FRAGRANCE | Fougère d'Argent by Tom Ford: A modern take on a classic fragrance category

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Tom Ford's Fougère d'Argent is yet another take on the fougere category of fragrances. Personally I can't get enough of fougeres and apparently neither does this house. They already have three so far, the other two being Fougère Platine and Beau de Jour, the latter pulled out from their Private Blend Collection and re-released under their Signature Collection.

Lavender is of course present here, which is briefly accompanied by a sharp citrus zing. There's a slight sweetness to the opening, along with a pronounced sharpness that I suspect is either coming from ginger or from dry wood. While a bit spicy, the scent has a generally clean and fresh feel to it, with a budding creaminess working in the background. The sharpness, however, dashes all attempts of this creamy accord to fully surface and flourish—initially at least.

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Then after several minutes, the volume of the sharpness is lowered a few notches, allowing the lavender, along with the tempered sweetness and mild creaminess, to come through. The trend continues but it never ends up on mute, providing a now subtle counterpoint to the ensuing creamy lavender scent characteristic of most fougeres. However, it doesn't become as creamy and rounded as YSL Rive Gauche pour Homme, nor does it turn as sharp as Beau de Jour. On the contrary, the sharpness works in reverse order with the case of Fougère d'Argent, and I'm happy with that.

As with most Tom Fords, this isn't a screamer but it's no softy either. It lasts for several hours, surprising you with random whiffs of it even late into the day. While marketed as unisex, the scent leans a little masculine but I'm sure there are women who can rock it with no problem. Fougère d'Argent can easily take you from casual to formal, all the while maintaining a vibe that's classy. Although I see it more as a daytime scent, wearing it at night is no travesty at all. Price point aside, for me this is worth sampling.

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