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Some call this niche Drakkar Noir, some call aristocratic version of Drakkar Noir. Either way this is one of the best fougère you can still buy! (by LordDrakkar)

Duc de Vervins Houbigant 1985

6.8 / 10 153 Ratings

A perfume by Houbigant for men, released in 1985. The scent is spicy-green. It is being marketed by Perris Group.
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Main accords

Spicy

Green

Fougère

Fresh

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bergamot

Lemon

Heart Notes

Lavender

Cumin

Nutmeg

Rosemary

Geranium

Base Notes

Oakmoss absolute

Patchouli

Ratings

Scent

6.8153 Ratings

Longevity

7.0117 Ratings

Sillage

6.4113 Ratings

Bottle

6.1121 Ratings

Value for money

7.130 Ratings

Submitted by DerThomyDer · last update on 01/04/2026.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Duc de Vervins L'Extreme

Drakkar Noir Eau de Toilette

Tsar (1989) Eau de Toilette

Caesars Man Cologne

Citoyen Eau de Parfum

Lomani pour Homme

Reviews

17 in-depth fragrance descriptions

02/02/2014

7Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Drseid
828 Reviews

Drseid

Helpful Review 4

Another Fragrance Similar to Drakkar Noir, But Is It Better?...

Duc de Vervins opens with a gentle aromatic lavender breeze, supported by just a hint of bergamot citrus and green oakmoss rising from the base before moving to its heart. As the composition reaches the early heart the lavender remains, though now in support to the also remaining green oakmoss that takes control, as the composition turns slightly powdery and quite soapy fresh with traces of cumin spice balancing the fresh soap. During the late dry-down the oakmoss continues as star through the finish, with its powdery facets increasing late. Projection is excellent, as is longevity at over 12 hours on skin.

Many compare Duc de Vervins to vintage Drakkar Noir, and there is no denying the resemblance. I doubt that Duc de Vervins was ever intended to clone it, but something about the way the soapy clean oakmoss is implemented in both makes the comparison inevitable. That said, Duc de Vervins holds up well on its own merits, blending in aromatic lavender, and cumin spice so mild you could almost miss it if not paying attention. In truth, before I thought Drakkar Noir, I first thought Monsieur de Givenchy -- not really in fragrance profile, but rather spirit. By spirit, I mean the composition is so clean, balanced and relatively light that it is extremely versatile. Unfortunately for Duc de Vervins the fragrances it conjures images of (in spirit or actuality) are some of the best ever, and I can't really say it quite rises to the challenge in comparison. The bottom line is Duc de Vervins with its impressive performance metrics is quite tempting at its approximate $45 per 120ml cost per bottle on the aftermarket, but as you can find vintage Drakkar Noir for not much more than that and Caesars Man for significantly less both surpassing it overall, it is hard to recommend without reservation despite its "very good" 3.5 star out of 5 rating.

11/03/2024

6Scent 3Longevity 4Sillage

MKramer
11 Reviews

MKramer

1

Duc de Vervins

I got this fragrance as a 2mL or 2,5mL sample, not that the amount matters that much, with my Houbigant discovery set.

I think that the opening of Duc the Vervins is quite synthetic, quite fabricated. Not horrible, but just bad. The bergamot and lemon are for me hard to smell. However after a few minutes, when the middle notes come forward, the scent evolves. With lavender as the key note surrounded by, I think, rosemary, or in other words just greenish notes. Duc the Vervins becomes amazing, when I smell the fragrance I think of countryside in France. The countryside where I stand in the shade, underneath the trees on a gravel road. Where you are surrounded by rows and rows of lavender with no-one in sight, where you are alone with nature in a radius of 10, 20 kilometres. In short, an amazing smell.

However, every dream has an end. With one more pleasant than the other. This is ending is more ''the other'' ending. After 10-30 minutes the fragrance notes become unfortunatly, very, very synthetic again. After which, about 1-3 hours later, dissapears from my skin. The short time the fragrance is on my skin could be explained by the fact that the sample does not have a spray, but some sort of stick. If the scent stayed good, and did not become synthetic, my rating would undoubtly be higher. The time when the fragrance smells so good is unfortunatly too short, because, in my opinion, if a fragrance smells synthetic, even for a minute, the fragrance smells synthetic for too long. Fragrances should smell like they are natural, not like they are from a factory.

I think that Hermes H24 edp or herbes vives, House of Houbigant Cologne Intense (Unfortunately discontinued) or patchouli sauvage are great alternatives, and I think better than this fragrance. Yes, some people may say, Hermes is designer and I do not want a designer fragrance. I hear you, I understand you. However this designer fragrance, especially H24 Herbes Vives, is so, so much different from other designer fragrances that for me, the fragrance is not considered designer. However it is still Hermes.

02/12/2025

7.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

LordDrakkar
20 Reviews

LordDrakkar

1

Niche Drakkar Noir

If you love Drakkar Noir you will also love Duc De Vervins. Drakkar Noir is everyday masculine scent, this is more like niche version, smells very similar but you can tell it's more quality and refined.
Drakkar Noir is still my favorite fragrance of all time, but Duc De Vervins is for sure one of the best for fougère lovers.

Updated on 02/12/2025

10/20/2015

5Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Meggi
1018 Reviews

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Meggi

Top Review 22

Fougère goes India

That the fragrance opens with citrus notes should not surprise anyone. What follows, however, does astonish me. Occasionally, I feel haunted by curry. This may be because I have ground some myself, a formative olfactory experience. Duc de Vervins contains not only cumin but also other elements from that direction. And in sufficient quantity, with a suitably matching blend, it actually creates quite a complete curry impression. Perhaps immortelle is involved.

