Fougère Harry Lehmann

Harry Lehmann's Fougère is a wonderful scent. It truly makes me sad to have to say goodbye to it.

This fragrance is terribly old-fashioned, but not in the way a phone from four years ago is, rather like a perfectly crafted Bakelite telephone with a fabric-wrapped power cord and a mechanism as sturdy as an airplane wing. And attached to it, at least as a thought, is the Miss from the office and the whole wonderfully mysterious, silently efficient organization of the Prussian telecommunications system with its army of officials.

Fougère is so dry that it dusts, and so woody that one must have a fire extinguisher nearby in summer. Its accords are as hard as if they were played on strings pulled to the point of breaking. It is green in a peculiar way. And it surely has lavender, probably eucalyptus, but both are so special that they definitely smell different than you think right now.

If I could only have two fragrances, it might be this one and its Chypre brother "Russian Leather" from the same house. Both wonderfully complex, both wonderfully masculine. One as distinctive as the other. Both last from Friday evening to Monday morning, no matter what you do during that time, and both keep you awake throughout that entire period without coke and energy drinks, like smelling salts perhaps, because they vibrate with energy. Both are probably still from the pre-war era, and both were - or are - available at pre-war prices. And both are - or were - quite modern again, because they are regional and sustainable for refilling.

If you want to know more precisely what kind of scent this is, then first read the comment from Apicius from the early days of Parfumo, and then the 10-point comment from the hair salon Korianke a.k.a. Fittleworth (which apparently has also said farewell to Parfumo, which makes me sad as well), because I can't say it more beautifully: This is not a scent for confirmation candidates, but for established, self-assured men with good footwear. Resinous and creaky, but not overpowering.

It is said that Fougère had to be reformulated at some point and that in the last version only a fraction of the original oak moss content remained. If that's true, then surely with the original version, one would have immediately gotten a mossy coating on the neck after spraying. In any case, this truly still impressive version has now also fallen from grace. Oak moss is no longer allowed to be present in fragrances, not even in traces, and the beautiful fixatives that provided the weekend effect are no longer considered kosher either. Oak moss & Co. seem to be the worst environmental problems plaguing this planet. Another reformulation was no longer possible, so the fragrance was discontinued and is sold out. And I only have 7 ml left.

So now you are an outdated model, old house, soon you will be forgotten. You are not different from all of us here. We all have to make room for the new at some point. Farewell, Fougère, up there in perfume heaven!

Take a seat, Mr. Jeheimrat! Nice to have you honor me again.
What can I get for you? As always? Haircut? Shave, perhaps?
But please, yes, but please quickly!

How do you like it, sir?
Yaaa ... I've noticed that too. Everything that is good and tried-and-true is often mocked as old-fashioned. I can't understand that, you know.
I mean, if something is good, we shouldn't want to replace it just to have something new, right?
Do you agree with me, Mr. Jeheimrat?

Just a moment, please don't answer now, or I'll slip with the brush into your esteemed mouth. So, now please turn that noble head to the other side ...
Where was I?

Oh yes - the new and the old.
Old is not the same as bad, and new is not always the same as good. Now I'm not talking about medicine and such. I can accept that everything is getting better and newer there. But if you look at how it is in other areas ... you wouldn't believe it...

Just take fashion. I'm talking specifically about men's fashion. Where can you still find proper men's clothing? I mean really for men?
It's just a uniform mush everywhere.

How do you like it, sir?
Yaaa, exactly my opinion! In the past, you could stroll through the department store and find clothes for grown men. For men who wanted to dress like gentlemen.
But with all due respect, Mr. Jeheimrat, what is offered today ... no. That stuff looks like there are no men anymore, just little boys!
And if they want a noble jacket, they get a little jacket that is way too small and way too tight, and they look like a desperate confirmand ...

Just a moment, let me wipe the shaving foam off you so you can breathe better.
Where was I ...?

Oh yes ... old-fashioned and all that new ...
Just take the whole fuss about men's fragrances.
Yaaa, very true, entirely my opinion! Most of these are no longer men's fragrances. It's just sweet stuff, all vanilla and powdered sugar, downright horrible, I always say.
But you see, a real men's fragrance can only be worn by a man. Yaaa, that's how it is!

You see, and there belongs a certain wardrobe to it. If everyone is walking around in worn-out jeans and hoodies, then I don't want to hear about all those sweet and intrusive new perfumes. The exterior simply doesn't match the scent - with all due respect, Mr. Jeheimrat, I wouldn't even want to call it a fragrance anymore.
But if you take something really old-fashioned, something truly for the gentleman who takes care of himself ... I mean, wearing a suitable suit or a classic combination of a well-tailored jacket and matching trousers and then proper good shoes ... you can't just pour a sweet broth over the whole ensemble. That simply isn't appropriate!

