FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

Start with where you want to be. Every Fernweh scent is built around a place — a coastline, a forest after rain, a garden at dusk — so the easiest way in is to pick the setting that pulls at you, then explore the notes from there. Our Scent Finder takes about a minute and narrows the range down for you. Or message us on WhatsApp and we'll talk you through it.

Most Fernweh fragrance is genderless. We build scents around places, not people, and we've never seen the point of telling anyone which half of the shelf they belong to.

Top notes are what you smell first — bright, and gone within about fifteen minutes. Heart notes form the body of the fragrance and hold for two to three hours. Base notes are the ones that stay with you through the day. Our blog goes deeper.

Concentration of fragrance oil. Eau de Parfum sits highest at 15–20%, Eau de Toilette at 5–15%, Eau de Cologne at 2–4%. Higher concentration means the scent lasts longer and sits closer to the skin. Every Fernweh spray fragrance is an Eau de Parfum. Our blog has more.

Our 20ml travel EDPs are alcohol-based sprays. They open brightly, project further and last six to eight hours.

Our 10ml roll-on perfume oils are alcohol-free, carried in a skin-conditioning base. They sit closer to the skin, unfold more slowly and are gentler on sensitive skin. They're also spill-proof, which makes them the easier one to keep in a bag.

Many people wear both — see layering below.

Longevity varies with skin type, weather and how hydrated your skin is — Our EDPs typically last four to six hours. Perfume oils last six to eight hours and sit closer to the skin.
Apply to moisturised skin and you'll notice the difference.

Skin chemistry. Your skin's pH and oil levels change how notes develop. It's why we'd always suggest wearing a scent for a few hours before deciding — the fragrance you smell in the first five minutes isn't the one you'll be wearing at dinner.

Pulse points are places where blood vessels sit close to the surface — wrists, behind the ears, the inner elbows. They're warmer, and warmth lifts fragrance off the skin. Apply there, and don't rub your wrists together; it crushes the top notes.

Two to three for a travel EDP. One or two swipes of a perfume oil. Fragrance is meant to be discovered by someone standing close to you, not announced across a room.

Yes, and we designed them to be. Start with a perfume oil as a base, let it settle for a minute, then layer an EDP over it. The oil anchors the scent and extends it. Our Layering Duo is a pairing we've already tested for you.

Cool, dry, out of direct sunlight, and keep the cap on. Heat and light break fragrance down faster than anything else. The bathroom is the worst place in the house for it — the humidity and temperature swings will shorten its life.

Unopened and stored properly, three years. Once opened, we'd suggest using an EDP within 24 months and a perfume oil within 12 months for the scent as it was intended.

Yes. Our travel EDPs are 20ml and our perfume oils 10ml, both comfortably under the 100ml cabin limit on liquids. That's exactly why we made the range this size.

Our perfume oils are alcohol-free and generally gentler. As with any fragrance, if you have sensitive or reactive skin we'd suggest patch-testing on your inner arm and waiting 24 hours before wearing it more widely. Discontinue use if you notice irritation.

Our fragrance concentrates are sourced from Payan Bertrand in Grasse, France — a house that has been composing fragrance since 1854. Everything is blended, filled and finished in India. [CONFIRM: happy to sharpen this if you want to name the manufacturing partner]

Yes

On the first burn, let the wax melt all the way to the edge of the vessel — usually two to three hours. This sets the memory of the pool and stops the candle tunnelling for the rest of its life. Trim the wick to about 5mm before every burn, and never burn for more than four hours at a stretch.

To use your fragrance bar, simply unwrap it and hang it in your closet or place it in a drawer. For optimal scent diffusion, use in enclosed spaces away from direct sunlight. Replace when the scent fades to keep your wardrobe consistently fresh.

Place the stick in a holder that catches ash, on a heat-resistant surface, away from anything that can catch. Never leave it burning unattended, and keep it out of reach of children and pets. A single stick will scent a room for around 30 minutes and hold for a while after.

