If you’ve gone cologne shopping—or, more likely, read about fragrance on the Internet—you may have run into the word “fougère.” That’s foo-ZHer, for those of you not well-versed in last century’s business lingua franca. If you’ve read that word and thought, what the hell does that mean? I write about fragrance, and I field this question all the time.
In the most basic terms, fougère is French for “fern.” And while fougère scents don’t necessarily smell like ferns—because, in reality, ferns don’t produce much of a smell—they smell like the idea of a fern: fresh, crisp, and green—perhaps like a wet, mossy forest. It also, and this is especially true when it’s marketed toward men, has a bit of a barbershop quality to it. Brisk lavender, aromatic herbs, earthy oakmoss, and warm coumarin (a sweet-smelling organic chemical compound found in plants like tonka beans) are what define the fragrance family.
Though, once you get into modern fougères and feminine fougères, the noses start to take some creative liberties with the foundation. The category dates back to 1882, when Houbigant introduced Fougère Royale, then a women’s scent. In the time since, the category has gone more masculine with that barbershop connection, and now even the Fougère Royale reformulation (from 2010) reads manly.
Today’s best versions keep that classic backbone while folding in everything from citrus and spice to leather and woods. Below, we’ve rounded up the standouts, from old-school icons to modern remixes, that prove the fougère still has plenty of life in it. We have to kick off this list with the fragrance that started it all: Houbigant’s Fougère Royale.
In 1882, Paul Parquet was inspired by ferns and set out to create a fragrance that would capture what a fern might smell like, despite the fact that ferns are pretty much odorless. The key players here are fresh lavender, sweet coumarin, and earthy oakmoss, which form the trifecta of the fougère. The original Fougère Royale fragrance was highly popular, and though it was originally created for women, it became a commercial success among men, dandies.
It also revolutionized fragrance by using the synthetic coumarin molecule (isolated from the tonka bean and mimics the smell of hay)—before that, perfumes relied entirely on natural oils and florals. While the fragrance was eventually discontinued sometime in the mid-20th century, it was officially re-released in 2010, which is the one we have here. A simple yet luxurious fougère fragrance, Zegna’s La Panoramica EDP relies on just three scent notes: crisp and woody pine needles, fresh and herbal lavender, and rich and earthy vetiver.
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