Absent Presence
Eau de Parfum, Beaufort London (2023)

For a brand determined to make perfumes that standout, the only presence absent in Absent Presence is that of a personality. The bitter green citrus of bergamot and a sweetened-snap pea galbanum top do well to accent the gaseous fuel accord of the violet leaf, and the trifecta does lend to this impression of an ethereal presence in the air. It works very well, and it is quite striking yet pleasant to smell. But that is only briefly. It is a very short time before it moves on to a sweet and heady gardenia-like note that is highly restrained. The faintest whiffs of leather, vanillic sandalwood, iso e super, and musk come up from underneath for a very quiet whisper of a skin scent. The whole experience is all too brief… like an encounter with a vague spirit presence, I suppose.

Absent Presence smells pleasant, but in a derivative and not particularly convincing way. BeauFort’s and Dunkley’s love of synthetics don’t help out much with this perfume since the minimalist approach to their use results in a perfume that comes across as empty; too many “slots” in the synthetic materials are left open, begging for some other material to fill them in. I can’t help but think that, if a natural material was used for at least one or more parts, the perfume would have more body and personality without detracting from the creative brief. How the performance manages to be so poor with only the use of synthetics is a mystery. It is completely forgettable and mundane, which is not what an encounter with “other side” should be like.

It’s on the lighter side, similar to Acrasia, and shares that same base—just swap the top and mid for violet, some citrus, and a green hit of galbanum. I’m not really sure where this one fits in my collection. Is it aiming to be a green fragrance? Not quite. Is it supposed to highlight vetiver? It doesn’t really do that either.

In the drydown, I get the faintest hint of Memo Paris’s African Leather—mainly that slightly sour vetiver nuance—but it’s a pretty loose connection. There are definitely stronger takes on violet leaf or vetiver out there. The name fits, but the scent itself feels like it’s lacking presence, and not in a purposeful or interesting way. Performance is light but decent. It works fine for spring and summer, but overall, it doesn’t really carve out its own identity.