Changes and cancellations are possible only before your order is dispatched. Once you've received your dispatch notification, we're unable to cancel the order or change the delivery address. Contact us as quickly as you can at hello@fernwehcollective.com or on WhatsApp at +91 98306 98406 with your order number.

You'll receive a tracking link by email and WhatsApp as soon as your order is dispatched. You can also message us on WhatsApp with your order number and we'll check it for you.

All Fernweh products are non-returnable and non-exchangeable for hygiene reasons. We do replace or refund orders that arrive damaged, incomplete or incorrect — write to us within 48 hours of delivery with photographs and your order number, and we'll sort it out. Our full Returns Policy has the detail.

Photograph the product and the outer packaging including the shipping label, and send it to us within 48 hours of delivery at hello@fernwehcollective.com or on WhatsApp. We'll replace it at no cost to you.

Where we've made a fulfilment error, or a product has arrived damaged, yes — refunds are processed to your original payment method within 7–10 business days of approval. Cancellations aren't possible once an order has been dispatched.

We're not able to cancel, modify or price-match orders placed before a sale goes live. Do sign up to our newsletter or WhatsApp list — we tell those lists first.

Yes, you can add a gift message and have an order gift-wrapped at the checkout page. 

We do — for clients including Taj, Hyatt and Accenture, among others. Write to us at hello@fernwehcollective.com or see our Gifting Services page. Personalised and made-to-order gifting cannot be cancelled once production has begun.

Credit and debit cards, UPI, net banking and popular wallets. All payments are processed through secure, encrypted gateways — we never see or store your card details.

Cash on Delivery is available on selected orders and PIN codes. If it's available for your order, it will appear as a payment option at checkout along with any handling charge. If it isn't showing, it isn't available for that order.

Failed transactions are usually reversed automatically by your bank within 5–7 business days. If it hasn't been reflected by then, send us your order details and the transaction reference at hello@fernwehcollective.com and we'll chase it from our side.

Orders are delivered to the address given at checkout by our courier partners. Which partner carries your order depends on your location and the fastest permitted route.

Orders are dispatched within 24–48 business hours. From dispatch: 3–5 business days to metro cities, 5–8 business days across the rest of India, and 8–15 business days to remote PIN codes including the North East, Jammu & Kashmir and the islands. Express delivery, where available, is 2–4 business days.

Standard shipping starts at ₹50 and express at ₹80, calculated at checkout by order weight and location. Standard shipping is free on all prepaid orders of ₹999 and above.

We deliver to most PIN codes across India. Enter yours at checkout to confirm. A small number of PIN codes are served by surface transport only for alcohol-based fragrances, which adds a few days to transit.

Our courier partners attempt delivery multiple times, with OTP verification — so do check that the mobile number on your order is reachable. After multiple attempts the parcel returns to us. You can contact us if you need the order redelivered. 

The courier delivered the wrong thing. Who pays?

We do. Courier charges arising from an incorrect shipment are borne by Fernweh. Write to hello@fernwehcollective.com and we'll put it right.

We don't currently offer collection on website orders. You'll find our full range at our stockists across India — see our Stockists page.

Yes, to over 35 countries. Shipping is calculated at checkout from ₹500. For bulk or gifting orders, write to hello@fernwehcollective.com for a quote.

7–15 business days from dispatch, excluding customs clearance. Tracking is shared by email and WhatsApp.

International orders are final sale. Damaged or incorrectly fulfilled orders are covered — contact us within 48 hours of delivery.

For anything to do with the order — delivery, returns, refunds — please raise it with the platform you bought from, as they hold the order and process the refund. For anything to do with the fragrance itself, we're always happy to help at hello@fernwehcollective.com.

Products bought from one of our retail or café partners need to go back to that store, under their policy. We're glad to help with product questions either way.

Email hello@fernwehcollective.com or WhatsApp +91 98306 98406, Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm IST. We reply within 48 business hours, usually sooner.