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Wild Fern Geo. F. Trumper 1877 Cologne

7.9 / 10 54 Ratings

A popular perfume by Geo. F. Trumper for men, released in 1877. The scent is green-fougèreartig. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Green

Fougère

Spicy

Fresh

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Lavender

Bergamot

Rosemary

Basil

Heart Notes

Fern

Carnation

Geranium

Base Notes

Oakmoss

Musk

Patchouli

Ratings

Scent

7.954 Ratings

Longevity

6.044 Ratings

Sillage

5.742 Ratings

Bottle

6.441 Ratings

Value for money

7.519 Ratings

Submitted by Pazuzu, last update on 10/19/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

English Fern Eau de Toilette

Reviews

7 in-depth fragrance descriptions

04/01/2023

8.5Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

Skatolic
2 Reviews

Skatolic

3

A trip into older times

This, I wouldn't even say it smells dated.
Dated would be the word for any powerhouse fougere like Paco rabanne pour homme.
This is rather antique.
You can hardly attach any olfactive memory to this kind of smell because this dna is si far from everything we have today.

The scent is not a very complex one.
A bergamot lavender geranium chord.
Very fresh and very minty.
Then the oakmoss give it some roundness.

To our modern noses this van evoke a bit toilet cleaners, and I think that's what Luca Turin says about the old Houbiguant Fougere Royale.

By the way If you want to know what the father of all fougeres smellt like without going to the Osmotheque smell this one.
It came out right after FR and it's probably as close as you can get for it is most certainely inspired by Houbiguant perfume and is from the same era.

As minimalist as it is I kinda like it, and I could see myself wearing it in Spring or Fall.

This has a very cooling relaxing vibe for me at least.

You can get this for relatively cheap and since English Fern by Penhaligon's is discontinued it's one of the last represent of the style you can buy.

Try it if you like fougere but don't expect no Drakkar noir.

08/29/2020

8Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

FvSpee
323 Reviews

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FvSpee

Top Review 25

Colonial Goods VI: Cheerful Chamber Music in the Bright Forest

G.F. Trumpers Wild Fern embodies for me the quiet, cheerful, pastoral England. It is the olfactory counterpart to Ralph Vaughan Williams' slightly later small symphonic works like "The Lark Ascending": modest yet brilliant, playful yet thoughtfully composed.

Although largely free from citrus (the bit of bergamot, oh, that is not a real fruit, it belongs to Earl Grey!), Wild Fern is also a Cologne par excellence, uncomplicated (at least it doesn't present itself that way), simple, highly refreshing, with an unobtrusive character, also modest in longevity. Perhaps more suited to gentlemen, but ultimately fitting for any fine person (certainly not for loud and boastful types of either gender).

The scent begins stomatologically bright green: bright green herb strips in white chalky toothpaste (from the metal, not plastic tube) and bright green dentist's coat amidst well-disinfected, almost metallic cleanliness. Wherever that comes from. Here, Wild Fern promises to be a bit challenging for a few minutes. But very soon, a fine, velvety lavender note unfolds, rounding off the scent most pleasantly and taking away the sharpness of the opening and the user's fear of the drill.

Next, more robust, darker herbal notes pulse in, distinctly basil, tarragon also resonates for me, and change the image a bit again, shifting it for the first time now indeed towards a woody coolness, as is fitting for a Fougère (and Fern is ultimately just the English word for it). However, the scene remains light.

Now, it has not yet been ten minutes, the image stabilizes and then only shifts gradually: cool, green, yet cheerful and bright freshness, through which the mint of the perhaps not irritating, but still attention-grabbing opening breaks through vigorously from time to time.

After perhaps thirty or sixty minutes, woody hints emerge from afar and, from wherever, a maritime breeze joins in (why not, England is on an island). Earthiness is, although Wild Fern remains grounded, not discernible: The probably only homeopathically applied patchouli may set some unconsciously perceptible counterpoint in the scent center, but does not act itself.

When one enters the room after some time where the scent was tested, a (almost sweet) softness lingers in the air that was not perceived on the skin. Fine mossy cushions and perhaps small hidden forest raspberries.

* * *

As with my earlier series "Colonia statt Corona," some fragrances are briefly mentioned that would belong in this series here, but I do not comment on them again, as I have already done so earlier, before the series opened.

Colonial Goods VIa (Agua Brava)

Under Colonial Goods III, "Brummel" from the house of Puig by Rosendo Mateu was discussed. To add, there is also the very classic "Agua Brava" from the same house by the same artist, similarly conceived, but greener and even more beautiful and absolutely recommendable. I commented on it separately not too long ago.

