance. I agree with the opinion that it leans more feminine than unisex. Qualitative and lovely gourmand oddball from Beaufort that differentiates from the rest of the line.

I got a very little sample from it, with only a drop or two inside, so I could try it only once. The smell of is was very unique. I imagine that an old type of galleon/great wooden ship inside could smell something like this. I don't know why, but that was the first thing I thought when I smelled it. I wish I could try it again.

Purchased from Bloom in London, this perfume is gorgeous. I find it to be deliciously mysterious with my much loved notes of pepper, lime, ginger and oud. While it won't appeal to the masses, it proves appealing to me...masculine and feminine, dark and light, sharp and smonth, Lignum Vitae is a must smell to believe. Yum!

@catlovingwoman doesn't have a nose. This stuff is wonderful, It truly is a photo realistic lemon/lime biscuit scent. Almost boils down to a sherbety scent as well. There are some lovely woods at the base of the scent but the top and mid is where it really shines.

Huge Madeleine note in the opening, truly one of the best openings i've smelt. has a warm biscuity depth and then the ginger, lemon and pepper come through. Just amazing, very close to the skin but it suits this style well.

This is pretty good scent. The opening is reminiscent of a lemon cookie, the mids remind of Initio Side Effect for some reason. Price point is decent and so is longevity and sillage. overall 8/10

An initial blast of delicious vanilla sponge cake that morphs into rich spice cake with lemon buttercream. After a couple of hours it's salty, woody and musky with some lingering sweetness.

This is a very delicious gourmand fragrance I love it and i usually dislike gourmand fragrances Salty cracker with lemon Has aquatic fresh and sweet edible components

Delicious, mouthwatering biscuit.

An unexpectedly nice gourmand. Lignum Vitae took me by surprise with how photorealistically accurate it smells like some lemon flavored cookies we have in Mexico from a line called "Emperador". The biscuit with its light saltiness complemented by a creamy citrusy tartness that's also a bit sweet, it's all here and it's surprisingly a really pleasant wear that doesn't become tiring after some time like other gourmands. I didn't expect BeauFort to have a fragrance like this considering their preference of smokey, leathery, extremely woody and/or metallic scents, but at the same time I suppose it's not as outlandish as some of their other offerings. My sister told me this smelled like Coke chapstick to her, my mom just said this was a really nice light and clean citrusy scent. My guess is they weren't necessarily aiming for the scent to come across this way and instead evoke an image more akin to a ship's food storage, as one of the reviews below mine mentions, but the olfactive experience is totally different for everybody, and Lignum Vitae turned out to be a lemon cookie gourmand for me. I probably wouldn't own this but I really like it and it made for a great and unexpected wear today. Performance was really decent overall. Moderate projection with a moderate sillage. I think this helps the scent with what I mentioned about it not becoming exhausting after some time, a bit stronger and this might have been annoying. Longevity is great, it's been 9 hours and I can still pick it up very clearly on my skin.

Lignum Vitae is bizarre and exceptional in equal measure, but not the usual kind of signature strangeness I've come to expect from this brand. Lignum Vitae is 'Beaufort does gourmand' and the last thing I was expecting to smell was a lemon Madeira cake, but that's exactly what I got from it. Such an accurate accord but with a salty, ozonic blast at the start and some leafy herbal business too, but then a clever, syrupy, lemon drizzle of citrus and that cakey, caramelised vanilla accord growing. I was very impressed when I read the notes and saw 'Madeira cake accord' among the list...I mean how specific? and my missus and I had already remarked that this smelled like that. What I like is that this perfume isn't a one trick pony because once you've digested your cake, you get more of that salty aquatic thing reminiscent of the finish from Tonnare a fragrance which hints at it all the way through but until the smoke clears you don't appreciate the full effect of. I get some of that savoury, herbal stuff as well almost as if the cake were make with olive oil? Lignum Vitae is challenging in a good way and nice to see the brand diversify from the smokey/leathery territory to something equally as eccentric.

