- Apr 1, 2019
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Zegna's Italian Bergamot really is the best example. Try it if you haven't already.
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Zegna's Italian Bergamot really is the best example. Try it if you haven't already.
I liken Fougère d'Argent more to a sick of Wrigley's spearmint chewing gum..... which somehow I also equate it to shaving cream
This is a topic that might be familiar to wet shavers, but I'm sure others can contribute to it as well.
I'm often struck by a certain 'sudsy' quality that can be found in some fragrances, where a perceptible foamy, creamy, airy texture is present when wearing them. This phenomenon is somewhat distinct from a 'note' - it's more of a texture, the body of the fragrance; it's how thick or soft it feels rather than how it smells.
The sensation of this texture is similar to that of shaving cream, particularly the kind you have to lather with a brush. Yet this familiar creamy/sudsy/foamy sensation from a fragrance is achieved purely through smell rather than touch. Allowing for some association between fougere or fresh citrus aromas (common fragrances used in shaving products) and creamy textures due to wet shaving, I believe there is more to it than mere mental connections or familiarity; some fragrances have a creamy/sudsy texture and some don't and it doesn't hinge on the notes or smell.
To try to demonstrate this, there are plenty of aromatic fougeres that don't strike me as particularly sudsy or creamy. Some fougeres smell similar or even identical to the aromas you'll find in shaving products, but they lack the shaving cream/foam/lather texture. Taking Rive Gauche and Beau de Jour - two of the obvious reference points for this category of scent - only one of them has a true lather texture to my mind. The amber in Beau de Jour helps to round it, soften it, give it a thick, sweet body that balances out the sharper synthetic aromatic notes. It's not the best example of a sudsy fragrance yet the suds are there, particularly when you catch whiffs of it while wearing (digging the nose in produces something more vanillic/gourmand than fresh sudsy lather). Despite the highly evocative aromatic opening you get with Rive Gauche, as it dries, the base goes almost sporty. I do get something creamy from the guaiac wood (particularly when smelling up close) in the base of Rive Gauche but it's creamy without being airy or like a lather, more woody than soapy - such are the fine margins, at least to my nose, that define this sensation.
Other fragrances come to mind as well. Perhaps the best example I can think of is Zegna's Italian Bergamot. Several of Zegna's fragrances have a lovely citric-herbal creaminess, going back to at least Essenza di Zegna, but Italian Bergamot is the finest example I have tried. Again, the aroma (bergamot, rosemary, tonka) will be familiar to wet shavers but it's the texture, not the notes, that give make it so reminiscent of shaving cream. The bergamot note is Zegna's signature but the creamy heart (heavy on tonka) uses lots of light, creamy, and sweet gourmand notes that result in something like merringue. It's a little too sweet and heavy for me (it comes across as a Dandified aromatic scent when wearing, something veering on louche given the contrast between fresh/clean and sweet/creamy) but I can't deny it's not only a pleasnt aroma but an impressive olfactive-textural feat as well. Creed's Bois du Portugal has a similar sudsy quality to it, although I will say I've smelled batches where the suds are completely absent and I just smell synthetic woods, musk, and cloves instead.
If I were to break this phenomenon down in to smaller components, I would say the sensation is part sensory association with aromatic/citric notes and part textural body of the fragrance. One element of the latter 'texture' is how creamy and sweet it is - tonka (in particular) and vanilla notes often seem to be at play, but without being obviously gourmand, heavy, dark, amberwoody etc. It is sweet, perhaps even sugary at times, without being gloopy or saccharine. Other notes/aromas play their part as well - citruses and aromatic herbs in the top/heart are probably key to the aforementioned light and creamy gourmand notes smelling like shaving cream, as opposed to something else. Interestingly, I don't think ambroxan-heavy fragrances are a million miles away in terms of texture/feel/body, especially the ones that are sweet without being woody/heavy (some of the recent aquatic flankers like AdG EDP and Ralph Deep Blue, rather than the heavier/darker dark blue fragrances). Yet, obviously, the salty/fresh aroma goes in a totally different direction; they may be creamy, but they're rarely light, airy, or sudsy.
I also thought it was worth pointing out how few of the obvious 'shaving cream' fragrances - aromatic fougeres both old and new - actually have this quality. Houbigant's Fougere Royale has a metallic-creamy texture to it but it is by no means close to this specific sensation/feeling. One of the darlings of the fougere revival, Invasion Barbare, is a million miles away - its violet leaf base is sporty/fresh and metallic/unisex in the purple floral way and thin/sheer. There's nothing creamy or sudsy about it; nothing that conjures the sensation (or even the smell, if I'm being brutally honest) of shaving lather. Tom Ford's Fougere d'Argent is simply too heavy, the tonka too dark, gloopy, and sweet. Chanel's Platinum Egoiste has a subtle creamy accord but it is too subtle, and not airy enough; its complexity (the smoky vetiver note is as prominent to my nose) results in it coming across as less sudsy, more aftershave-like to me. Diptyque's Eau de Minthe is a bitter/sporty take on the fougere. It's more like deodorant or perhaps squirty foam in a can, rather than a whipped lather. One fragrance that surprised me was Villoresi's Wild Lavender: it starts out very traditional and vintage with its crisp herbal lavender and natural citruses (a true gentleman's aftershave of yesteryear, with the unfortunate associations with cleaning products) but the addition of a creamy (not heavy) tonka in the base hints at something sudsy and creamy in the base. When wearing, it reminded me of shaving with the older Trumper and TOBS creams.
Anyway, I thought this was worth jotting down to see if other people have noticed/experienced something similar. In particular, I'd be interested to hear from people who wet shave to see if they have found this sensation/texture/quality in certain scents, whether they enjoy it or not, and if they seek it out in a fragrance. Personally, I think it adds something to a fragrance - particularly one designed to evoke the more traditional aromas of men's grooming.
Yes, absolutely. I tried to convey this point in the title, as I know a lot of people consider the barbershop fougere to be a well known genre and so on. What I'm referring to is different: it's more about a texture that is found in (particularly modern) fragrances, a creamy yet light (not gloopy or heavy; airy yet smooth) quality to it that, when paired with aromatic notes, is highly reminiscent of shaving cream.
I agree. I have been wet shaving for about a decade now, so this observation comes from personal experience of traditional shaving soaps (TOBS etc) and the resulting lather. It's something slightly different to canned shaving cream, although I suppose the analogy/point I am making is easy enough to understand for anyone without personal experience of lathering with a brush and hard soap.
Thank you for your description here. I bought a decant of Signature after reading this. I think I'm in love. I'll give it a few wearings before buying a bottle, but hell, yes, this hits the mark for shaving cream character. I appreciate your comments in particular because, while I'd read reviews of this one, I'd thought of it as another niche fougere that would probably disappoint me (looking at you, Fougere Nobile). The particulars of your description, especially the sweet woody creaminess, sold me on getting a decant.
I'll check out the review for sure. As the afternoon has gone on, Signature just keeps taking me to a happy place. It's not a true fougere, but it doesn't have to be when it hits this way. I find facets of Or Black, Eau Sauvage Parfum (2017), Rive Gauche PH, and Caron Third Man in here, but it's definitely unique and not in any way derivative of these scents. I'll be wearing Signature again tomorrow, despite getting a dozen samples and splits in yesterday's mail, because I just want to keep smelling this.
ABSOLUTELY!
Based on your clear passion for this fragrance and your review I've ordered a decant of this to try.
