The Fougère family (pronounced ‘foo-ZHAIR’ — French for fern) is the backbone of classic masculine perfumery, built on three foundational ingredients: lavender, oakmoss and coumarin (the almond-vanilla-hay molecule found in tonka bean). Despite the name, fougères rarely smell of actual ferns. Houbigant’s Fougère Royale (1882) established the template that most men’s fragrances have followed since.

The classic fougère smells clean, herbal, slightly sweet and distinctly masculine — the fragrance of a well-groomed man in a clean white shirt. Modern interpretations have expanded the family considerably, incorporating woody, spicy, aromatic and aquatic elements while maintaining the lavender-coumarin-moss skeleton.

For beginners: the fougère is the most universally safe masculine fragrance family. If you are unsure what to wear to any occasion, a well-chosen fougère is almost always appropriate.