Terminology: Fougere Fragrances for Men

12/11/07 14:19:27

The olfactive group fougere includes many classic and very popular fragrances for men. The word fougere is French and means 'fern'. Every botanist will tell you that fern in nature has no smell at all. The word fougere, so important in perfumery, originates from the fragrance named Fougere Royal created by the perfume house Houbigant.

Houbigant is old and renowned French perfume house, established in 1775. It is famous for creating fragrances for royal families’ members. One of the Houbigant creations admirers was Marie-Antoinette, the wife of King Louis XVI of France.

The most renowned perfumer of the house and partner, Paul Parquet, joined the business in 1880 and already in 1882 (according to the Osmotheque data in 1884) he created his Fougere Royal. Fougere Royal was special for its composition which for the first time included a synthetic component – coumarin – added by Paul parquet. Coumarin possesses a fresh, newly-mown hay scent. Blended with lavender and oak moss it creates the base for fougere fragrances – woodsy aroma. Coumarin is a chemical compound which in nature can be found in some plants such as sweet clover and bison grass, woodruff and Tonka beans.

The name coumarin originates from French word ‘coumarou’ which means ‘Tonka beans’. The coumarin used by Paul Parquet in the Royal Fougere composition was synthetic; it was not extracted from a plant, but synthetically created from such a prosaic material as it is coal tar. The credits for its discovery in 1868 belong to the English chemist William Henry Perkin.

Paul Parquet at first devoted his fragrance to ladies; however, very soon his clients changed that and from female fragrance it moved to the group of men's fragrances since it was mainly purchased and used by men. One of the great lovers of fougere fragrances was French writer, the follower of naturalistic school – Guy de Maupassant.

Fougere Royal, regrettably, is not being produced any more. The production was stopped in 1950. Some attempts to recreate and produce updated Fougere Royal were undertaken in 1959 and 1988, but today it can not be found at the market. It might also be connected to the financial problems and downfall of the Houbigant house. The current owner of the Houbigant is Dana Company.

Fougere fragrances at Fragrantica

The sources of information: perfumeprojects.com/museum (information and Fougere Royal vintage after shave photo); beautymall.ru

Author: Elena Knežević (jeca)
Fragrantica Member