SMF

Is anyone familiar with this scent? It sounds intriguing, and it's inexpensive:

Alpa Fougere projects a pleasant, fresh scent that is subtle and exudes a clean, light and unobtrusive charm of pre-war Europe. Alpa Fougere Eau de Cologne is a classic men's fragrance which was created in 1882 under the name Fougere Royale by Houbigant Paris. Fougere Alpa is a nice, authentic cologne for everyday use

Product of the Czech Republic

http://www.bullgooseshaving.net/alfoeaudeco.html

Craig, Well, well....that IS interesting. Thanks for drawing our attention to this. Apparently it is a direct attempt to recreate, or at least mimic, Houbigant's original Fougere Royale, which has been unavailable in the US for a very long time. I wonder what Phil thinks of it? At that price it's worth a gamble I think.....maybe even for me, short funds and all.
Regards,
Gordon

Gordon, Look at their other scents, I might have to try their Chypre and Violets as well:

http://www.shoeboxshaveshop.com/alfiaffrfrea.html

I just ordered all three. At those prices why not?

Jeez!....those prices are incredible. And they offer a 'bergamont' cologne as well...there version of SMN 'Russian Cologne' I wonder? Do post what you think about them when they arrive!
Regards,
Gordon

Will do Gordon, I'd like to post you a sample of all three when I receive them. PM me your address if you will and I'll get them out to you as soon as I get them from Shoebox.

I am looking forward to hearing what you guys think of these. These have been on my radar for the last few months.

I have the Alpa Fougere and I like it. It's more of a Summer time scent to me so I haven't worn it lately but should be good when the weather warms up.

I find the scent to be similar to Wild Fern but different, not as strong, a weaker version if you will with subtle differences.

For full disclosure my experience with Wild Fern is somewhat dated as all the bottles I have of it are the splash bottles and at least 5 years old or older. I am not familiar if they have reformulated lately with all the changes mentioned around here.

But all in all the Alpa is nice stuff and at the current prices I think one can afford to experiment.

Hope that helps.

Chris

I love their products,I have all the aftershaves/colognes,but don't forget the wonderful Alpa shaving cream ! Lathers great and smells as nice as the aftershaves...I ordered mine from pomade-shop.eu.....

Chris & Maloccio-Thanks for the replies!

Yes, by all means, thank you for the information. Gary's a cool guy with hard to find products and lightning fast shipping. I'm hoping the Fougere will be a nice complement to the MdC Fougere shaving soap.

I received my bottles of Alpa's Fougere and Violet EDT's this afternoon (thanks for the quick turn around, Gary!). I am no expert in describing scents and am awful at identifying the various notes so I will try my best.

The Violet is a nice, fairly sweet violet with a touch of powder. Comparing it to Alvarez Gomez Aqua de Tocador Violeta (which I am told is extremely close to the old Trumper's Violet), the Alpa lacks "depth". I also suspect it lacks staying power. I am wearing the violet right now and the scent seems to be fading after an hour or so. (Straight forward florals seem to do that on me.) But for six bucks, I can't really complain, especially in comparison to the price of AG or Trumpers..

The same "criticism" came to mind when compared the Fouqere to English Fern. The latter is more complicated and, strangely, brighter (I think it is a stronger piney note) than the Alpa. But the Alpa is very pleasant in a more subdued way. It strikes me as a little more in line with an Eau de Cologne than to what characterizes a fougere in my mind. I again suspect the Alpa to be a little short on staying power. On the other hand the bottle is huge and for $15 reapplications aren't an issue. I plan on wearing it tomorrow, so I'll give more feedback then. I'll also post on SWMBO's take.

Chris,

what a coincidence, I got my Alpa order from Gary today as well. Here are my thoughts:

Chypre: I have very little experience with classic chrypre scents. This has a powdery top note with some musk notes after dry down. There's a bit of citrus around the edges. It's light and fades rather quickly on me into a light muskish scent with light to medium sillage. I don't care for this one. Ingredients: 80% Alcohol Denat, Wasser, Benzyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Alkohol, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Cinnamate, Cinnamal
Citral, Coumarin, Eugenol, Geraniol, d-Limonene, a-Isomethyl Ionone, Evernia Prunastri (oak moss), Evernia Furfuracea (tree moss), Musk Ketone, Musk Xylene

Violet: Another variety of classic scents that I don't have experience with. In fact I've never come across one until today. Chris (EL Alamein) kindly sent me a small sample of Trumper's Ajaccio Violets which I received this morning as well. To me the Trumper smells like it has a similar base as their Milk Of Flowers but with a pronounced violet and green notes, and without being overly sweet. The Alpa Violets strikes me as a little bit lighter and more delicate than the Trumper Violets, a decent duration, and with a light sillage. The violet note is bright but not feminine, and is a bit more single note than Trumper's. I like this, it's intimate, romantic and very old school. Ingredients: 70% Alcohol Denat., Water, Perfume, Colours CI 19140 and CI 42090, Amyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, d-Limonene, a-Isomethyljonon, Benzyl Benzoate, Salicylate Eugenol, Linalool, Musk ketone

