Houbigant will re-introduce their iconic 1882 fragrance for men, Fougère Royale, this month:
First introduced in 1882, Fougère Royale completely revolutionized the world of perfumes and established modern perfumery as it exists today.
Fougère Royale was the first “fougère” (or fern-like) perfume ever created, establishing a completely new fragrance family which still remains today the most popular family in men’s fragrances: Brut by Fabergé, Paco Rabanne, Azzarro, Boss by Hugo Boss and Prada by Prada for Men belong to this family.
The fragrance has been reworked by perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux.
Fougère Royale opens with an uplifting cocktail of sparkling citrus oils that blends into an aromatic bouquet of Mediterranean herbs, where lavender and Moroccan chamomile oil dictate the tempo.
A redolent heart follows, where the floral-spicy "Rondeletia" accord is revealed through rich geranium nuances and warm spices. A floral intermezzo showcases rare rose essences and absolutes, spiked by pepper, cinnamon and carnation.
Finally, a grand finale of earthy, ambery and woody harmonies, where moss notes join a sensual patchouli theme enriched by warm coumarinic undertones of tonka beans and clary sage absolute.
Houbigant Fougère Royale will be available in 100 ml Eau de Parfum ($170) or in a limited edition 100 ml Parfum in presentation box ($600). (via press release)
Update: see a review of the 2010 Houbigant Fougère Royale.
I don´t consider the Prada Amber for men a Fougere, unless the term is being used very loosely.
Perhaps I am missing something? 😛
Michael Edwards calls it a dry woods, and I think that is more accurate. The original press materials for the Prada said it had 4 accords, one of which was a fougere accord, but I do not think the fougere accord is prominent enough to classify the scent as a fougere. I have also seen it called an “ambery fougere”, and Sephora calls it a “woody oriental”. These things are all subjective, of course.
Thank you! I know it is very relative, specially these days, but I find this more barber-like old-soap rather than fougere.
It shouldn’t matter, but it threw me out when they use it for a comparison with a perfume from 1882! 🙂
Sounds wonderful, but at $170 it’s out of my price range.
Yeah, it is not priced to sell.
whoa!
Can’t wait to hear commentary from someone who has sniffed the original.
There are some sightings on basenotes already.
YOu might need a ouija board for that! 😉
I sniffed it several months ago. It smells lovely, a combination of lavender and green. If only the price were somewhat lower!
You sniffed the new one, or the old?
It’s been available in the SF NM for a couple of weeks now, and the tester has been around a couple of months. It’s fairly light, with a nice drydown. Sorry I can’t be more specific, but unless a note is really strong (PATCHOULI!!!), I don’t have the vocabulary. I might buy one one of these days. It’s perfectly unisex, by the way.
The new one, which they claimed was a re-issue of the old. (Of course, they never admit to reformulations).
Thanks both!
I’m interested in how it will compare to the historical fragrance-if it’s close then this seems like a momentous event. But I know reissues often don’t live up to the originals.
True.
I was reading The Guide a few days ago and they commented on how the mighty have fallen in terms of what Houbigant used to be as opposed to now.
Robin, how is Houbigant holding up now in the industry?
Well, they don’t have a large enough presence to say how they’re “holding up”. The only other fragrance they’re making right now is Quelques Fleurs. (I”m not entirely clear if the same group is making Apercu & Duc de Vervins)
Given all the IFRA regs, it’s doubtful it well be very much like the original at all. Great-looking bottle, though.
Is there any indication or plans to re-issue their mythical Parfum Ideal?
No idea, sorry.
I participate in the group that reintroduced Fougere Royale, so if you wish I can give you some clarification.
Houbigant is now controlled by a Family group that always worked in the perfume industry.
The relaunch of Fougere Royale took 3 years of work, as even owning the old formula, many ingredients are not existing anymore, as they are specialties of oil producers that disappeared.
Even the Osmoteque version is very far from the original as they do not have the real original formula, nor they own the right ingredients.
Our work produced a formula that respects the original structure, that reintroduced all the natural absolute of the original. For istance we have again now an oakmoss that is IFRA compliant.
At the moment we do not plan to reintroduce other vintage fragrances, as we think we have now the 2 best of Houbigant, Fougere Royale, and Quelques Fleurs, the firs multi floral bouquet.
I have HFR after-shave from the 1930s – and I have a reformulation of the AS and the cologne, presumably from the ’50s or ’60s. I also have a decant of the 2010 version. The ’60s reformulation is quite close to the older AS, though lighter. The 2010 version is almost nothing like those earlier scents. The earlier scents are similar to Penhaligon’s English Fern and Trumper’s Wild Fern (first cousins, clearly). I haven’t the experience nor the vocabulary to describe the new scent – except that to me it smells like many modern scents… something I could find in most department stores.
I have the original , mine dates from the 1920s, it is definitely fern-like, the perfect fougere. I havent smelled it in awhile, its tucked away in storage. But the next time I get it out I will tell you what I smell.