It had been for quite awhile that I had been watching Englishman Dan Naughton’s Mr Smelly YouTube channel when I suddenly realized one day that he was not only an influencer but a co-owner of traditional-leaning British fragrance house Naughton and Wilson. It made total sense.
Anyone who watches Dan’s channel immediately sees his personal love for tradition drives him. Appearing on camera with paintings and statues in the background, Dan almost always is impeccably dressed in a tailored suit jacket, occasionally elevating it with a silken tie.
His whole demeanour is quite different from most other reviewers I also watch: cool, mature, confident, grounded, eternally self-deprecating and always quirkily humorous. He is clearly in touch with his thoughts and feelings, and it’s not just because of the posh accent.
I’m a guy who has a very eclectic collection of fragrances, with everything from modern ouds to classical old-school scents, so I wanted to know more about what Dan’s house had to offer; he’s clearly one of the most active proponents online of vintage fougère and chypre scents. My interest only increased when I found out his English master perfumer is John Stephen, the nose behind The Cotswold Perfumery and creator of perfumes for premium houses such as Boadicea the Victorious and Czech & Speake.
In the many months since I started watching Dan’s channel I have come to trust him, buying several traditional-leaning fragrances that he recommended, all of which I adore:
• Guerlain Vetiver EDT
• Guerlain Mitsouko EDT
• Rochas Moustache EDP
I reached out to Dan and suggested that I would review his fragrances if I could smell them, making it clear that I would not be paid as I’m a journalist and would only need his fragrances to do my work. My only other requirement was that I have 100% independence and be entirely honest about my true impressions. He immediately agreed and kindly gifted me two 100 ml EDP bottles: the house’s first fragrance, Gravitas Pour Homme, and its latest release, Old Money.
As I brought Dan’s shipment from my front step into my house I thought there was a major reason why some men gravitate towards traditional-leaning scents. In part it’s because the past has an undeniable allure in a present that seems to be falling apart.
After wearing both fragrances over several days, I went out the other night with my in-laws to celebrate an anniversary. Before choosing a fragrance for the occasion my hand wavered a moment over my collection. I wanted a classic fragrance that smelled dapper, mature and sophisticated. I thought about Dior Eau Sauvage Parfum and Guerlain Vetiver before I finally grabbed one.
Yes, it was Gravitas Pour Homme. It smells amazing to me and perfectly capable of going toe to toe with the Dior and Guerlain.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐠è𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐲𝐩𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬?
I’ve noticed people sometimes using the terms fougère and chypre interchangeably. They are in fact different, but as with many things fragrances-related there is not always a clear line of division.
Fougère is French for fern, the formal term for what is more popularly known as barbershop fragrances. They are commonly based around lavender, oak moss, herbs and tonka. Fougère fragrances smell spicy-sweet, clean, masculine and aromatic.
As for chypre, it’s French for Cyprus, the name of the first chypre as coined by the French maker Coty. A chypre fragrance generally has bright citrusy bergamot top notes, a floral heart and a base of oakmoss, patchouli and labdanum. They are generally not at all sweet and tend to be dry, earthy, elegant, vintage-smelling and mysterious.
Both types almost always have patchouli present in the base.
Patchouli belongs to the woods and mosses family of plants. With a sweetly dark and earthy edge that is almost chocolatey, patchouli is not a requirement to be a fougère or chypre, but it is so common that most people would probably disagree.
𝐏𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬
As mentioned, Dan Naughton gifted me Gravitas and Old Money. I don’t want to talk too much about the packaging and bottles, but they are beautiful and worthy of the label “niche.” Heavy glass bottles with embossed writing and the house’s crest on metal plates glued on, a metal cap of exceptional heft and “Naughton Wilson” inscribed upon it.
As you will see, Gravitas blew me away. I can see why it was the first fragrance released by the house. Unfortunately, Old Money hasn’t worked out for me. It’s not the smell, it’s the performance.
Old Money is a classic tobacco-woody fragrance. It has super dry whiskey and cherry maraschino notes, but thankfully does not smell boozy exactly, it is much more complex than that. Underneath it all Old Money is grounded by a base of suede, patchouli, moss, cedar, tonka bean and vetiver. It smells refined, regal and indeed like someone I imagine surrounded by old books, sitting in a cozy library with wooden walls, leather furniture, drinks and a fire nearby, someone who has been bequeathed generational wealth.
Unfortunately for me, after wearing it several times, Old Money consistently does not perform well, something I come to expect at times, as my skin sometimes sops up scents. It projects for the first 20–30 minutes before the scent bubble shrinks to within a foot of myself and becomes a skin scent. About 2–3 hours later Old Money had largely given up the ghost; I could not smell it. I have heard other reviewers saying their bottles last for many hours. Make of that what you will.
But Gravitas Pour Homme? In all honesty, it has proven to be nothing less than fabulous, arguably not only one of the best fougère fragrances in my extensive collection, but already one of my favourite fragrances, period.
