Fougère
Eau de Parfum, Ethos Grooming Essentials (2025)

I long ago had gotten out of writing perfume reviews, as I found it harder and harder to find current offerings that really stood out enough to merit the time writing one. That said, when I sniff something really special from an unexpected source, I feel it would be a crime not to call attention to the effort, and in Fougère by Ethos Grooming Essentials and perfumer Frank Lipani we have just that.

When I received my blind bought bottle of Fougère, I immediately was encouraged by the juice’s mossy green color. Frank had mentioned to me (knowing I am a big oakmoss fan) that this release was loaded with the stuff (sorry IFRA), and he wasn’t kidding. As soon as I sprayed the perfume on skin the oakmoss immediately stood out, not in an obtrusive way that obscured the other notes, but rather as a major mossy foundation that harkened me back to the best powerhouse perfumes of the 70s and 80s. It joins the primary top note of lemony bergamot before quickly moving to its aromatic lavender and rose geranium led heart, with the mossy green oakmoss and hay-like coumarin rising from the base melding perfectly with the aromatics and sharp, woody vetiver and slightly dulled jasmine adding significant support. Things stay relatively linear through the late dry-down, as the oakmoss, coumarin and vetiver all remain, with the lavender switching to a supporting role as the perfume very slowly fades. Projection is excellent, and longevity is outstanding at over 20 hours on skin.

What can I say? I am a real fan of this one. Frank has been churning out some exceptional perfumes for a long time (most of them all-natural, the rest nearly all-natural), but I have always found that they either were focusing on one ingredient (like his amazing limited Blue Lotus release - also highly recommended) or when going for a more complex mix the balance could have used just a bit more time to tweak things. Luckily, here with Fougère we do not have that problem. The perfume from top-to-bottom presents as well thought out, perfectly balanced and classically structured, while still adding a new wrinkle to the mix. The oakmoss, coumarin and aromatic lavender combination has been done well many times before (though under IFRA regulations not in recent memory and even then most not as well as this one), but the sharp woody vetiver infusion definitely was unexpected, but wholly welcome. The perfume also has an anise-like element not unlike the one found in vintage Rive Gauche pour Homme by YSL. While I never could quite warm to that well-regarded release, Fougère takes its anisey heart and adds it to the mix without using any anise in the composition. That all this is acomplished including the outstanding performance metrics by using all-naturals throughout is even more impressive. I find myself wearing this perfume more and more each day, as I grow further impressed with its bold presentation of super-high quality natural ingredients so missing from most of the overly synthetic, nose cringing dross released the past decade at increasingly stratospheric pricing.

The bottom line is the $70 per 60ml bottle Fougère EdP by Ethos Grooming Essentials brings back the spirit of classic vintage fougères while using top quality natural ingredients that don’t sacrifice performance, earning an “outstanding” 4.5 stars out of 5 rating and a super-strong recommendation to anyone who appreciates classically structured vintage-like fougères that just aren’t easily found today. Bravo Ethos and Frank!