New Release: Ffern’s Spring 2024 EDP
Ffern’s Spring arrival has blossomed.
If you have been keeping up with the Collection features, then you know the gist of the brand, Ffern, and its common initiatives and principles. I was excited to receive my box for the season, as I was hoping for a twist on a Spring scent. A twist I sure received, but I’m still undecisive on my final thoughts. Here’s why:
When thinking about the customers Ffern caters to, I can see why the brand creates fluid, unisex scents. How is the brand supposed to know who is ordering their formulas due to their distribution methods and point of sale regarding their ledger releases? I have nothing against unisex scents — I fully support them and also enjoy many creations. With that said, I found this seasons’ launch a bit masculine for me as it struck me very vegetal initially during my first impression. I personally associate vegetal notes with masculine focused creations, such as fougères. Opening the beautiful ingredient and inspiration brochure Ffern sends out with every order, I figured this vegetal nuance was birthed from the Paraguayan petitgrain, South African buchu leaf, Egyptian basil and Haitian vetiver. These are all notes I do take liking to, but it took a while to notice other notes in the scent. To be fair, it makes sense for the formulators to include green and wood notes in this release. The pamphlet shared development inspirations taken from the first signs of Mother Earth renewing in Spring. Letting the scent sit for 10 minutes or so, I did pick up on the pepper note as well as the cedar gradation. The florals to me were subtle, letting the green and wood notes have their starring moment. I found this odd when researching the potent florals. Jasmine sambac from India, Neroli from Tunisia, and Narcissus flower from Grasse were all included in the recipe. Of course, everything comes down to concentration. After trying to decipher what other notes were included in the Spring 2024 EDP, Brazilian Green mandarin, Nigerian ginger root, and Tolu balsam were interesting call outs for me. I am not familiar with Tolu balsam, and upon further research, found that the resin provides a warm, sweet vanilla-like flair (Holden). The floralcy grew more as I left the scent on, and I did take liking to it. But I did not become instantly obsessed or wanting to open the finalized bottle after sampling the sampler vial. Overall, the Spring 2024 EDP smelled of fresh grass with a hint of woods and gentle florals. The perfume was pretty but did not resonate to a creation that felt distinctively shocking or wonderous. I do get the impression judging the other fragrances I have received from Ffern, that perhaps the fragrance developers stay away from spotlighting one ingredient in their launches, for example, releasing a scent that is all about rose. Perhaps the developers do not want to turn off customers on the ledger by risking a launch that is focused on highlighting specific ingredients as after all, not everyone has the same preferences.
I do feel the launch aligned with the season and would be a suitable scent to wear everyday such as to the office or out to lunch. I do admire Ffern for their brand mission and commitments, but for the price, not loving some of the launches could have me miss out on buying other fragrances I know and love. Which, in reality, I could use the money I spend on Ffern definitely elsewhere… *coughs in student loans*. Feeling underwhelmed by the Spring release, I think I’m going to give Ffern another shot before calling it quits.
WORKS CITED
Holden, E. (2020, September 14). Peru Balsam, the loveliest fragrance. The Herb Society of America Blog. https://herbsocietyblog.wordpress.com/2020/09/14/peru-balsam-the-loveliest-fragrance/