What do you mean?
Yes, but of course! One wants to stand out a bit from all the original individualists who all wear the same original costume and walk around in jeans and hoodies ... they can't even afford proper shoes anymore. Or they are always on the go for sports because they have sneakers on their feet.
No, Mr. Jeheimrat, no one like that comes into my establishment. They don't want a proper haircut - just look at my clientele, they are all respectable people like you.
Just old-fashioned. You can see that right away.
And for that, you also need an old-fashioned fragrance. You know, something really gentlemanly.
Something from the past, when it was still common for a man to want to be a gentleman because he took care of himself.
You see, and I have something here that you certainly don't know yet.

How do you like it, sir?
I'm glad you like to hear my recommendations. Thank you very much! I always say, taste develops over the years, but it also needs opportunity.
Where was I?

Oh yes - that old-fashioned fragrance.
You see, one of the oldest men's fragrances is the Fuchsär.
So what if it's green, but it's solid and durable and above all distinguished!
No, it’s not intrusive at all. Just very much longer lasting than some expensive stuff that is considered modern. Classic is the word that applies here.
So, I'll hold the flask under your esteemed nose.
And ...?

Well, I thought so. Yaaaa, this is really, really old school! Such a thing can only be worn by a gentleman.

So green ... but a restrained green. So herbal, so natural ...
I assume this comes from oak moss.
And there - take a sniff. Do you recognize it? Anise!
Refined, I find, how it combines with the lavender. So you simply can't wear jeans and be unshaven and have messy hair with this.

But please, just a little drop behind the ear? But of course!
Certainly, this is intense, so please take only a little.
Yaaa, there are herbs in it, it's just hard to say which ones. Green, herbal, but above all not sweet. Instead, there’s a certain freshness that never overpowers. I find it really elegant. A bit of mint, I suspect.
How do you like it, sir? Yaaa, eucalyptus could also be in it.

Elegant, do you agree with me, Mr. Jeheimrat?
Resinous and woody, just as a fragrance for the real gentleman should be. It's not sweet, but masculine.
Many are quite surprised by such things nowadays ...

Yes, yes, sandalwood and cedar are definitely in there, they simply belong in it.
You see, the scent is not dark, even if it is a bit strict, resinous and perhaps creaky, but not like grandpa, but just masculine.
Green, I already said it, but also elegantly distant. It makes a better impression than many of the modern liquids ...

Lehmann, that's the name of the company. By the way, they are based here in Berlin.
I can only recommend it!
Well, I knew I wouldn't have to convince you for long. I'll give you the little flask to try out.

What do you mean?
You like it, you like it very much, I suspected so.
Well, that makes me happy! It really seems made for you!
Thank you very much for your esteemed patronage, Mr. Jeheimrat.
Honor me again soon!

After a long break, I spontaneously decided to shop again at Harry Lehmann, 4 fragrances last week and another 4 today. With the last order, in addition to the lovely handwritten invoice, there was also a price list included, which featured 2 fragrances that I hadn't seen on the website, so I weakened again... and only 2 aren't worth it.

Fougère, according to classification, is rather for men. Yes, I would agree with that, but it suits me quite well. Says Mr. Pluto, who smells of smoke, which I do not. Fougère starts like moist pipe tobacco, brand Sungold, green-spicy-herbaceous and develops on my skin after a while not as harsh as the other comments and statements suggest. I assert that there is a hint of vanilla or tonka bean in it, just a touch, not to sweeten, just to warm. The whole thing is finely balanced, feels grounding to me. I feel like a kitten, comfortably and contentedly napping on a cozy blanket in the kitchen by the fireplace, while the master is sitting in the armchair packing a pipe, but not lighting it, just drawing on it dry. From the ceiling hang upside-down bundles of herbs to dry, it’s twilight and the rain taps on the window. Those are my associations while wearing Fougère. Overall, I find the scent quite cozy; I know women's fragrances that I perceive as much cooler and harsher, like Cabochard, One Love, or Beyond Rose, which I appreciate as well.

Longevity and sillage are very good, the scent is noticeable, but with moderate dosing, it is not heavy. Due to the restrained freshness, Fougère is not only reserved for the cold months, but only up to 25 degrees (we usually don’t have higher temperatures - thankfully for me). And of course, it’s also for girls.

