Ffern Review – Summer 24
I’ve been seeing Ffern ads for months now, so it was exciting to finally see what the brand is all about. In a nutshell, this is a quarterly, limited edition fragrance subscription, and each fragrance is handmade with natural and organic ingredients, so you’re getting a truly artisanal experience. I had the opportunity to try the newly launched Summer 24 Eau de Parfum, and I can confidently tell you – I’m a fan.
HOW IT WORKS:
For $129/quarter, Ffern offers limited edition seasonal fragrances handcrafted in small batches in the English countryside using pure, natural ingredients, delivered on solstice/equinox. To keep the quality high, Ffern operates on a waitlist basis – there are only so many spots on the ledger, and once it’s full you’ll have to wait for a spot to open up. You have no obligation to keep the perfumes that don’t suit your taste – return the unopened full-sized bottle and wait to see what the next quarter brings. Sign up for the waitlist here.
The recently launched ‘Summer 24’ was inspired by the orange groves of Tuscany. Elodie Durande, the nose behind the fragrance, captured the scent of an entire day among the Tuscan hills, as it unfolds from morning to twilight.
- Top notes: Bay leaf, blood orange rind, pink peppercorn, lemon rind, fennel seed, grapefruit rind, olibanum, green mandarin rind
- Heart: Red champaca, neroli, bergamot rind, patchouli, coriander seed, nutmeg
- Base notes: Benzoin Siam, red cedar, hay, brown-eyed rock rose, vetiver root
I’m no perfumer, but I can tell this is a piece of art. To me it smells like summer, and I love how it evolves throughout the day. The fragrance reminds me of summers in the countryside with my grandparents. It’s the smell of hay under the sun, the grasses, the wildflowers, and earl grey tea with orange marmalade and local honey. I’d pop into a time machine just to experience that again. Thankfully, ‘Summer 24’ is the next best thing.
What came in the package:
- 3ml Summer 24 Sample vial – Try it first. Don’t like the scent? Returns are free.
- 32ml Summer 24 Organic Eau de Parfum – Only unseal the box if you are keeping the fragrance.
- Diffusion stone – Spritz perfume on this tile and put it on your desk or in the drawer. Handcrafted in Norfolk by traditional tilemakers.
- 2pc Sampling mouillettes – In case you prefer to sample the perfume on a piece of paper and not on your skin.
- 2pc Summer tea – Caffeine-free herbal blend of roots, fruits, and flowers.
- 1pc Art print – Each quarter features a different art piece. This one is Summer Meadow by Claire Basler.
- Digital cinematic experience – Ffern made a short film to accompany the fragrance.
Ffern aims to keep their environmental impact as low as possible by using fully recyclable eco-friendly packaging, including the unique compostable bottle tray made from mushrooms. Those trays are not manufactured, but are literally grown for the bottles.
Now, the elephant in the room – the price.
I was just as skeptical when I saw that Ffern charges $129 per bottle, but after learning about how these perfumes are made, considering the resources, the natural ingredients, and artisanal craftsmanship methods, I feel like the price is more than fair. You can easily spend that much on a mass-produced designer perfume at Sephora. The caveat here is, with mass-market perfumes you could always get more. With Ffern, it’s a bit trickier, because when the batch is sold out, it’s gone forever. Ffern does set aside a few bottles for their ledger members in case they would like to have a backup or two for their favorite recent release, and once those sell out, they never return.
BOTTOM LINE:
Ffern certainly knows how to make an entrance. I always have high expectations for niche brands, but Ffern has far exceeded them. This perfume is not made in factories, it’s crafted by hand and aged in real barrels, and it will always be a unique addition to any beauty vanity, because everything is made in small batches. I really felt like got to experience something special and exclusive, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is how every Ffern ledger member feels when they open their quarterly package – truly, an experience like no other.
If you want to see the live unboxing experience, check out this reel I made on Instagram.
Have you seen Ffern ads? What do you think about this limited edition fragrance subscription model?
