Fougère Emeraude
Les Indémodables (2016)

In typical Les Indemodables style, the perfume is misnamed. It's not a fougere, nor does it have anything to do with Emeraude, the 1921 legendary classic from Coty. Emeraude translates to emerald in English, and since gems do not have a smell we must presume it was named for the color. Coty's Emeraude was so named for this reason, as it was meant to evoke a vision of an emerald green fern, and became modern perfumery's first fougere (trans. fern). Aside from the green blast of the top notes, there really isn't anything else that is green/emerald about Fougere Emeraude, little alone fern like, so, we'll start there, with the only part of the perfume that is green.

The opening accord is a blast, a big one. You get an effect of hesperidics without getting any actual hesperidic notes: there is a sourness and piquancy to the opening that tickles the nose in the way citrus would, but it's vividly green. Camphoraceous and soapy sage and lavender amplify the naturally sweet green pepper type note that usually hovers over the top of a tuberose accord. LI has taken that green note of tuberose and turned it up to 11. It's incredibly striking, if only for a few minutes when the only green/emerald/vaguely-fougere type notes of this perfume give way, fully and completely, to the yellow florals of mimosa and the sweet and creamy florals of tuberose. Within 30 minutes or so these notes are filled in and rounded out by an earthy vanillic tonka bean. Fougere Emeraude then spends a significant amount of time undulating back and forth between these creamy, sweet, white, and heady floral notes and the vanillics; the golden yellows of mimosa mostly playing the role of glue between the floralcy of what used to be the lavender note to the sweet earthy vanillics of the tonka. I smell Fougere Emeraude on the back of my hand, and then immediately go to smell it on my forearm, and it smells different: on the back of my hand it smells of "tuberose", but then on my forearm I get a lot more vanillics. A few minutes later I smell both sections of skin again, and I get something different - maybe a touch more mimosa and lavender type florals and heady tuberose notes, and on the other sections of a sweet, creamy, and earthy vanilla like that of a pudding or creme brulee.

For the first half of FE's life, it's an incredibly pretty deconstructed tuberose; it's tuberose without really ever being tuberose. It's in the dry down where I remain a little unsure, since, as time passes, it leans heavier and heavier into the creamy, vanillic sweetness that makes the whole of the experience seem more like a gourmand perfume with a significant floral theme far more than anything of the fougere genre. The vanillic gourmand is one of my touchiest and least liked categories, so while I don't have a natural affinity for this genre, leave it to Les Indemodables to present one that I happily credit with exception. The materials in FE are absolutely sublime, as one would expect of Les Indemodables; their quality and richness keep the Pulverails' reputation well-intact. But, if you're hoping for an actual fougere, either of a cologne style, or even one of a richer cold-weather-appropriate green and earthy aromatic affair, be warned: Fougere Emeraude is none of those things. This has far more in common with a gourmand or an amber with a significant floral theme than it does anything in the fougere or related genres. Taken on the merits of the quality of the materials and the blending gone into creating this perfume, and for the very unique way in which it presents tuberose to us, I absolutely love it. It's a gorgeous piece of work, even and especially for one that's having an identity crisis.

Now this is a nice fragrance. A must buy for girls and guys. The tuberose is the key player in this one. A future buy for sure.

I have extremely narrow parameters for the type of tuberose I am willing to wear, and I usually find fougères too masculine and bitter-smelling for me to pull off. But I’m pleasantly surprised! Fougère Émeraude manages to find my sweet spot on both the note (tuberose) and the style (fougère) and does so with such panache that I’m genuinely excited to wear it. It might even be – gasp – my favorite of the entire Les Indémodables sample set.

Let’s start with its treatment of tuberose. Fougère Émeraude captures all the toothpasty, camphoraceous ‘box hedge’ greenness I love in Carnal Flower and sidesteps entirely the lurid butter-bubblegum loudness that I abhor in Fracas. The tuberose smells dewy, crisp, and freshly-watered, not wilted or overblown. What I appreciate in particular is that, before the tuberose can start to droop and start smelling of its naturally fleshy, semi-decaying self, the note is quickly flanked by a softly powdery ‘fern’ accord made up of lavender, mimosa, tonka, and amber, so what you end up smelling is tuberose that’s been modulated and softened from all angles – a creamy, powdery floral accord with tuberose in the mix, rather than a full-on, straight-ahead tuberose.

The fougère element of the scent also plays squarely in the modern fougère sandbox, meaning that it leans on creamy tonka, powdery lavender, and soft floral notes rather than on the rather brusque aromatic sting of leaves, twigs, and bitter-minty oakmoss for its structure, thus making it perfectly easy for a women (certainly this woman) to wear.

The green, floral creaminess of Fougère Émeraude, particularly in its drydown, reminds me a little of the drydown of Chypre Palatin (Parfums MDCI), albeit without that scent’s lush, dense-as-a-brick castoreum-oakmoss-labdanum accord that makes it both sweetly creamy and subtly animalic. But where Chypre Palatin is a special occasion scent, Fougère Émeraude’s lightness of texture and (comparative) freshness makes for an altogether more casual wear, and thus is perfectly suited for an everyday ‘reach’.

Fougere Emeraude

At the outset, the tuberose is loudly singing soprano. The clary sage, which was strong on paper, is barely enough to undergird all the tuberose. It's a fatty tuberose such as the one in Fracas, not a cold tuberose like Champs Lunaire by Rogue. The clary Sage and other green notes provide a smoky, earthy, mossy, leathery accompaniment beneath the white floral solo. The leather Chypre base reminds me of Eau de Sud by Annick Goutal. Utterly fantastic. If I didn't very nearly despise tuberose in perfumery, this might be a purchase for me. Substitute the tuberose for frangipani and I'd be hooked.

The total effect of the base is cousin to Dryad by Papillon. Remove the sap from Dryad, add an acrid leather note, and you're in the neighborhood.

A soft feminine fougere with Tuberose. Very light. Well constructed with nice materials. Nothing to complain about but also nothing mind-blowing.

This may be listed as unisex but to me this is a wonderful subtle feminine fragrance with a clear rose vibe with sage and tonka.
Very nice indeed. It starts with a bit more of a sharp zing which suggests a guy could pull it off but it quickly settles and finds its feminine side.
But not for me. Its not even metrosexual.

For ladies:
Fragrance: 7.75/10
Projection: 8/10
Longevity: 8/10