Every rider loves that comforting whiff of eau de equine.
But what if you’re far from your steed or stable?
A new range of scents to help transport you back to your yard, wherever you are, have been released.
The Library of Fragrance “bottles scents from the everyday” — no matter how unusual.
The company was set up in America in 1996 with three scents — “Grass”, “Tomato” and “Dirt”. Now there are more than 300 fragrances in the range, from “Sunshine” to “Gin & Tonic”.
Among the equestrian perfumes created are “Stable”, “Fresh Hay”, “Saddle” and “Riding Crop”.
Fresh hay is “sweet and earthy”, Riding Crop is a Jilly Cooper-esque “exciting, enticing leather scent” and Saddle is “well oiled, worn leather”.
“If you’d rather be mucking out at the stables than mucking in at the office, our ‘Stable’ fragrance might keep you going until you get there,” said a spokesman for the company.
It apparently smells of “fresh hay, with just a hint of sweet animal sweat.”
Possibly not one to wear on public transport, however.
“The inimitable brand, which is still hand-bottled in its native USA, is held in high esteem by its loyal fans, celebrities and experts in the fragrance industry, because of its revolutionary approach to scent, which is the antithesis of most other fragrance brands,” added a spokesman.
“Rather than trying to capture the ‘essence’ of an aspirational ideal or glossy advertising image, The Library of Fragrance presents scents that are ‘real’ and ‘familiar’ and can be chosen to reflect the preferences of the wearer, instead of those dictated by a perfumer or designer.
Selecting a scent to wear becomes as easy as asking yourself, ‘what sort of things do I like?’.”
And you can even blend them, perhaps hay plus saddle?
The spokesman added: “The most basic rule of thumb is that if things smell good together in real life, they will smell good on you.”
Fragrances cost £15 for a 30ml bottle.
For more information visit: www.thelibraryoffragrances.com
This news story was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (20 November 2014).