This is the gourmand of Beaufort's line. I am not a fan of gourmands, and despite that, I really appreciate this fragrance. It has an interesting development, more complex than other similar fragrances I have smelt. To summarize, this is a woody sweet fragrance focused on palo santo wood (aka lignum vitae - what Beaufort sells as the "biscuit note"), with a hint of freshness offered by the citrus and acquatic notes. Also noticeable is a salty facet (given by the vetiver). Overall very pleasant, but a tad too sweet for my tastes. Imo, it leans more feminine than unisex. A great blend, but possibly the only one of the line that may not fully deserve its price tag due to non-uniqueness (the main factor that justifies high prices in my book). Indeed, there are several fragrances from other houses which tackled this territory, like Carner Palo Santo or La Curie Ossuary. Of these 3, my preference goes to the latter, being a real unisex imo, and cheaper (even if linear). Damn... how did Beaufort dare making a fragrance that is just "great" and not a msterpiece like the other ones? ;) Mild to colder days, 20+

As everyone says, the opening is a blast of lemon zest, then the unmistakable lemon cake accord. After that it gets rather salty, a little aromatic, and has a distinct marine/sea spray rather note. Really, to me it is ultimately a marine scent, just not in the way of the typical beach frags or blue scents. The opening is amazing, but after that I find it a little boring perhaps, but it does make me think of being at a rugged beach (not at all a white sand touristy beach). And, the performance on this is surprisingly poor. I really wish the opening lasted longer, but it is all too fleeting, and then the whole scent is gone in a matter of a couple hours. If I’m at home ill reapply, but I wouldn’t wear this when I know I’ll be out of the house for a longer period of time. The breakdown at the top of the page is rather spot on, as are the general reviews...eating lemon cake at the beach as ocean spray gently mists over you.

Lignum Vitae by Beaufort London is quite a treat in a bottle! It truly reminds me of cardamom bread as the top notes of seasalt and caramel and fresh beach air gives away. I am a bit surprised that cardamom isnt on this ingredient list. This reminds me so much of some of the Norwegian baked goods I had as a child from my Norwegian stepmom. Lignum Vitae also has some very dirty notes in it that give it a dirty frosting like quality. At first I was guessing Labdanum but then I remembered Guaiac wood has that frosting and egg smell. This is VERY gourmand even though at first it smells like it might take a different route. The power is quite frightening, it lasts a long time and you can smell it at arms length. Enjoy this dirty cake!

Another one I really wanted to love, but I was not expecting it to be this sweet. Opens pure lemon. It's very faint on me right from the get-go but a lot stronger on my partner who I've bought a full bottle for. On me it's vaguely reminiscent of those puffy scented stickers you got in the '80s. On him it's a lot classier. Lemon fondant fancies at a beachside picnic in 1987. There's something nostalgic about it. Starts out sweet lemon sponge cake, then dries down nicely and becomes much saltier in a sea air kind of way, still with the lemony sweetness. Reminds me a lot of Dorian from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Similar to that scent, I like it a lot more in the dry-down when it becomes less sickly sweet.

Ummm, this smells like honey cookies (fragrant ingredients are honey and lemon zest) that we make here in Balkan region, cousins of German Pfeffernuse. Dry down (after mere 4 minutes, I kept an eye on the watch) is like orange powder, meant for being added to water to make a low budget soda. It's also quite similar to Lira by Casamoratti/Xerjoff, both perform kind of weak but there's that lemon baked goods feeling that is done better by Beaufort. In this version it smells finished, Lira is like a sweet fart of a scent. After many hours Lignum Vitae dried down to reveal what was missing at first - all the 'manly man' notes, mostly vetiver.

The rugged, scoundrel older brother of Fortune by Brocard; if that's the top of a lemon meringue then LV is the bottom, a slightly burnt lemon biscuit. I liked this a lot. Very different to the other Beaufort's I've tried and probably the most wearable one for me as the smoke note is the embers of a bonfire rather than a conflagration. Does exactly what I want from a niche perfume, giving me a surprising, evocative and intriguing olfactory experience. I absolutely loved the opening and first hour or so but, unfortunately the performance was poor turning into a skin scent pretty quickly.

