Reviews of Fougère Royale (1882)
by Houbigant

Ad fontes – from the source

Many thanks to HW for the wonderful review. I read it early in my BN days, and it inspired me. Now I can offer my own take on this interesting scent. I was able to obtain a bottle of this vintage juice, but I held off on reviewing it for a year. I needed to try other classic fougeres, and learn about scents generally, so that I could do it justice.
My bottle is from Houbigant’s re-launch period of Fougere Royale, somewhere in the 1959-1963 zone. It was from a seller who had the inventory of a drugstore of that time. The little splash bottle is lovely, with a glass stopper. The juice is a golden colour. The bottle was very tightly stoppered, and I’m confident that the contents are as well-preserved as possible.
What I encountered was the magnificent, incredibly beautiful scent of a classic fougere. It is so lovely! No wonder it was the sensation of its time. It is rich in a way I’ve never smelled in any other fougere, even those of the top ranks. It has a compelling depth, a kind of earthy quality that is peerless. It has power amidst the beauty, and thus it is an assertive scent that any man might happily choose. Its rich, languid notes convey the image of a warm summer day, with flowers and grasses shimmering in a heat haze.
Amazingly after all this time, the ingredients still ring true. The lavender is very dry and aromatic. It combines well with the dusky green notes from clary sage. Special mention is due for the heliotrope – it delivers its characteristic vanilla-cinnamon-powder chord. The pleasantly fern note, something like rubber or soap, is here. The dry-down is dry and haunting, and completely satisfying. Good duration, especially for a vintage scent. I can still detect it 10 hours later.
But again I must stress the richness and depth of this scent. People really smelled like this in the late 1800’s? Amazing, simply amazing.
And in dialogue with HW’s wise, wrist-by-wrist comparison… here is Penhaligon’s English Fern. EF is brighter, crisper, a thinner and more lean scent (especially at the outset). In comparison to the FR it is weaker! I can hardly smell it. Gradually it grows, but it does not equal FR. It is done in the house style of many Penhaligon scents, namely with a cool, even frosty British reserve. It has a crisp, even slightly salty aspect. All of these elements I can recognize only in comparison with FR. EF used to be my benchmark fougere, and it is a marvelous scent. But there is only one FR.

(Cf. a related scent with the same name by Deparco/Gemey, which also goes by the name H pour Homme.)

Houbigant’s Fougere Royale, or Royal Fern is an important historical fragrance, unfortunately very hard to come by today. It was created in 1882 by Houbigant’s owner Paul Parquet. Several sources on the web list it as the first perfume containing a synthetic chemical to receive popular acclaim. That chemical was, I believe, coumarin. Coumarin is found naturally in lavender, clover, and tonka beans. The synthetic production of coumarin allowed greater control in creating the distinctive new-mown hay smell. Royal Fern was the first and defining example of the fougere, and lent its name to a whole family of perfumes.

I was recently able to find a 4 oz bottle of new old stock Fougere Royale from a drugstore that was open from the 1940s to the 1970s. The decades have been kind to this bottle. It was still in its original box. The bottle was still full. There may have been some minor chemical changes over the decades, but the liquid inside still has the pleasing notes I’ve come to associate with a fougere. As I write this I have Houbigant’s Fougere Royale on my left wrist, and Penhaligon’s English Fern on my right wrist. Every once in a while I sniff one or the other to compare the two in my mind.

The first thing I notice is that the Penhaligons is stronger. This may be due to being several decades newer, or to being applied with an atomizer. The Fougere Royal came in a splash bottle. After each sniff of the Penhaligons I have to wait several minutes before I can smell the fragrance on my left wrist. After a few minutes though, the smell is once again quite evident. The old Fougere Royale can without a doubt stand on its own merits. However, in direct competition with the youngster it is overwhelmed.

The next thing I notice is that the Fougere Royale has a small bit more of a sharp, tobacco note than the English Fern does. Otherwise the two are quite similar, and evoke similar thoughts of a sylvian nature.

The staying power of my sample of Fougere Royale is difficult to rate. After wearing it for several hours I can no longer smell much of it. However, my wife tells me it is still strong.