Year: 2007
Notes: mint, tarragon, laurel, gingerbread, spices, Assam tea, lavender, geranium, blond tobacco, hay, tonka bean, patchouli, vanilla, oakmoss
"Fougère Bengale revisits the [fougère] genre with a powerful, honeyed blond tobacco accord, and carries us off to India..."
Inspired by the Bengal region of the ancient Mongol Empire, one wouldn't really view Fougère Bengale as a true fougère. However, its Southern Asian olfactory theme is undeniable.
It starts off with a haphazard flurry of mint, herbs and spices. At this stage, there's a lot going on – a celery-like greenness, a culinary herbaceous leaning and a cumin-led spiciness. Although not listed, one can also discern some immortelle (with its earthy maple syrup properties), underscored with liquorice, aniseed and camphorous accents. As for the lavender, its interaction with the immortelle results in a chocolate-like effect.
While it sounds like a complete mess, it actually works – immediately bringing to mind comparisons to Annick Goutal's Sables and, in particular, Christian Dior's Eau Noir. But what separates Fougère Bengale from these two is its more complex structure of herbs, spices, tobacco, hay and woods. Actually, in some ways, Fougère Bengale takes the olfactory swarthiness of Eau Noir much further, with a warm woody-aromatic mélange of tea, blond tobacco, hay and woods replacing Eau Noir's more austere base of leather and cedar.
With a mellow, and slightly honeyed, foundation of tobacco, hay, tonka bean, vanilla and patchouli, there sadly isn't much oakmoss present. As a result, one isn't completely convinced about its fougère classification. Also, one found it too muted, after the first hour, and in need of a liberal application for a satisfactory experience.
Overall, it's an admirable effort, which could have been more rewarding with sufficient oakmoss and a higher oil concentration. And while it's not a fragrance one would personally wear, it still comes recommended.
Inspired by the Bengal region of the ancient Mongol Empire, one wouldn't really view Fougère Bengale as a true fougère. However, its Southern Asian olfactory theme is undeniable.
It starts off with a haphazard flurry of mint, herbs and spices. At this stage, there's a lot going on – a celery-like greenness, a culinary herbaceous leaning and a cumin-led spiciness. Although not listed, one can also discern some immortelle (with its earthy maple syrup properties), underscored with liquorice, aniseed and camphorous accents. As for the lavender, its interaction with the immortelle results in a chocolate-like effect.
While it sounds like a complete mess, it actually works – immediately bringing to mind comparisons to Annick Goutal's Sables and, in particular, Christian Dior's Eau Noir. But what separates Fougère Bengale from these two is its more complex structure of herbs, spices, tobacco, hay and woods. Actually, in some ways, Fougère Bengale takes the olfactory swarthiness of Eau Noir much further, with a warm woody-aromatic mélange of tea, blond tobacco, hay and woods replacing Eau Noir's more austere base of leather and cedar.
With a mellow, and slightly honeyed, foundation of tobacco, hay, tonka bean, vanilla and patchouli, there sadly isn't much oakmoss present. As a result, one isn't completely convinced about its fougère classification. Also, one found it too muted, after the first hour, and in need of a liberal application for a satisfactory experience.
Overall, it's an admirable effort, which could have been more rewarding with sufficient oakmoss and a higher oil concentration. And while it's not a fragrance one would personally wear, it still comes recommended.