It’s an anomaly in the collection Different Gourmand Special Unique And salty I like it but the salt here is a little bit intense It’s the same salt that is in salt and Carmel by bohoboco If the salt was toned down and the biscuit facets were toned up I believe this would be a stunner I enjoyed it but not to the extent of amusement As much as I love the brands theme of smoky fragrances but this one was a nice change of pace Performance was good but projection was sadly abysmal If you are a gourmand lover it’s a must try for sure

Usually, the biggest issue people have with gourmand fragrances is the "edible" part, and I totally get it. The ingenuity in Lignum Vitae works around this troublesome cornerstone. Yes, it smells just like a carrot cake mixed up with a lemon sponge, but at the same time on the skin it's cooking some baking action :) It smells just like the time, when you are waiting to take the cookies out of the owen. I was pleasently surprized.

Really nice unique little gourmand this. I totally get a salty lemon ginger biscuit and fudge with this which is a really nice combo. Sat underneath is a light not churchy incense note lending a bit of an effervescent feel but also a relaxing tone. Really good and a totally different direction from all the smoky daring frags.

The opening gives a great cola sillage with woodiness closer to the skin. In the drydown the cookie note, vanilla and the salty buttery aspects of dough come through. Very inviting and cozy. Good lasting power. Cynically I thought this would be the perfect scent for a guy who works in sales!

This is one of those "I know I smell better than everyone else" types. Really yummy, but I'm only going to wear this when in an intimate setting *oh and I plan to use this bottle all the way up lol* ☺️. Though I do wish it were on beast mode.... It isn't.

Lemon-lime crumble pie with salt and sea air. It's unisex but I associate sea notes more with masculine fragrances, it is sweet though, making it feminine too. I like it, it reminds me of childhood summers spent by the beach.

Very well balanced compared to their other fragrances (This one is not smoky or leathery). The gourmand and aquatic facets are here but in a very clever way.

Very delicious perfume, but I'm not sure I want to smell like biscuits:D It has some depth - like marine and a little bit of salt - but still mostly biscuits

to me first 10 mins was a glass of coca cola with lime and a caramel popcorn :D then it became a lemon biscuit - very cute I was surprised :)

The sweet scent of animal crackers and shortbread. Tasty! But I don't want to wear it.

In a heavily LARP-centric group of friends, everyone at a costume party has gone to great lengths to dress as period-appropriate pirates, even going so far as to rub dirt under their fingernails and in some cases forego bathing for a few days to get that picture-perfect unkempt, grimy, oily-haired swashbuckler vibe. Real antique muskets have been procured. Some guy showed up with an actual parrot. There's a rum-only rule at the bar, and vast quantities of it are being guzzled down at an athletic pace. Outside, a friend who works for the local butcher is roasting mutton joints on cutlasses while a woman with dreadlocks plays a reverse dance on a hurdy-gurdy. Everyone is absolutely locked into character, and then "that one friend" knocks at the door. He's wearing an Acapulco shirt, Bermuda shorts, flip flops, and a Hawaiian lei. "I thought it was beach-themed," he says. This is not the first time this has happened. A dejected hush falls over the formerly enthusiastic crowd as they realize their immersion has been shattered. The only reason he's allowed inside is that he brought lemon cookies. Lignum Vitae is that friend-- fun on its own, but a bummer in context.

I will try to not let my immense disappointment hurt this review too badly; lignum vitae is a wood with the most interesting, pleasant floral scent you could possibly imagine and I'll admit I bought this perfume on name alone. Whoops. VERY heavy on the citrus, as if spilling fabuloso on yourself at first whiff. While there are definitely undercurrents, the initial zest is so strong this perfume might as well be a one-note, and I can promise you that if you smell anything but pure lemonheads for the first hour of wear you are hallucinating and need to seek urgent mental health care. It milds out a bit over time, and becomes a rather refreshingly sweet zesty lemon with a nice spice on the back end. It's just a shame the lemon is so overwhelming at the start that I could see it completely ruining this perfume for many

This is by far the most challenging fragrance in my collection, I find this equally challenging as Coeur De Noir but in a different way. Though traditionally gourmands are supposed to be relatively easy to wear, the combination of notes gives a very unique vibe. And the biscuit note is completely unique, so lack of familiarity also plays a role in how I perceive the scent. Overall after the first wearing, I feel it is an "OK" scent. I find Rake and Ruin and Vi Et Armis more interesting. I do not get the woods at all on my skin and feel the marine notes could have been avoided.