05/22/2020

7Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

Mörderbiene
46 Reviews

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Mörderbiene

Top Review 15

English Toast vs Wild Toast

Trumpers Wild Fern and Penhaligon's English Fern suggest clear similarities due to their names, presentation, and pyramids. These clues, along with the fact that the user Yatagan highlights this similarity in comments about both fragrances, caught my attention. I hold English Fern in high regard, but the bottle is running low and the scent has recently become unavailable from the manufacturer. A suitable replacement would therefore be welcome. Yatagan kindly sent me a sample of Wild Fern.
Trumpers Wild Fern starts deep green with a slight spiciness. I wouldn't have thought of basil myself, but after looking at the pyramid, it makes more than plausible sense. This basil - there isn't much else at the beginning - is soon underlaid by herbal, almost ethereal-sharp, metallic lavender. Up to this point, at least a similarity between the two cannot be denied. English Fern from the competitor also starts green, although without the slight spiciness of the basil. Moreover, the subsequent lavender is less sharp, rather mild and soapy. So far, so good. Wild Fern reminds me, after about two hours, quite mundanely of burnt toast. I first doubted my nose, as I had recently had strange associations with other fragrances. For instance, Neuffer's Hepster repeatedly reminded me of fish on the grill. Yes. Hmm. Back to the toast.
I have tried again and again, on paper, fabric, and skin, at various times of the day and night, but the impression remained and remains the same. My familiar fragrances smell unchanged. It can't be my nose.
The toast jumps out, heavily charred on the sides. You don't want to throw it away right away; it's not that bad, and you scrape the black parts off with the back of a knife. Now the black dust lies on and next to the breakfast plate, the toast still tastes burnt, and you get really annoyed - not a good start to the day, not a pleasant association for a perfume.
This toast note is only perceivable in the projection - at a distance of at least an arm's length - at shorter distances, it dissolves into the aforementioned lavender and presumably moss. I can hardly explain this scent impression. Perhaps it's coumarin, which sometimes gives me a bready impression. With Issara from Dusita, I thought I could smell the scent of dark bread. Floury, dry, slightly sour. There I attributed it to the combination of vetiver and pine resin. It remains a mystery to me; perhaps someone can contribute some enlightening thoughts.
Due to this unfortunately unavoidable association for me, a replacement for Penhaligon's will likely not be found in Trumper's. Let's see if Neuffer's fish from the grill becomes clearer to me.

11/23/2012

10Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Yatagan
415 Reviews

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Yatagan

Very helpful Review 16

Forest Walk

Wild Fern is a green fragrance. Even the design of the bottle and packaging shows this - and it doesn't want to be anything else. This cocktail contains just about everything that evokes thoughts of a mossy, ferny, herbaceous garden. The lighter notes in the opening (bergamot, lavender) are subtly pronounced and not very defining. However, the fern and moss notes in the base are much more noticeable. Surprisingly subtle, as is fitting for a British cologne, is the sillage and longevity. If the cologne is not deliberately over-applied, it remains understated, and the lasting effect is rather modest - despite the musk in the base note, which could cling well, but does not. However, this does not have to be a disadvantage. In direct comparison with its perennial competitor in the English perfume market, English Fern by Penhaligon's, I prefer Wild Fern significantly. It is less musty and dark, less powdery heavy than English Fern, making it much better suited for the office or casual use than the very similar water from Penhaligon's. One could also put it this way: Both fragrances are actually unisex, but English Fern has a feminine touch, while Wild Fern leans more masculine. The impression that remains is the memory of a forest walk; not on the established paths, where it smells more of bark, earth, and leaves, but off the beaten track, in the underbrush, where one can smell the fern, the moss, and the rich soil. Therefore, it is not a scent for everyone (or anyone). Before ordering this fragrance, one should order a sample from the relevant websites that sell English fragrances and take their time testing it, perhaps while taking a walk in the woods.

10/23/2018

9Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

NotAmused
14 Reviews

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NotAmused

Top Review 13

The Solution to the Riddle

1877 - In Hamburg, Hermann Blohm and Ernst Voss founded a shipyard on the Elbe island of Kuhwärder (now Kuhwerder) with initially rather *clears throat* modest utilization. Asaph Hall discovers the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos, Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake premieres at the Bolshoi Theatre, and in the capital of the United Kingdom under Queen Victoria, Trumpers Barbershop introduces two new colognes: Marlborough and Wild Fern. This article is dedicated to the latter.
Of course, in connection with testing this classic, I took the opportunity to put it to the test. Out into the garden, by the water under the large alders and birches, there it grows: Wild Fern. It has a very special characteristic, which is probably also the reason why it never appears in perfumes, even if they are named something with "fern." It does not smell. When you crush it between your hands, it smells a bit like cut grass. But even that is only brief and faint. As I sat there, by my fern, by the stream, under the trees, and a slight annoyance overcame me, the solution to the riddle suddenly crept into my nose. Wild Fern does not smell like fern, but rather like the place where it grows. Like herbs, represented by the distinctly prominent rosemary and lavender in the top note, which starts with a bit of sharpness but quickly becomes rounded and pleasant. The coolness of the shade under the large trees is provided by the subtle floral notes, the cracked bark is clearly represented by the tree moss, and the earth is represented by the patchouli.
Together, this creates a wonderfully painted picture of a shady spot at the edge of the forest, which, according to the usual duration of staying there, passes by all too quickly.
But fortunately, unlike the stay in the greenery, this cologne can simply be extended by reapplying.

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