It had been a while since I purchased a full bottle of any perfume. Fall is on it’s way (very evident today with highs in the 50s) and I felt the need for a new fragance, one that had a big personality that would put me in the mood. It’s been a while since I had last sampled Fougere Bengale, but I knew that it was the perfect scent to put me in the spirit of the change of season.
WHAT I SMELL: Strong lavender, mint and ginger which combined smells like curry (Immortelle?). It’s very medicinal and masculine. This is not an unassuming scent and a little goes a long way. After this initial rush to the senses, Fougere Bengale becomes almost thick in its form. It gets heavier and turns to a slight syrup; it’s spicy, curried and green and ready to bite. The drydown is the best part, like many of the Parfum d’Empire perfumes, the oakmoss leaves a light dustiness to the fragrance which is left without the sharp top notes, but still remains exotic and spicy but much calmer thanks to the vanilla and patchouli mixed with the tobacco. Fougere Bengale is a truly unique fragrance.
Fougere Bengale notes: lavender, tea, ginger, mint, hay, tobacco, pepper, oakmoss, patchouli, vanilla and tonka bean
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: To me this is not heavy and hot India sweltering in the sun, but instead India after a cool spell where the rain and a good breeze has tamed the land.
THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE FOUGERE BENGALE: spicy, exotic, forceful
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT FOUGERE BENGALE: Memory of Scent, The Non-Blonde, Ars Aromatica
BOTTOM LINE: This is an either you love it or hate it perfume. I can’t get enough of it, my better half HATES this and doesn’t like for me to be around him when I’m wearing it. Also, a little goes a long way and I have to be very cognizant of how I apply it. Parfum d’Empire once again makes it very easy for me to love them with this creation!
- Bone Rating: 4.5 out of 5 possible bones
- Scent: Aromatic Fougere
- Classification: Masculine
- Nose: Marc-Antoine Corticchiato
- Expense: $75 for 50ml EdP
The Scented Hound 
October 7, 2012 at 9:41 pm
I will be testing it soon and I’m wondering if there’s a chance for me to like it. We’ll see.
It’s a bold move: to buy a full bottle of a perfume that your partner hates. There are just a couple of perfumes with which I wouldn’t care if the whole world would have hated it. With most perfumes I wouldn’t.
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October 7, 2012 at 10:00 pm
I believe that he protests too much. Given that though, this is not an everyday perfume so it shouldn’t give him too much heartburn 🙂
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October 8, 2012 at 2:52 am
Great choice Steve, Fougere Bengale is a beauty 🙂
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October 8, 2012 at 3:58 am
Oh my, oh my! Thanks for your impressions! It’s one of those Parfum d’Empire that I didn’t try. You know I love Parfum d’Empire so it’s a must try for me. Sounds incredible.
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October 8, 2012 at 7:32 am
It’s not for everyone, but if you like the line, I’m sure that you’ll like this as well.
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October 8, 2012 at 7:34 am
Oh I LOVE the line. From Parfum d’Empire those I didn’t try are Fougere Bengale, Wazamba, Aziyade and 3 Fleurs, all the rest is within my knowledge and I fancy them all.
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October 8, 2012 at 7:42 am
Wazamba is another that I would seriously consider full bottle worthy.
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October 8, 2012 at 7:45 am
great
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October 8, 2012 at 3:34 pm
On an intimate level this is a polarising scent. SO’s will either find it repulsive or provocative. The SA who sold me this mentioned that his mother thought it smelled of food but his SO wanted to rape him. So be careful who you are around when you are wearing this 😉
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October 8, 2012 at 7:15 pm
I love it when a fragrance can cause so much flux!!!
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October 11, 2012 at 12:40 pm
As I read the list of notes there is nothing appealing there. But as we know they can be often misleading.
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October 11, 2012 at 7:09 pm
This is a scent that would be hard to swallow for many!
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