This is a happy scent that reminds me of caramel popcorn! Magic Circus by MiN NY is the evil twin. Weird gourmand notes are brightened by the marine (which I usually don't like but I find very functional in this case) and all the citrus notes. Overture is an awkward joy, because it really brings me to a funfair by the sea packed with children eating tons of caramel popcorn. Sun shines and the sea breeze kisses everything. Drydown is less interesting, a bit disappointing, with the hated marine note popping out and making it smell like a fragrance for men from the 90s.

An interesting warmth — original, but to describe it properly I’d need to focus on it again. It’s not in the 1996 territory, and it’s not powdery. Rather, it’s a kind of soft, diffused orange — or better yet, something like a sweetened rice porridge, a sort of rice dessert.

The only offering from this house that is somewhat pleasing. There was this unique, original, yet familiar feeling that I got the first time I smelled it, but could not put my finger on what that was. Then it hit me.... This is a niche version of Kenzo Jungle for Man!

Maybe I will like this one better after it sits for a while. To me, this smells like every "cookie" candle I've ever smelled at Bath & Body Works. Not a bad scent, but not something I want to smell like.

A citrusy opening with a warm dough middle and soft clean wood drydown. Curious but not something I need. Performance was solid. Not a lot of projection but found it in my bubble for about 8 hours.

A salty lemon cookie, really unique citrus gourmand that i would recommend everyone to try, since its really unique.

The notes and the idea seemed wonderful, but the reality of testing it on skin made me switch from 'want it' to 'don't like it'. What made me want it blind was the biscuit note and the contrast between gourmand and the savory/marine/woody/mineral notes. I was almost certain that I finally stumbled upon something special - unconventional gourmand from THE unconventional niche house (Beaufort). But no. In short - the biscuit made the appearance at the top notes; to me it came closer to rice pudding cooked in Chinese restaurant than to biscuit (French pastry) - afterwards the lime takes over the composition reducing the gourmand character to minimum until pretty soon ALL I could smell was this huge aquatic lime, not so much marine as generic, quite sharp and aggresive. In all honesty, not much going on here and not much better-smelling than a no-name aquatic something from drugstore men's department. Too bad actually because the concept is great and with more effort this could be far better - a balanced, finished product/fragrance.

I find this very unappealing. Right up there with my least liked scents ever. I rarely get headaches from fragrances but this one manages to give me one within moments. I wish I could say nicer things. It's biscuity, and I recognise that note from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Eat Me, and also Jo Malone Ginger Biscuit - both of which are lovely. This isn't. It's the smell of a hoovered up Hovis biscuit, lime and spilled aftershave. I just can't.

Huh, I'm not smelling anything like food at all. More like woody dirt. A slight pinch of lemon that lasts half a sniff, but woody woody dirt. Today's the first day trying it, so I'll probably wait a while and try it again. First impression is a no.. Well put together, smooth moving dry down. Pretty organic, no headaches from synthetics. I would not buy this or accept as a gift either. On to the next!

#1676 in my “Tour de Fragrance” Got this as a decant from scentsplit.com and glad I did not blind buy it. I love lemony baked goods. Tate’s Bake Shop “Lemon Cookies.” Rip Van Wafels “Lemon Cookies.” Nonnie's “Limone” Biscotti. But smelling like an iced lemon biscotti is not what I’m going for. In a half hour or so it’s more cookie than lemon, but still. Not for me.

Would be a lovely gourmand, complex but quite light and airy, if it wasn't just eclipsed by a light up neon sign saying CAKE. It chills out a bit by the end of the day and it's quite nice, but it just smells like I smeared lemon cake on myself and then put a very nice perfume on. I can't wear this at all.