Last updated
An original bottle of Fougere Royale by Houbigant, created by the perfumer Paul Parquet in 1882. Fougere Royale by Paul Parquet - Bottle.jpg
An original bottle of Fougère Royale by Houbigant, created by the perfumer Paul Parquet in 1882.
Fougere means "fern" in French Sa-fern.jpg
Fougère means "fern" in French

Fougère, pronounced  [fu.ʒɛʁ] , is one of the main olfactive families of perfumes. The name comes from the French language word for "fern". Fougère perfumes are made with a blend of fragrances: top-notes are sweet, with the scent of lavender flowers; as the more volatile components evaporate, the scents of oakmoss, derived from a species of lichen and described as woody, sharp and slightly sweet, and coumarin, similar to the scent of new-mown hay, become noticeable. Aromatic fougère, a derivative of this class, contains additional notes of herbs, spice and/or wood. [2]


The name originated with Houbigant Parfum's Fougère Royale. This perfume, created by Houbigant owner Paul Parquet, was later added to the scent archives known as the Osmothèque, in Versailles, France. [1] Houbigant re-introduced this fragrance in 2010. [2]

Perfumes of this type are especially popular as fragrances for men. [1] Many modern fougère perfumes have various citrus, herbaceous, green, floral and animalic notes included. The most common additions to the basic fragrance blend include vetiver and geranium. Bergamot is often present to add sharpness to the lavender top-note.

Examples of men's fragrances which fall into the fougère class include Brut by Fabergé, Paco Rabanne Pour Homme, Azzaro Pour Homme, Boss by Hugo Boss, Prada for Men, Eternity for Men by Calvin Klein, Canoe for Men by Dana, Dolce & Gabbana Pour Homme, Drakkar Noir by Guy Laroche, Tabac for Men, Michael for Men by Michael Kors, Clubman Pinaud After Shave and Special Reserve, Polo Blue and Chaps by Ralph Lauren, Kouros by Yves Saint Laurent and Bracken Man by Amouage. [1] [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Perfume Mixture of fragrant substances, usually in liquid form, used to give agreeable scent to objects, air or living creatures


Jean Patou French fashion designer

Jean Patou was a French fashion designer and founder of the Jean Patou brand.


Guerlain is a French perfume, cosmetics and skincare house, which is among the oldest in the world. Many traditional Guerlain fragrances are characterized by a common olfactory accord known as the "Guerlinade" (fr). The house was founded in Paris in 1828 by the perfumer Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain. It was run by the Guerlain family until 1994, when it was bought by the French multinational company LVMH. Its flagship store is 68, Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris.

Chypre is the name of a family of perfumes that are characterised by an accord composed of citrus top notes, a middle centered on cistus labdanum, and a mossy-animalic set of basenotes derived from oakmoss. Chypre perfumes fall into numerous classes according to their modifier notes, which include but are not limited to leather, florals, fruits, and amber.

Chanel No. 19 Chanel perfume

Chanel No. 19 perfume was first marketed in 1971. The number 19 was chosen to commemorate Coco Chanel's birthday, 19 August. The perfume was launched a year before she died. The scent was created by Henri Robert.

Jean-Claude Ellena

Jean-Claude Ellena is a French perfumer and writer.

Eau de toilette

Eau de toilette literally translated as toilet water is a lightly scented cologne used as a skin freshener. It is also referred to as "aromatic waters" and has a high alcohol content. It is usually applied directly to the skin after bathing or shaving. It was originally composed of alcohol and various volatile oils. Traditionally these products were named after a principal ingredient; some being geranium water, lavender water, lilac water, violet water, spirit of myrcia and 'eau de Bretfeld'. Because of this, eau de toilette was sometimes referred to as "toilet water".

Houbigant Parfum is a perfume manufacturer founded in Paris, France in 1775 by Jean-François Houbigant of Grasse (1752–1807). The brand originally sold gloves, perfumes, and bridal bouquets. The original shop, called "A la Corbeille de Fleurs", was at 19, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Over the centuries, the House of Houbigant became perfumer to the royal courts of Europe including Napoleon, Napoleon III, Alexander III of Russia, and Queen Victoria.