Gravitas opens with a wonderful medley of notes that I immediately fell in love with. I had concerns before getting my nose on it that it would smell old, weird or challenging. It was none of those things.
A citrusy mandarin orange and bergamot are what I first smelled. The texture and effervescence of the citrus fairly sparkles. There is lavender … and oh, how good it is. The lavender immediately reminded me of my Dior Eau Sauvage Parfum, but wisely depowered so as to not overwhelm the composition, a complaint some have with the Dior. Meanwhile, a vanillic character in the background reminds me of Guerlain’s classic Habit Rouge EDT, but here it modernizes the composition. I get the oakmoss and patchouli meanwhile, but it is all tasteful and contemporary.
Remember, this is not a paid review. I didn’t like Old Money and said so. Gravitas Pour Homme is a different animal altogether, and wearing it over several days confirmed it. This is a fragrance clearly inspired by the past but oh so modern as well. The quality of the ingredients is clearly top-notch.
I started wearing Gravitas in different situations: writing, driving, at the family dinner, going shopping. Whatever I threw at Gravitas it completely fit and elevated my mood. If there’s anything I don’t like about it it’s that I fear my other juice will get neglected. I do plan on taking 3-4 bottles with me on an upcoming vacation and Gravitas will be one of them.
As I wore it more, I began to see why traditional fragrances may be having a resurgence.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝-𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
I am not saying nostalgia and rebellion against the present are the only reasons for a current resurgence of interest in fougère and chypre fragrances, but they may well be part of it.
Fougère and chypre perfumes carry a particular scent profile many people think of when remembering what their grandfathers and fathers smelled like long ago, when the notion of unisex fashion would have been seen as strange and scandalous.
In popular consciousness it was a time when men were unapologetically men and read books for pleasure, drove cars with a manual shifter when shopping at the local mall, attended town community meetings and took notes, and wore suits and ties when going out for dinner with the family.
There was nothing like a 24-hour news cycle and people did not learn of events until days later. Hunting was considered manly. There was nothing even like animal rights. It was a time when global devastation from nuclear war between the US and Soviet Union over was feared. The worst excesses of neo-colonialism were little understood by the public but supported anyway in the name of democracy, human rights and freedom.
These are some of the values of the past for males in 1950s–60s North America, for better and for worse:
• Clear, rigid roles: Provider, protector, leader of the home
• Masculinity: Tied to stoicism and authority
• Career paths: Defined, stable and linear
• Identity: More societally decided than self-defined
• Milestones: Marriage, kids, home
• Dress: Maturity, style, honour
It was a simpler time, one where many things young men today worry about would have been seen as both laughable and catastrophic back then.
The outsourcing of entire industries to foreign lands.
The inability for the working class to afford a house, college or even basic needs for that matter.
The inability for families to stay together as the nuclear family fell apart.
And the lack of a clear definition for what it means to be a man, or even a woman for that matter in our gender fluid modern age.
As for fragrances, there was nothing in the old days like today’s robust niche industry. Every man wore one of 3-4 perfumes and you better believe they were always a fougère or chypre fragrance. Knowing how to dress properly and smelling attractive were not considered strange; it was expected.
Ironically perhaps, when a man dresses traditionally or wears an old-school fragrance today, it’s taken as a personal and political statement against the current order. Wearing high-quality fougères and chypres signals belief in a time where quality and real luxury mattered, where giving your best effort and being well-dressed and mannered every day was expected, not something to be proud of.
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
The fact that fougeres and chypres are still around is not just nostalgia, it’s because they just work. The juxtaposition between a sparkling fruity opening and an earthy green base is one of the greatest developments in fragrances. one synonymous with being dressed well.
We live in a time with arguably the most competitive and unstable job market, with AI ruthlessly replacing entry-level white-collar workers and inflation dramatically outpacing wages. Many young men are impoverished and having to live with their parents. They are expected to be fit, highly intelligent, attractive, charismatic and dressing well, while at the same time unaware of being like that.
It’s a crushing burden. No wonder that frag head men — not frag kids — of every age are re-evaluating what they believe in and stand for.
And that brings me to Gravitas Pour Homme.
In the end, Gravitas didn’t just win me over, it reminded me why fougères have survived every cultural shift thrown at them: trends, counter-trends, recessions, pandemics, and whatever era of masculinity-theorizing we’re currently navigating.
Old Money may have evaporated on me with all the enthusiasm of a teenager avoiding chores, but Gravitas stayed put. It asserted itself. And it proved that some things only seem old-fashioned until you actually wear them, and realize they were simply waiting for modern life to catch up.
If today’s world insists on being confusing, Gravitas offers one clear truth: smelling like a refined adult male never goes out of style. Everything else might. But not that.
And honestly, if society takes a few more wrong turns, I’ll face the future armed with common sense, a good jacket, and Gravitas Pour Homme. Two out of three is already more than most people manage … and at least I’ll smell like I know what I’m doing.
