The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Winter 23 asks a question Ffern had never tried before: can a color become a scent? The brief was the myriad greens of winter, a landscape still pulsing with chlorophyll under a January sky. Released in 2022 as part of their seasonal collection, it marked the first time the house had translated colour directly into composition, a first interpretation of a hue rather than a season rendered in the usual olfactory shorthand. The result reads less like a season captured and more like one translated, green becoming a language of its own. Elodie Durande composed the fragrance, and the choice to pursue chlorophyll rather than the more familiar coniferous or hearth-bound vocabulary of the colder months gives Winter 23 its particular slant.
The structural move is the unusual one. Winter 23 builds its green around an unlikely spine: Chinese osmanthus lending its leathery, apricot-skin warmth, patchouli pulling earthy, and balsamic fir absolute carrying the coniferous weight with its own resinous gravity. Peppermint and rosemary deliver the chill, but the osmanthus is what stops the composition from feeling like a cologne. It's a green with a pulse running through it. The interplay between these materials is what gives Winter 23 its strange dual temperature.
The evolution
Winter 23 opens with a sharp burst of peppermint and Sicilian lemon zest, quickly joined by Brazilian orange peel for a bright, almost edible citrus snap. As the minutes pass, French tarragon and Tunisian rosemary push through, lending a cool green herbal edge that grounds the brightness. Chinese osmanthus then surfaces, adding a soft, leathery-fruity warmth that bridges the crisp opening to a quieter, woody base. The opening is brisk and immediate, the peppermint cutting cleanly through the citrus oils like cold air through a window, while the orange peel sweetens the edges without ever turning syrupy. As the top notes recede, the tarragon arrives with its distinctive anise-tinged greenness, a herbaceous sharpness that feels more kitchen-garden than wild foliage.
Cultural impact
Winter 23 lands as a distinctive entry in Ffern's seasonal lineup, a green that grows under frost. Wearers describe it in terms that emphasise its vegetal clarity, the sense of a colour translated rather than a temperature rendered. Community ratings reflect a positive reception, with wearers drawn to the unusual osmanthus-led structure and the way the peppermint and rosemary keep the composition feeling cold even as the heart warms. It sits comfortably alongside other aromatic-leaning entries in the seasonal catalog, including Autumn 23 for those who prefer herbal clarity over denser seasonal compositions.
The House
FfernFfern is a Somerset-based organic perfume house that releases four fragrances per year, aligned with the turning of the seasons. Founded in 2017 by Owen Mears, the brand draws its identity from a lineage stretching back to 1884, when Joseph Robert, a chemist working in Grasse, reportedly developed a method for extracting pure fragrance absolutes from plant matter. That discovery, and his work as a tutor to the renowned perfumer François Coty, forms the foundation on which the modern company was built. Ffern positions each release as a seasonal artifact, available only for the duration of its relevant season before the next composition arrives. The brand operates on a membership model, with customers joining a ledger to receive each seasonal scent. All perfumes are small-batch and made in the UK.
The Creator
Elodie DurandeElodie favors a minimalist palette. She often reaches for citrus top notes, transparent florals, and dry woods that provide structure without overwhelming the composition.
