Beaufort

Beaufort is a niche fragrance house founded by musician and writer Leo Crabtree. Its inspiration came from British history and was brought to life by his obsession with scent. In 2015, the brand launched its work of art, "Come Hell or High Water . Through this collection, elements of British history, some imaginary and some real, come together to create olfactory collages that express themes such as warfare, trade and exploration. So how did a perfume like this come about? Here are a few interesting stories. Crabtree's first home, as a child born into a diverse family made up mostly of artists, psychologists and sailors, was actually a boat on the River Thames. “The sea, its traditions, superstitions and way of life are ingrained in me. The brand name Beaufort London (which comes from the wind force scale introduced in 1805 by naval officer Sir Francis Beaufort) represents a kind of framework through which we can understand ourselves,” Crabtree notes. “The wind is constant, enduring, but ultimately changeable and clear. It can be destructive.” Crabtree's love of life and fragrance, and his engagement with the darker elements of British history, served as the driving force behind the brand's collection, which is meant to be bold, sometimes contradictory, yet always driven by an innate curiosity and a desire to expand the experience. So how did it all begin? Crabtree recalls: “It all started with me in a fjord. I had a mustache then, and that gust of wind hit me. It kind of highlighted the importance of better mustache wax.” As it turns out, he did go on to create such a wax as his first product, while also experimenting with fragrances, with the aim of making the wax smell good. He adds: “It also made me truly appreciate the incredible power of the wind! It's something we can't see or control, but it has such power over our lives.” He says Daniel Defoe once tried to build a scale and failed. It wasn't until 1805 that it finally worked, which is also where the inspiration for the first perfume came from. Beaufort - Working with some of Britain's best perfumers. To create these fragrances, Crabtree worked closely with Britain's finest perfumers. His aim was to create scents that would tap on the window of the nation's collective subconscious, while bringing moments from the past to light. So he took fragments of shared history, which were quickly brought to life and carried on the wind. The result was a unique British perfume, driven by curiosity and inspired by the sea. The “fragments” found here are, according to Crabtree, the footnotes to these scent stories as they unfold elsewhere. Here you'll find an appendix of the intriguing, the curious and the strange: morsels of information that inspired us to create stories and express them through scent. Crabtree himself says of the Beaufort brand: “Meanwhile, we hope you can enjoy our efforts as you might a good book - a book you return to from time to time out of curiosity, but keep reading purely for your own enjoyment. More importantly, we hope you'll allow our stories to become part of yours.” Smoke, gunpowder and lime. How unique can you be? These are the ingredients of 1805 Tonnerre by BeauFort. It is a woody fragrance for women and men. 1805 Tonnerre was launched in 2015. The top notes are smoke, gunpowder and lime; the middle notes are sea water and brandy; the base notes are fir balsam, cedar and amber. This fragrance is suited to cool autumn and winter nights. It has a distinct presence, lasts on the skin, and is very popular with men.