I tried 20 decants of Fulton & Roark and mostly ended up at a dead end. Their original in-house fragrances were weak, undistinguished, and short-lived. I think they finally got to the point of seeking outside help and collaborated with Firmenich and Givaudan. The Firmenich offerings were promising.
I was initially attracted to Fulton & Roark because of their solid fragrances. The flexibility of the format made sense to me. However, the market options are limited in that most brands either have limited scent choices, low quality, or cheap packaging.
The solid fragrances price out in line with the market. They are more than Nord and less than Diptyque and comfortably sit in an appropriate middle zone. However, the Extrait de Parfums are overpriced. At $4.10/ml, Fulton & Roark is pricier than some of the best and most prestigious brands on the market. I have easily been able to find fragrances that outperform F&R and have better scent profiles. They justify the price because it is an “Extrait.” Regardless of the concentration classification, many other options on the market perform better for less money. Price-wise, the solids make sense and the extraits do not.
Below are my rankings on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. These ratings are from the perspective of a masculine scent profile preference. However, most of their offerings are genuinely unisex.
***** Matia, Devil’s Garden
**** 226 Club, Hwy 190, Roark’s Cove
*** Lost Man, Ramble, Calle Oche, Fulton, Thousand Palms
** Blue Ridge, Palmetto, Narada, Ghost Trees, Perpetua, Kiawah, Mahana
* Sterling, Cloudland, The Window
Ultimately, I bought Matia in solid format. It’s a wonderful violet fragrance by Frank Voelkl of Firmenich. My initial fascination with the solid format has not been sustained. I like it, and it works well. But using a 5 ml decant of my fragrances gives me most of the flexibility I need for travel and gym usage. On a positive note, the case is beautiful, classy, and fits in the pocket-watch pocket of my jeans, which is convenient.
If you want a solid perfume, F&R is a great option. If you are looking for traditional atomized perfume, I just don’t see this brand as being worth the money when so many better options are out there. They offer a custom discovery set of five which works perfectly for ordering the 4- and 5-star options listed above. Additionally, the line was picked up by Neiman Marcus if you want to try them in store.
I would be interested to hear what others think of this brand and their offerings.