Alpa Fougére Eau de Cologne: A classic Fougére to my nose, in fact it smells a great deal like Crown Fougére, but more diluted. The scent is almost aftershave strength but has too much alcohol to use as an aftershave (I learned this the hard way after shaving). This cologne isn't terribly long lived, perhaps a few hours. Light to medium sillage. This is a perfect office Fougére as it lies close to the skin and has a wonderful clean scent. An outstanding buy for the coin, i really like it. Ingredients: 70% Alcohol Denat, Water, Fragrance, Coumarin, Geraniol, Linalool, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, d-Limonene, a-Isomethyl Ionone, Benzyl Alcohol, Cinnamal, Evernia Furfuracea (tree moss), Evernia Prunastri (oak moss).

These are good quality for the money. In retrospect I wish that I'd purchased the Classique EDC instead of the Chypre, which isn't my cup of tea.

Craig_From_Cincy wrote:Evernia Prunastri (oak moss), Evernia Furfuracea (tree moss), Musk Ketone, Musk Xylene

Musk "ketone" and "xylene" ...? What are these chemicals?

The scent is almost aftershave strength but has too much alcohol to use as an aftershave (I learned this the hard way after shaving).

Interesting. Back when I started shaving (I forget if I used AS or not) I would notice that when I sweat the pores on my face would burn/sting. So I started using isopropyl alcohol as aftershave ... after the initial burn, my face would be fine all day.

After moving to Maryland, I switched from isopropyl alcohol to CVS "ethyl rubbing alcohol" (essentially denatured ethyl alcohol). Only since I learned of wet shaving did I start using products other than straight-up rubbing alcohol.

dosco wrote:

Craig_From_Cincy wrote:Evernia Prunastri (oak moss), Evernia Furfuracea (tree moss), Musk Ketone, Musk Xylene

Musk "ketone" and "xylene" ...? What are these chemicals?

Musk xylene is a "nitro musk," one of the old-school synthetic musks used as a fixative in perfumes for quite some time. Think laundry detergent-type "clean" musk.

Ketones are also a class of aromachemicals, mostly used as fixatives, and musk ketone falls into the "nitro musk" category, too.

Nitro musks are seldom used or used in reduced amounts these days due to the fact that they don't break down and can accumulate in groundwater, soil, and - perhaps - human tissues. There are a lot of synthetic musks available now that aren't "nitro" musks, but many people are anosmic to a number of them, and a lot of noses in the know lament the loss of nitro musks as favorite fragrances were reformulated and have never been the same. I think it's really interesting that Alpa is using these aromachemicals, and I appreciate the excellent writeups by Chris, Craig, and Chris on these scents. Very interesting stuff. Thanks, gents.

TRBeck wrote: Musk xylene is a "nitro musk," one of the old-school synthetic musks used as a fixative in perfumes for quite some time. Think laundry detergent-type "clean" musk.

Got it ... very interesting. Thanks!

TRBeck wrote:

dosco wrote:

Craig_From_Cincy wrote:Evernia Prunastri (oak moss), Evernia Furfuracea (tree moss), Musk Ketone, Musk Xylene

Musk "ketone" and "xylene" ...? What are these chemicals?

Musk xylene is a "nitro musk," one of the old-school synthetic musks used as a fixative in perfumes for quite some time. Think laundry detergent-type "clean" musk.

Ketones are also a class of aromachemicals, mostly used as fixatives, and musk ketone falls into the "nitro musk" category, too.

Nitro musks are seldom used or used in reduced amounts these days due to the fact that they don't break down and can accumulate in groundwater, soil, and - perhaps - human tissues. There are a lot of synthetic musks available now that aren't "nitro" musks, but many people are anosmic to a number of them, and a lot of noses in the know lament the loss of nitro musks as favorite fragrances were reformulated and have never been the same. I think it's really interesting that Alpa is using these aromachemicals, and I appreciate the excellent writeups by Chris, Craig, and Chris on these scents. Very interesting stuff. Thanks, gents.

...............Yes...originally perfumers used real musk oil,extracted from the scent glands of male deer.After Chanel created synthetic "nature - identical" aromas in 1925 ,the industry started down the path of immitations and synthetics...The "urine" odor many of us get from Lilac Vegetal is this synthetic scent,I believe the pre 1920's formula contained true musk oil and true extract of Lilacs,and I really wish I could have smelled the original !

Haven't tried any of these,but as soon as I find them I will,Alpa gives great value for your money,and I enjoy the glass bottles and great scents.

Malocchio, you might check with Gary at Shoebox or Phil at Bullgoose to see if their sources can obtain them. Just a thought.

Yes! Oakmoss! Nitro musks!

*googles frantically*