Jo's Scent Notes: Ffern's natural fragrances

I’m often asked for natural fragrance recommendations, what with being somewhat known for my ‘greenness’ – co-author with Sarah (Stacey) of The Green Beauty Bible and The Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible, co-founder of Green & Black’s, etc.

But until fairly recently, it’s actually been hard to point British perfume-lovers in the direction of wearable, never mind wonderful all-natural choices. (America’s always been slightly easier: there’s an incredibly gifted and experienced natural perfumer called Mandy Aftel, whose scents can be found at aftelier.com, and who has written several riveting and readable books on the subject.)

All that changed with the arrival on the scene of Ffern, a beautiful, natural fragrance brand based in the West Country, founded by a brother and sister team, Owen Mears and Emily Cameron, who were inspired by the countryside lifestyle they enjoyed as children, growing up opposite one of this country’s leading herb farms.

Each quarter, a new seasonal, natural and organic fragrance is released – and Spring 24 is my favourite yet. It’s been created by Elodie Durande.

Spring 24 is inspired by rhubarb – that tart, delicious, not-like-anything-else-you’ll-ever-taste vegetable (yes, it’s a vegetable, not a fruit) which has just burst out of our soils and into our crumbles and fools.

Ffern Spring 24 captures its cheery freshness, but in a very wearable way, by fusing a menu of non-rhubarb ingredients including ginger root, grapefruit, green mandarin and bitter orange rinds, plus a touch of Timut pepper and petitgrain, the combination of which – at first whiff – gives a really rhubarby impression, but without in the least leaving you smelling like a greengrocer’s shop.

It then softens, on the skin. A whisper of flowers – neroli, davana, jasmine and narcissus – waft in. According to their ingredients lists, there’s a touch o f ‘Basil grand vert’ in there, which may explain Spring 24’s green, almost mouthwatering aspect. And as it warms on the skin, it’s grounded by generous amounts of vetiver and woodsy red cedar.

Adding to Spring 24’s smile-factor, meanwhile – because I literally can’t spray it without breaking into a big grin – is the fact they enlisted the Featherstone Male Voice Choir to perform an ‘Ode to Rhubarb’ in a heartwarming little tribute film, which you can see on their website (and above). Even more fun, I think, are the impressions shared by some choir members, on Instagram, here.

So, Ffern’s fragrances are sent out seasonally, on subscription, and are limited edition. Currently, their website’s showing a waiting list – but you might be lucky. (I was, when I first signed up, and was able to get my hands on that season’s creation.) The prices, meanwhile, aren’t OTT, in the grand scheme of things.

You might be thinking, though: buying a fragrance without smelling it is so risky. And that’s where Ffern are so clever, because each seasonal scent comes with a small vial and some blotters to spray it on, so that you can decide whether you like it without having to break the seal on the larger package. And if you don’t? Returns are free.

Or… you can always head to Ffern’s gorgeous flagship store on Beak Street, which we wrote about here. (It’s completely beautiful, as you can see from the photos.) There, you can try their creations on the skin, perhaps enjoying a delish cup of herb tea, while you’re spritzing and spraying. And there’s also a lovely Golden Ticket gifting option, which sends the recipient two or more seasonal bottles a year (at Solstice and/or Equinox), once the gift’s activated via their personal Golden Ticket code.

Ffern open up a whole new dimension within natural perfumery. So many natural fragrances smell like… well, like slightly fancy aromatherapy products. Ffern’s are fine fragrance creations, with the sparkle, light and dazzle more normally associated with synthetic-based scents.

And I’m quite a fan. (Naturally.)

£89 for 32ml – buy here