English Fern (1911)
by Penhaligon's

I bought this again off eBay trying and hoping that it wasn't as strident as remembered. It's just bloody awful, harsh and astringent. Now I remember why I poured half of my old bottle down the sink a few years ago. What on earth possessed me to purchase this again?

I love Penhaligon's fragrances and have yet to find one that smelled bad on me or clashed with my body chemistry. I really wanted to like this one because it's one of their older fragrances (1911), but for me the Geranium comes on way too strong, and geraniums have never been my favorite floral scent. Like everything Penhaligon's makes, it's well made and superior quality. If you love, and I mean really LOVE, the smell of geraniums, I'd give this one a try.

Let me start by saying that I am a fan of this house. I have been pleased with most offerings from Penhaligon's. I'm especially drawn to their tradition and history. So, I was really hoping to like English Fern as it is one of their scents that has stood the test of time having been introduced in 1911.

English Fern's opening is a extremely bold pine/geranium. These top notes are almost repulsive to my nose. I can usually find redeeming qualities in most fragrances but EF doesn't give me that opportunity as the pungent top notes dominate and stay throughout the dry down.

It is one of those fragrances that makes me shake my head and wonder how it has stayed in production for so long when others are discontinued after such short runs. To each his own, I guess. This one is not for me.

Lovely fresh scent with the grassy and soapy notes sticking out for me. One for every day and work use. I tend to wear for my own pleasure, my wife considers this one acceptable with a subtly pleasant dry down. As she is a very fussy Russian lady I take that as a positive.

English Fern opens with a fresh, soapy aspect that's got green notes around the edges. It's very refreshing in my opinion, and I'm enjoying it immensely. With that said, I've realized that Creed cloned Penhaligon's 1911 creation English Fern when they created Cypres Musc, I'm astonished at how much Cypres Musc reminds me of English Fern. Obviously, Cypres Musc is not an exact replica of EF, but it's a direct ancestor as far as I'm concerned. The biggest different for me is that CM is nuclear in strength, longevity and sillage. It's a bit too heavy for me and tends to burn out my senses before the end of the day. English Fern on the other hand sits very nicely on the skin. The sillage could be a little more pronounced, but it's very tasteful and enjoyable. Such a clean, fresh smelling fragrance. I will keep this in my rotation for many years to come. I love finding frags that were created so many years ago that are still so enjoyable all these years later. Bravo, Penhaligons!