The Horse Girl Perfume Renaissance Is N(e)igh
In late 2019, fragrance house Maison d'Etto launched with an entirely unique mission: to capture the magic of horses via scent.
Founder Brianna Lipovsky, an aspiring Grand Prix dressage rider, translates her experiences in the saddle into a curated collection of perfumes, all named after horses she's ridden. Four years after Maison d'Etto's debut, it's clear that Lipovsky — who launches her latest scent, an homage to Olympic-winning horse Verdades, on Thursday — is a trendsetter.
Now, fragrance brands from Hermès to Orebella (the brainchild of Bella Hadid) are following Lipovsky's lead and looking to all things equine for olfactive inspiration.
Earlier this year, Hermès introduced Oud Alezan, a jammy rose fragrance with a hint of oud. Perfumer Christine Nagel, the nose behind the scent, was moved to create Oud Alezan while overcoming her fear of horses — a critical task, given the central role horseback riding plays in the history of Hermès.
While paying a visit to the stables at the annual Saut Hermès show jumping event, Nagel met a horse named Scheherazade, whom she immediately bonded with. The chestnut mare would become the starting point for Oud Alezan, just one of several unapologetically horse-y fragrances to launch this year.
In July, Papillon Artisan Parfums — a London-based niche fragrance brand founded by Liz Moores — released Epona, meant to evoke the smell of a well-worn saddle. And earlier this week, model and rider Bella Hadid unveiled a new Orebella fragrance, Nightcap, named after one of her beloved horses.
Eventually, Hadid plans to release a "more horse-y and more leather-y" perfume, according to an interview with Elle.
And we can't forget Maison d'Etto's latest creation, inspired by the bond between Team USA horse Verdades and his rider, Laura Graves. Formulated by perfumer Julien Rasquinet, Verdades, the fragrance, features an addictive, starchy orange blossom note that's more sensual than most iterations of the flower, which tend to lean fresh.
The flourishing of "horse girl perfumes," a trend Dazed previosuly noted, may have something to do with fashion's recent embrace of cowboy-core — think denim, fringe, and Stetson hats.
But the appeal of horses goes beyond their aesthetic trappings. "Horses have had a magnetic presence in my life since childhood," Lipovsky said of Maison d'Etto's founding ethos. "For me, they represent the most authentic form of connection and expression."