Unfortunately, this note clashes with the citrus fruit in the first hour, and the combination comes off quite oddly: sour curry. However, this subsides at the beginning of the second hour when the acidity recedes. And afterwards - oh wonder - I find Duc de Vervins not so bad; well, maybe a bit watery. But in particular, it is less grumpy than I had expected given some previous reports. I sometimes have difficulties with the Fougère aspect; it often feels too scratchy for me. I am now curious to see how it develops, as a patchouli-moss threat for the base has been announced.

But first, I marvel at my discovery, which comes across as unoriental as possible with this ingredient. It’s the herb, a term not meant in a figurative sense. Dark green herb, whatever it may be.

After four hours, only a brave lavender note stands against the base. Well, not entirely alone; I can smell nutmeg. It quickly becomes a prick, though in this case, it is quite mild. Together, they form a subtly soapy tone that one could call classic. It does not become dominant.

Nor does the threatened oakmoss. Lavender and spice keep it nicely in check until the eighth or ninth hour, and it remains completely civilized throughout. By the way, it strikes me as synthetic, though I couldn't specify the reason for that. That’s basically it; the rest is extremely close to the skin, and patchouli only makes a quiet, faint appearance in the evening; that hardly counts.

Conclusion: As a Fougère attempt - in my perception in the sense of ‘Fougère goes India’ - Duc de Vervins may have gone more in the wrong direction than to India. But otherwise, it seems to me better than it comes off here in parts. However, I lack the expertise to adequately appreciate the nuances of Fougère trial shortcomings.

The not-so-grumpy duke undoubtedly does not match my personal taste; however, he is definitely worth a try for fans of herbal-spicy, yet not overly intrusive fragrances. I thank Angelliese for the sample. In the store, I have also already received several sniffing vials of it. The trade seems to want to push this stuff onto people with all its might.

03/07/2019

6.5Scent 8Longevity 6Sillage

Novalis
43 Reviews

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Novalis

Top Review 10

... hmm I don't know...

A classic Fougère, no doubt.

Everything has been said about Houbigant, a traditional house that doesn't need to prove itself again - the range of some beautiful fragrances is too vast, and Paul Parquet was not the first perfumer to create a Fougère scent.
But even though he and thus the house Houbigant were the creators of Fougères - so to speak, the pioneers, this one is not for me.

Coumarin is usually present or rather the framework in Fougère fragrances.

So how does this candidate behave?

To be honest, it drives me a little to despair, well not quite despair, but we are not talking about a rating in the upper range here, rather the question arises whether it is in the midfield or rather below.

Among Fougère fragrances, this one is truly not my first choice.
Quite nice, quite okay, and if a sample were lying around, I would use that sample before wearing nothing at all.

However, it is not a scent I would buy. It is not bad, but it does not suit my taste.

Scent:
The scent starts clearly with lemon and bergamot. Throughout the entire duration, these two ingredients are always noticeable, as bergamot is also a component of Fougères. The bergamot comes across as slightly oily to me, almost pleasantly vinegary, which gives it exactly what makes it not a great scent for me - mind you, for me.
In addition to the coumarin - or maybe it is also what I don't like - which gives this slight hay note, is also not my thing in connection with all the other ingredients.

Cumin underscores the whole thing with oak moss.
However, most Fougères smell - forgive me - like classic aftershaves, which leads to a distinctly masculine tendency/harshness.
Aftershave for those who can't really imagine what Fougères are.

The scent does have a nice drydown after 8 hours on my skin.

Therefore, it also receives reasonable scores for sillage and longevity.

A comparison to Drakkar Noir is often made... hmm... I will refrain from that, as I no longer have Drakkar Noir in my nose.

It is a solid scent that you CAN wear but don't have to.
There are often only two camps: those who love it and those who hate it.
I am somewhere in the middle.
Longevity:
Actually more than 10 hours on my skin.
Sillage: quiet but noticeable.
Bottle:
Unfortunately, not my thing at all.

More Fougères to follow.

More reviews

Statements

34 short views on the fragrance

ChicoRoch1

3 years ago

9Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

5

2

Nice green foresty scent

Axiomatic

3 years ago

8Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

37

26

Reformulated, it seems slimmer. A calm fougère, classically composed. Now it has a hint of sea breeze. Ahoy Captain!

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Yatagan

10 years ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

17

6

Catastrophically underrated scent: the classic Fougere par excellence. Only tradition- and style-conscious people appreciate this.

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Konst121

1 month ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 6Sillage

16

15

"What does Fougere smell like?"
Duc de Vervins - fresh, herbal, green.
A simple lavender-moss shaving cream scent for wearers of green checkered flannel shirts.

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Stulle

5 years ago

8.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

13

6

Close your eyes, let yourself fall into soft hay, a warm embrace - the past is not forgotten. Waiting for realization.

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Torfdoen

6 years ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 8Sillage

13

4

Freshly showered after the golf round. Silly jokes in the lounge. A gentle floral breeze from outside makes you pause. A moment of weakness?

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Zauber600

7 years ago

8.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

13

6

Classic, unadulterated fougère .. simply beautiful!

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FvSpee

4 years ago

7.5Scent 8Sillage

10

6

A beautiful, interesting, pseudo-classical green scent with flair. Unfortunately, despite being fresh, it has a hint of British stuffiness.

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MuckiMango

2 years ago

9Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

10

5

Freshly showered fougère with a feel-good factor. Similar to Drakkar Noir but nicer, as it's more natural. Underrated at 6.8 in my opinion!

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DerRalle

5 years ago

10Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

8

1

The niche version of Drakkar Noir is slightly sweeter - h&s are good. Much better than it comes across here! Fans of Drakkar Noir should definitely try it!

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