To be honest.. as an "experienced" perfumer, I had never heard of Harry Lehmann, well, I'm not "Doctor Know-It-All." But since the exchange with another "Parfumo member," I will definitely remember the brand with bright colors "behind my ears!!"
So I can only recommend "Harry" further.
No elaborate frills, an elegantly simple square bottle with the label of the respective fragrance, plain, beautiful... like in pharmacies for medicine...
And "medicine" is this fougère. Green medicine, a balm for the soul.
Wonderful, blue lavender fields in the first morning sun, the stems still covered with dew... light-filled pine forests all around. Scents dance in a circle and unite into a turquoise-green mélange, lavender-like, coniferous, spicy.
"Keep going, keep going...." it whispers within me. "This is only the halfway point... the fragrance landscape has much more to offer....!"
Field jasmine by the roadside, the scent of the flowers is herb-sweet, wild carnations with their "royally" herbaceous scent....."let's pause for a moment, the bench beckons...."
I rest for a while and enjoy the olfactory greetings.....
Soon I move on, leaving the lavender field and the pines behind, but they still scent along with the flowers long after I've reached a wooded area with gnarled old, moss-covered oaks.
These radiate an almost sublime elegance in their primality. They have "heard" and "seen" a lot........ and.... "smelled"..... "but" the "Gentleman"/ "Gentlewoman" Lavandula from that field brings them, along with their moss, a special joy.....

This autumn morning is so wonderfully cold and clear, the Berlin sky so promisingly blue, and I am on my way to the store of Harry Lehmann. Anticipation is known to be the most beautiful of its kind, and I am soaking up this slowly awakening October day on the warmly rough and slightly shabby Kantstr. This street is somewhat like the rough, always neglected brother of the glitzy, overcrowded Ku-Damm, where the so-called "flagship stores" of high-end designers, star hairdressers, and premium manufacturers of consumer electronics are lined up. Compared to the showcase shopping and strolling mile of West Berlin, which is sprucing itself up even more these days for the upcoming James Bond premiere and bombarding the streams of tourists with dazzling advertisements for fashion, shoes, watches, smartphones, perfumes, and who knows what else in an endless loop, the Kantstr. seems as if it has never had the promise fulfilled to finally take care of it. It had to take matters into its own hands.

When I finally entered the completely out-of-time shop of Harry Lehmann, I instantly understood with the ringing of the doorbell how the pricing policy of the modern cosmetics industry and its sinful (over)expensive fragrances must work. Just a few hundred meters before, I had been shouted at from the windows of KaDeWe and the high-end perfumeries lining up towards the west. As cliché as it may sound: one must experience this contrast between high gloss and solid craftsmanship, between million-dollar advertising budgets and the almost philosophical attitude of letting the product speak for itself and nothing else but the product.

I am fully on the side of my predecessor commenter Grenouilles, who evidently lost his heart to the long-established Berlin perfumer Lehmann. Why not? Terra and Bertel describe the fougère scent in an unsurpassed concise manner, and even for my amateur-nose, it is very understandable. Nothing more can be added without repeating oneself. At best, I dare to confirm the absolute everyday usability of this EdP. It is certainly not a "killer scent" that makes ladies melt in droves, nor a fragrance that one would perceive on a wannabe David Beckham or I-wish-I-were-as-cool-as-Daniel-Craig. However, it is undoubtedly an unobtrusive, loyal companion. It is more of an elegant gentleman, very classically groomed from the combed, precisely styled head to the neatly polished Oxfords. No show, no glamour, no fuss or pretense. Not a bit of hipster nonsense. Clean craftsmanship. Solid style. Authentic style.

How many fragrances have you already purchased with the more or less underlying feeling that you had spent way too much money on prominent names, a lifestyle feeling promised by advertising, or the fancy packaging? You can love them dearly, simply like them, or find the perfumes Individual by Lehmann, at best, uninteresting or even repulsive. But they are still ten or twenty times more expensive than the luxury products.

To simply smell good, it does not take much fuss but above all good craftsmanship, which I allow myself to attest to Mr. Lehmann from Berlin. I take off my cap, which has unfortunately almost become a hipster accessory, and politely say: Thank you, Mr. Lehmann, and have a pleasant day!

The peculiar yet completely positive experience of sniffing at the glass stoppers of the heavy, neatly arranged and labeled bottles and being advised by the nice, unhurried staff was truly a very special Berlin moment. This cannot be found in any of the categories being reviewed here. I don’t even want to call the lady a saleswoman; "consultant" fits better. That the simply beautiful glass flacons, which were just surprisingly affordably purchased, are wrapped in colorful paper crowns one of the most pleasant sales conversations of the past year. No, no, not quite correct: the styled boys & girls of the Ku-Damm might sell better. 100% rating for this.

My personal plea to you, friends of pleasant scents: seek and find the Harry Lehmanns of this world. And then recommend them to all friends, connoisseurs, and lovers without reservation. But please quietly and unobtrusively. Let the others do the shouting, clattering, and dazzling... (...fragrances).