Better perfume, naturally.
Our mission is to bring back creative perfumery. To that end, we have developed a new model to keep innovation at the heart of what we do; seasonal perfume.
SUMMER 19 INGREDIENTS
CORIANDER SEED
[Coriandrum sativum]
Our coriander is grown by farming cooperatives in the famously fertile soil of the ‘Central Black Earth’ region on Russia’s western border. The entire fruit is harvested late in the summer, and distilled on site with a traditional steam based method.
CLARY SAGE
[Salvia sclarea]
You might have heard of a rare perfumers ingredient called ambergris. The key fragrance molecule in ambergris is ambroxide. At Ffern, we were eager to explore this unique ingredient, but remain steadfast in our commitment to 100% vegan perfumes, today and always. Hence, we had to find another way. Enter clary sage. It turns out ambroxide can also be derived in small quantities from clary sage oil - and that’s where ours comes from.
CINNAMON LEAF
[Cinnamonum zeylanicum]
You might be familiar with cinnamon bark - usually rolled, dried, and used in cooking. Cinnamon leaf has a much lighter, spicy scent, hence its inclusion in Summer 19. The finest quality of cinnamon leaf grows in south west Sri Lanka - our Sri Lankan cinnamon is harvested from 2 year old plants, and steam distilled at source.
CYPRESS LEAF
[Thuja occidentalis]
Our cypress leaf oil comes from the branches of the northern white cedar tree in its native northwest Canada. In the spring, new growth twigs and leaves are harvested and steam distilled to obtain the woody, camphorous oil.
KEY LIME RIND
[Citrus aurantifolia]
Ffern key lime is grown in the north of Peru. The fruits are harvested in the afternoon to avoid the oil loss caused by their early morning turgor. Next, they are passed through a pelatrice, and the gathered liquid is centrifuged to obtain a pure lime rind oil.
LEMON RIND
[Citrus limon]
The La Faces are a third generation citrus farming family, and the go to source for citrus expertise at Ffern. They grow lemons on the northeastern tip of Sicily - just across the 3km straight of Messina and in sight of our bergamot on the Calabrian shores. The fruit are picked by hand, and the rinds are cold-pressed on site.
NEROLI
[Citrus aurantium amara]
Our neroli oil is extracted from the blossom of seville orange trees on Cape Bon in northern Tunisia - a peninsula that juts out into the Tyrrhenian sea, across from Sicily. The blossoms are hand picked at daybreak, once dew has formed, in the Spring. The flowers are immediately pressed and distilled - every second they sit in the morning sun detracts from the characteristically fresh scent that wooed Orsini, Princess of Neroli, and won the oil its name.
RED JUNIPER
[Juniperus virginiana]
Red juniper is a coniferous evergreen native to Northeastern USA. Harvested in its native Virginia, when the plant is young, the wood is steam distilled at source to extract a pure red juniper oil.
NUTMEG
[Myristica fragrans]
Our nutmeg grows on the Banda islands of eastern Indonesia. These islands - the original source of nutmeg - were a global secret throughout the 15th century, until in August 1511 they were discovered by a Portugese general, and the European race for nutmeg trade dominance began. Today the fruit is harvested with handheld telescopic pickers and left to dry in the shade - the seed oil is then steam distilled at source.
BITTER ORANGE RIND
[Citrus x aurantium]
Our oranges grow on a third generation family orchard in Bauru, Brazil. The fruit is hand picked in the early summer, and the rind is cold pressed on site.
BROWN-EYED ROCK ROSE
[Cistus labdaniferus var maculata]
Traditionally, labdanum was taken from the coats of goats who grazed the rock rose covered hillsides of Crete. Times have changed. Our rock rose grows wild on the plains of Almaden de la Plata outside Seville, Spain. In late summer, the leafy stems of the plant are sickle harvested and plunged into hot carbonated water. This mixture is then distilled to obtain a resin - labdanum. The plant remains are used as biofuel.
TOLU BALSAM
[Myroxylon balsamum]
The Tolues, an ancient pre-Columbian people, believed so much in the healing powers of tolu balsam that they took the resin as their name. Ffern tolu balsam is wild harvested by a network of families in northern Columbia.
BENZOIN SIAM
[Styrax tokinensis]
Benzoin siam is a balsamic resin taken from the bark of the styrax tree. The trees grow wild in the Annamite mountains, Laos. In September, a v-shaped cut is made in the tree bark, and brittle white ‘tears’ of benzoin resin acccumulate over a three week period. This process is known as ‘tapping’.
JASMINE
[Jasminum sambac]
Winter 19 was made with a complete jasmine sambac oil - hand picked at night in the Eastern Himalayas. For the summer, we wanted some of the lighter, airy jasmine notes, but to avoid the richer, earthier side that comes with them. Hence, this time we are not using the complete jasmine oil, but a much lighter subset (c.1-3%).
BERGAMOT RIND
[Citrus bergamia]
The La Face family planted their first bergamot in the 1930’s. Through three generations they have become the world experts on citrus oils. Hence they were our first port of call when it came to sourcing bergamot for Spring 19. Grown on Calabrian hills overlooking the Ionian Sea (one of few places globally where bergamot can grow), the fruit is hand harvested and the oil extracted at source.
OLIBANUM
[Boswellia carterii]
Olibanum is a resin taken from the bark of a Boswellia tree. In our case, Boswellia carterii - a species native to Somalia. The trees grow wild along the Gulf of Aden in northern Somalia, and the resin ‘tears’ are harvested by local collectors over a period of weeks.
NB: For a full breakdown of our ingredients, please refer to the 'our ingredients' section of our site. The list below is intended for the identification of potentially allergenic molecules - the natural perfume oils are grouped under the term ‘parfum’.
Summer 19 ingredients:
Alcohol Denat. (78%), Parfum (17%), Aqua (Pure water) 5%, Geraniol*, Citral*, Cinnamal*, Benzyl cinnamate*, Benzyl alcohol*, Benzyl benzoate*, Eugenol*, Farnesol*, Isoeugenol*, Linalool*, Limonene*.
*Scientific names for molecules found inside our natural ingredients.
Four times per year, at Solstice and Equinox, we will release a new Perfume.
Each season's fragrance will be available for three months at a time.
The following year, the same season's fragrance will return in a new form - consistent with the house style, but evolved.
Multi season passes are available at a discount to the regular bottle price.
They amount to a fixed term subscription - with a season pass, we will send a new fragrance at each turn of the seasons for the duration of the pass.
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Season Pass FAQ
