Scents & Scentsibilities: Fougere and Flowers

March, so the saying goes, comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb—but only if the lamb doesn’t get eaten first. March is such a temperamental month, replete with howling winds, blustery tantrums, and sweet teasing hints of spring. It’s a month that calls for perfume with personality: something that will stand up to swirling pressure systems and temperaments, and maybe even growl back a bit, too. 

Fougere de Bengale

Parfum d’Empire, the French niche house, was founded in 2003 and is inspired by the great empires of the past, including fragrances inspired by Alexander the Great, Napoleon, the Ottoman Empire, and Tsarist Russia. I think we can establish right now that these fragrances do not suffer from a lack of confidence and their latest offering, Fougere de Bengale, is no exception. Marketed as a celebration of tiger hunts held during the British Raj, it has all the classic Fougere notes: lavender, oakmoss, Tonka bean, and herbs. Top notes are lavender and Assam tea, with middle notes of hay, Tonka bean, spices including tarragon and black pepper, and tobacco. Base notes are oakmoss, patchouli, musk, and vanilla.

I don’t know why anyone would glorify tiger hunts and imperialism in this day and age and I find the marketing offensive, but Fougere de Bengale hits an intersection of smell and memory for me; I smile with pleasure and remembrance whenever I smell it. My grandfather Harry, born in the UK in the late Victorian era, was a pipe smoker and teller of tales over endless cups of hot, dark tea. That quintessentially English man who loved boxing but not, so far as I know, tiger hunting, was brought back to me at my first whiff of this fragrance, and for that alone I find it worth a try.

My first sniff gave me a jolt of sharp, fresh lavender, followed quickly by a gust of hay and sweet tobacco. At some point, I started smelling spicy pepper and warm curry, all mingled into a warm, potent blend. The sweet tobacco smell, with a slightly sharp undertone, lingered for several hours so the staying power is good.

Fougere de Bengale however, is not for everyone and was not a favorite with either of my scent doubles. As this is a man’s fragrance, I asked a man and a woman for opinions and both grimaced at first sniff, never a good sign. My female scent double found it musky and heavy, smelling like an old man who smokes a lot of cigars while in his hat and robe. My male scent double found it to be sharp and citrus-y in the beginning with unpleasant sour, spicy-moldy-curry notes that eventually calmed into a rich and complex sweet tobacco.

Fougere de Bengale is a throwback to an earlier era of men’s fragrance, so chances are any man who wears Tom Ford for Men as his everyday fragrance may not like this. I still think it’s worth a try. The bottle is a slim glass column topped by an elegant gold cap.

Available at Lucky Scent ($3 for a sample), and Beauty habit.

Tiempe Passate