Limewood
Blackcliff (2021)

My first sampling of Blackcliff Parfums, the Barbados-based brand, is Limewood, a 2021 release and one of several fragrances that stuck out to me (in a good way) when experiencing the brand at the Perfumology event recently that featured the owner. Limewood’s perfumer is Justin Frederico, the creator of Perfumology’s own catalogue to date as well as his own line. Its name seems appropriate right off the bat, as it combines both a strong citrus and a strong sense of woody notes, with the eponymous lime blending with a medley of citruses, spices, and woods. It has a nice amount of vetiver, giving it an earthy and dark quote to pair with the woody duo of oak and sandalwood, with spicy contributes of black pepper and clary sage and the sort of spice/wood crossover of birch. So on the one hand it’s fresh and robust and bright, and on the other, it’s quite dark. With the house name Blackcliff Limewood feels like it nails the name of the fragrance, a feat that’s always a bit tricky to achieve.

Limewood, like most of the line, is priced at $245 for 100ml in extrait de parfum concentration, sold through the house site as well as Perfumology. It performs very well as a fragrance with notable fresh elements, making it a nice year-round option that I could definitely see myself braving in a summer day. The bottles are something to marvel at, too, an irregular yet smooth and substantial igneous rock-looking shape.

7 out of 10