Fernanda: A General Overview

I found the brand Fernanda recently - and just to make sure I get all the information about the brand out of the way first, here is a separate post clarifying details about the brand, their products and general performance, and how to get them! Since finding out about the brand, I have a close eye on their new releases and have picked up most of their scents, so you can look forward to most of their scents being reviewed here in the future.  

Ginza Lumine Official Store 

Information about the brand: 

This brand has previously never been on my radar, but they've recently picked up their game and gone full foodie, which are limited edition releases depending on the season, although they still have their permanent shop line up of generic, mainstream feminine floral blends all year round. Interestingly enough, the brand actually has two ways of distributing their products, through their online and physical shops, and through third party distributors (eg. Loft or other drug/makeup stores), and this is actually seen in their packaging as well. Their own shops stock the full range of items, such as whipped body soaps, linen sprays, body scrubs, hair mists, diffusers, body lotions, body sprays, EDPs and premium and rich hand creams. External stockists like Loft will stock their rich hand creams, their body lotion (moist body gelato), rich Eau de Colognes, and body sprays (called body splash). The body splash sprays typically in a plastic bottle (95mL), and the normal hand cream comes in a flip cap and a different tube. There are small but minimal differences in the offerings at each store - if the official physical store stocks it, you won't be able to find that specific product in an external shop (eg. body splash is listed on the website but you won't be able to purchase it in their online store). Their EDPs also vary in appearance depending on the scent, varying from a square amber bottle, to a round clear bottle, to a frosted bottle. In addition to this - not all limited edition releases will include all products (like the scrubs or body lotions), but most collections will have a body spray and hand cream options. 

The brand has a strong sustainability branding - they claims that they formulate their scents with naturally derived fragrances, and also have a sustainable claim to using unwanted materials for these scents. They state that most of their scents use materials that are usually disposed of, and they are upcycled and reused in the development of all their products. All products are vegan. 

Their general catalogue is a mixture of mainstream florals which is offered at all times. 

Here is a general overview of the products price list in JPY. 

Rich Hand Cream (50g) - 990 

Premium Hand Cream (50g)- 1540 

Fragrance Body Splash (95ml) - 1760 

Premium Body Mist (95ml) - 3080 

Fragrance Linen Spray (250mL) - 3520 

Eau de Parfum (25mL) - 4180 

Rich Eau de Cologne (30mL) - 1870 

Fragrance Hand and Body Whipped Cream Grande (300g) - 3740 

Sugar Scrub Grande (300g) - 3960 

Aroma Diffuser (80ml) - 3740 

Product ingredients and performance: 

Body Splash ingredients - Ethanol, water, polysorbate 80, fragrance, sodium hyaluronate, hydrolyzed collagen, persimmon tannin, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, t-butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane, sodium lactate, lactic acid, BHT 

Due to most of their blends being top note accords, most of their scents don't have intense projection or intensity, and often lack in longevity. Although the scent when sprayed on clothes do tend to last and can be smelt the next day, it's comparably softer and much less noticeable when compared to body spray formulas like BBW's. I would suggest frequent reapplication, especially in hotter weather, of you prefer the performance of mainstream scents. The fragrance is strongest upon initial application and fades quickly within 1-2 hours, wearing very close to the skin. 

Eau de Parfum ingredients -Ethanol, water, fragrance, PPG-26 buteth-26, PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, t-butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane, BHT

I find these to be slightly more intense in initial application compared to the body splash formula, although I can't say I have noticed any significant difference in wear time and projection. I don't personally prefer the EDP over the body splash, especially at the price point. 

Rich hand cream ingredients - Water, stearic acid, mineral oil, glycerin, cetanol, shea butter, dimethicone, fragrance, (hydroxyethyl acrylate / acryloyldimethyltaurine Na) copolymer, glyceryl stearate (SE), phenoxyethanol, Na citrate, iodide butylcarbamate Propinyl, hydrolyzed collagen, BG, squalane, olive fruit oil, jojoba seed oil, macadamia seed oil, sodium hyaluronate, canina rose fruit oil, aloe vera leaf extract, hetima fruit / leaf / stem extract, aloe vera leaf extract

The consistency of the rich handcream is slightly more watery than the premium formula. Although it's not deeply hydrating but it leaves a nice soft moisturising sensation, and often times the scent is quite concentrated and leaves a nice scent on the hands for a few minutes. I like this, especially in humid climates, although it can get a bit runny due to the heat.  

Premium hand cream ingredients - Water, caprylic/capric triglyceride, cetanol, glycerin, betaine, fragrance, sodium acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyltaurate copolymer, shea butter, stearic acid, glyceryl stearate (SE), dimethicone, phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin, BHT, BG, PEG-20 hydrogenated castor oil, olive fruit oil, squalane, sorbitan isostearate, beta-glucan, shirokikura Gepolysaccharide, glyceryl caprylate, pentylene glycol, trilaureth-4-phosphate, sodium acetylated hyaluronate, sodium hyaluronate, hyaluronic acid crosspolymer-2-Na, hydrolyzed sodium hyaluronate, clematis leaf extract, horsetail extract, ivy leaf/stem extract, citrus snowflake flower extract, brown algae extract

Compared to the rich hand cream, this formula is much more stiff, with the consistency of cold mousse. It has an almost waxy sensation after application, but is far better at providing some much needed TLC to chapped dried hands compared to the rich formulation. I don't mind this, although I find it a little foamy/stiff compared to other hand cream formulas, but the scent in these also tends to be quite concentrated, which is nice. 

Where to buy? 

If you find yourself in Japan, you can either purchase this directly from their website or off Rakuten or Amazon, although prices do vary on both platforms. The downside of purchasing directly from their website and physical stores is that they often do not restock most of their limited edition blends and remove old unsold stock from previous seasonal releases, so you may not find some old scents. If this is the case, I recommend heading to the nearest drugstore (eg. Cosme, Ainz Tulpe) or LOFT and hunting around, as these brands usually keep their old scents out for longer, so you might pick up some spare scents from previous releases. I was unable to find their old blends (eg. Milk Tea, Black Tea, Green Tea, White Chocolate) through Fernanda, but with a bit of hunting, I found these in drugstores and on Amazon. The shop itself also has a membership system which gets you anywhere from 5% to 15% off (you can stack your discounts) depending on how much you spend at the shop. The card expires in two years from your most recent purchase. 

If you are international, it's not a guarantee that you will find these products online - there are online shops such as Yesstyle which stock their products, but I personally no longer endorse buying from Yesstyle as I think their prices are too high and inconsistent for a resale shop. I myself either purchase these from Japan directly and have it shipped by a friend, or through Taobao shopping services which charge a small fee for each item, but can ship internationally if you know how to use the service. However, if you do find yourself in Japan, I highly encourage checking Fernanda out!