New Release: Ffern’s Autumn 2023 Eau de Parfum
My second receival of Ffern’s exclusive parfums has arrived just in time for the autumnal equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere. I enjoyed the unique experience and the fragrant yet wearable scent from the previous summer launch, I was curious to see how the Autumn 2023 eau de parfum would live up.
The fall release included the same items as my last receival — diffusor stone, organic tea, cards and pamphlets with product information. I opened the sampler trial and was hesitant to open the full-size bottle. At first I just noted the scent of a peppery pine, which did not strike me as an aroma I would think of when imagining what fall smells like. Letting the scent sit for some time, I decided to keep the bottle. Here’s why:
The scent started with cool, peppery hints and wisps of mossy spice. Reading the notes card, I found out the top notes included Timut pepper — an ingredient new to me — from Nepal, Nutmeg from Indonesia, numerous citruses and a Fig leaf accord proprietary to Ffern. The top layer made me think perhaps the perfumer was inspired by the more natural sense of fall aroma utilizing these notes, instead of incorporating stereotypical fall notes of cinnamon, apple, caramel, etc. The top notes reminded me of the trees and foliage slowly turning in a forest, drifting away from their lively, green bodied summer stage of metamorphosis. Middle notes continued the earthy theme blending with the top, featuring Carrot seed and Basil grand vert from France, with florals alike Egyptian Geranium and the sensual, musty Patchouli from Indonesia. The middle notes provided a green yet warm push from the cool top. Dry down notes of cotton-esque Orris — a powdery note that I come to enjoy selectively — from China, smoky Birch tar from Virginia, and leathery Labdanum from Spain complimented the patchouli. After wearing for some time, I was pleased enough to keep the scent, but made some further conclusions.
The scent I would say is unisex, which is not a problem for me because I do enjoy wearing unisex and even men’s fragrances. I commonly enjoy men’s fougères — a fragrance family containing specific top notes of citrus, aromatic hearts, and base notes of mossy and green woods. This release I would consider a fougère as it consists of sweet orange and lemon rinds in the top notes, geranium, basil grand vert, and neroli for the heart, and hay, birch tar, and vetiver in the dry down. However, although I appreciate this formulation and would wear it, I would not consider it my new autumn staple. It is reminiscent of a cold, damp day in fall when you go outside and everything smells like dirt — common for me as a farm lies right behind my backyard. It is a clean fougère, with notes of wood daintily embodied by herbs and greens. Yet aside from the scent being of a fragrance family that I do like, my breath wasn’t taken away by the autumnal launch. Incorporating more florals or fruits would have been unexpected for the seasonal release. Perhaps utilizing an accord of apple would have been yes, stereotypical, but also intriguing to see how the brand incorporated it into a formulation. Overall, I like the fougère and needed a reliable fougère staple in my collection and can even give it to one of my brothers as I feel they’d enjoy it. Other than that, if I had my own bottle of Hermès H24 eau de toilette already in my collection, I would have been mad at myself for opening the full size Ffern Autumn 2023 bottle, voiding return. The scent is not bad, just not remarkable enough for the $100+ price tag. Looking forward to seeing if Ffern’s Winter 2024 eau de parfum will keep my desire to remain on the ledger…
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