Houbigant Fougere Royale

[bythbook]

In a recent thread member murchmb opined:

The ultimate vintage soap to seek in my book is Houbigant Fougere Royale. I've only seen two specimans in the 5+ years I've been on the forums. I have one, unused, and slcsteve sold one several years ago that he had used sparingly.​

OK. Has anyone actually used this elusive and desirable soap? What can you say about it? Is it desirable because it's wonderful? Or because it is scarce?

thanks for your opinions....

 

[Matt P]

You seek The Grail?
View attachment 83064

 

[professorchaos]

We need to find murchmb's address and raid his stash. I'd love to get my hands on some of that.

 

[bythbook]

You seek The Grail?
View attachment 83064

We need to find murchmb's address and raid his stash. I'd love to get my hands on some of that.

so what's the deal with it??????

 

[Rusty Jackknife]

Great question...

In addition to the question regarding performance, I wonder if there is a current fern scent that is similar? (Edit:Found on Basenotes. Similar to EF.)

RJ

 

[cvac]

I could be wrong, but I doubt there is a lot of stuff currently available that is similar. I've never sniffed HFR but it doesn't seem like a lot of these classic fougere scents just aren't around anymore. Apparently, at one time they were very, very popular. Trumpers Wild Fern and Penhaligon's English Fern are still in production, but that's about it.

I've seen vintage bottles of HFR for sale before, but they don't come cheap. Personally, I'm currently trying to decide whether or not I should pull the trigger on some Crown Fougere..but that doesn't come cheap either.

 

[WhosYerBob]

Houbigant's Fougère Royale scent (not the soap) from 1882 is considered to be a landmark in fragrance design, and as a result the whole genre of fougère scents were named after it. Fougère (pronounced "fooz-hare") generally has an accord of lavender combined together with coumarin (Tonka Bean, among others) to create a scent used in many male frags to this day. To see just how many there are, consult this chart.

 

[cvac]

That chart is very interesting but I'm not sure how literally I'd take the comparisons. There are some frags listed next to each other that are quite different.

I have the Dunhill 1934, which is excellent and listed in the fougere family...I wonder just how similar it is to HFR. My guess is HFR is less "heavy" in the middle notes and drydown but I have no idea.

 

[joshmpdx]

I have a sample of the HFR, and think it just may be one of the worst i've tried to date. This from a fellow who loves a lot of the frags in the Fougère category.

 

[cvac]

What about it did you not like? HFR has been out of production for awhile...do you think the bottle it came from went bad/sour?

 

[bythbook]

...no one reading this thread has tried the shaving soap, I take it.

 

[DSB]

...no one reading this thread has tried the shaving soap, I take it.

I think its rarity is going to make it difficult to find someone who has used the soap. Have you found some you are considering purchasing?

 

[bythbook]

I think its rarity is going to make it difficult to find someone who has used the soap. Have you found some you are considering purchasing?

...already did. A gift set from the 1930's, as far as I can tell. Talc (allegedly full); AS (about 1/2 a bottle); and an allegedly unused soap in bowl.

We'll see....

It cost a bunch, but... I'm suffering in the self-restraint department lately.
closed auction link

 

[scoopster]

...already did. A gift set from the 1930's, as far as I can tell. Talc (allegedly full); AS (about 1/2 a bottle); and an allegedly unused soap in bowl.

We'll see....

It cost a bunch, but... I'm suffering in the self-restraint department lately.
closed auction link

Nice score. Winning bid less than a bowl of Penhaligons. Good luck & let us know how it turns out.

 

[murchmb]

...already did. A gift set from the 1930's, as far as I can tell. Talc (allegedly full); AS (about 1/2 a bottle); and an allegedly unused soap in bowl.

We'll see....

It cost a bunch, but... I'm suffering in the self-restraint department lately.
closed auction link

So you're the one! I hoped it would stay under the radar. I bid at the end and would have gone higher, but I was phone and things stalled out before I could submit another bid. Congratulations on getting one of the rarest vintage soaps out there for a dirt cheap price, IMO. NIB vintage Yardley often closes in the $90-100 range and is widely available compared to HFR. slcsteve has use it and it has shown up in someone else's SOTD in the past, possibly the same bowl as Steve sold his.

I have yet to use mine. It may go up on the block along with a pile of other things so I can raise funds for an Irish Whistle. Another AD in the making should things go well, but that's another forum.

 

[bythbook]

Nice score. Winning bid less than a bowl of Penhaligons. Good luck & let us know how it turns out.

So you're the one! I hoped it would stay under the radar. I bid at the end and would have gone higher, but I was phone and things stalled out before I could submit another bid. Congratulations on getting one of the rarest vintage soaps out there for a dirt cheap price, IMO. NIB vintage Yardley often closes in the $90-100 range and is widely available compared to HFR. slcsteve has use it and it has shown up in someone else's SOTD in the past, possibly the same bowl as Steve sold his.

I have yet to use mine. It may go up on the block along with a pile of other things so I can raise funds for an Irish Whistle. Another AD in the making should things go well, but that's another forum.

well... I'm glad I made the late bid!

Mike, how can you hold on to yours and not give it a try?

and back to my original question - is it just good & rare or is it rare & good?


I can't wait to receive it!

(and talc, too! what does anybody do with talc?)

 

[murchmb]

well... I'm glad I made the late bid!

Mike, how can you hold on to yours and not give it a try?

and back to my original question - is it just good & rare or is it rare & good?


I can't wait to receive it!

(and talc, too! what does anybody do with talc?)

My understanding is that it's very good and I know it's quite rare. Additionally, it's a bit different for a vintage soap in the scent department (if any is left) in that it's not lavender.

As for who uses or has used it: slcsteve, Churchill, and Bargepole over at SMF.

 

[nemo]

closed auction link

Lovely packaging and very well preserved, I think you scored!

 

[Aaron01]

That stuff is so hard to come by it makes Yardley look like William's. I think they made it all the way into the 70s/80s as I've seen a bowl that looks different than the one in the auction.

Nice score anyway...

 

[bythbook]

I'm still waiting to hear from the seller....