Foras

Foras is an independent perfume and skincare house in Folkestone, Kent, with its own shop and small production lab at 11 Church Street. It was founded in 2021, and its eau de parfum fragrances are formulated and blended in small batches at the lab behind the shop, so each batch is made within a few months of being sold. The perfumer is Alexander Verier, a formulator from Kent with more than 15 years in the industry, whose past clients include Oliver Spencer, Grenson and Fortnum and Mason. Foras is his first range under his own name.

The name is Latin for outdoors, and the range follows it. Each fragrance is inspired by a natural idea, an ingredient or a place, and developed as a sensory snapshot. Summer Vine puts tomato and sweet pea over dry woods and bitter orange, Rosemary Benzoin is a rich resinous scent that evokes log fires, and Mushroom Forest is earthy with moss and vetiver. Ocean Tansy and Fig Ozone carry sea water and a briny freshness, Folkestone Green pairs galbanum and grass with oakmoss, and Oxidised Rose sets rose against metal and ozone.

The result is experimental without being hard to wear: green, woody, marine and earthy scents that change on the skin through the day. The house also makes soaps, incense cones, candles and home fragrance, and offers bespoke formulation from the shop.

Foras sits in the small-batch, shop-led corner of British independent perfumery. The founder says the brand is mainly meant to be experienced in person, with the website there for customers further away. It suits wearers who like unusual, nature-led fragrances from a maker they can meet.