Jean-François Houbigant

Jean-François Houbigant was a French perfumer who founded the second oldest perfumery in France. He established a modest shop in 1775 at 57 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. He chose a basket of flowers to identify the front of his shop and that emblem will remain the symbol of Houbigant through the years.

Drakkar Noir is a men's fragrance by Guy Laroche created by perfumer Pierre Wargnye. The fragrance was introduced in 1982 and is manufactured under license by the L'Oréal Group. It is a successor scent to the brand's 1972 fragrance Drakkar, launched to appeal to an Anglo-Saxon market. It won the 1985 FiFi Award for "Most Successful Men's Fragrance (Limited)" and, in 2010, the Canadian Fragrance Awards' "Hall of Fame Award—Men's". In 1991, it was the bestselling men's "prestige" ($20+) scent worldwide. The name is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable "Dra-CAR". According to The New York Times, the name derives from "a flat-bottomed Viking ship".

Paul Parquet

Paul Parquet (1856–1916) was a French perfumer and joint owner of Houbigant. Called the "greatest perfumer of his time" by Ernest Beaux, he is widely regarded as the founder of modern perfumery for having pioneered the use of synthetics in works such as Fougère Royale. His bestselling perfume, Le Parfum Idéal, was described by Robert Bienaimé as a “masterpiece of fragrant equilibrium, harmonious and of good taste as shall never be surpassed”.


The Osmothèque is the world's largest scent archive, a leading international research institution tracing the history of perfumery, based in Versailles with conference centers in New York City and Paris. Founded in 1990 by Jean Kerléo and other senior perfumers including Jean-Claude Ellena and Guy Robert, the Osmothèque is internationally responsible for the authentication, registration, preservation, documentation and reproduction of thousands of perfumes gathered from the past two millennia, archived at the Osmothèque repository and consultable by the public.

Light Blue is a fragrance line by Italian fashion designers Dolce & Gabbana which was launched in 2001 and has won numerous fragrance-industry awards. The men's version was released 2007 and has also won awards, including the FiFi Awards in 2008.

Jacques Polge is a French perfumer, best known for his role as Head Perfumer at Les Parfums Chanel from 1978 to 2015.

Fragrance wheel

A fragrance wheel, also known as aroma wheel, fragrance circle, perfume wheel or smell wheel, is a circular diagram showing the inferred relationships among olfactory groups based upon similarities and differences in their odor. The groups bordering one another are implied to share common olfactory characteristics. Fragrance wheel is frequently used as a classification tool in oenology and perfumery.

Bleu de Chanel Mens fragrance introduced in 2010

Bleu de Chanel is a men's fragrance created by Jacques Polge for Chanel in 2010. It was the first men's fragrance released by the brand since Allure Homme Sport in 2004, and the first men's masterbrand introduced since Égoïste in 1990. The original fragrance is an eau de toilette; the 2014 eau de parfum version was formulated by Polge, and the 2018 parfum version was formulated by his son Olivier Polge.

L'eau d'Issey is a perfume for women produced for Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake.

Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud is a French perfumer formerly with the Swiss fragrance and flavor company Firmenich, who currently works for Louis Vuitton of the LVMH Luxury Group.

Alberto Morillas is a Spanish perfumer. He is a master perfumer at Swiss fragrance and flavor firm Firmenich, where his notable creations have included Calvin Klein CK One, Giorgio Armani Acqua di Giò, SKINN and Marc Jacobs Daisy. He has an independent line called Mizensir.

Le Male Mens fragrance introduced in 1995

Le Male is a men's fragrance created by Francis Kurkdjian for Jean Paul Gaultier in 1995. It has been manufactured by Puig since 2016, and was previously manufactured by Shiseido subsidiary Beauté Prestige International from 1995 until 2015. The fragrance was developed as a counterpart to the women's fragrance Classique, which was introduced in 1993.


  1. 1 2 3 4 "Fougère Royale". Parfums Houbigant Paris. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Aromatic Fougere". perfumes magazine. Retrieved 21 November 2015.

Further reading