Epona

The horse as the metaphor: the inner self, to be exploited or to be liberated. I never have had the equestrian experience, though I have often romanticized it, or wondered if it were an element of a past life. When I look into a horse's eyes, I always immediately feel: "soul." As I see them graze, I think of how they once were worked to exhaustion by humans, yet were still true, still loyal. So much 18th and 19th century literature and poetry used the horse as symbolism, mostly as it pertained to the human condition. When I learned of Liz Moores' Epona, a tribute to the companionship with her own horse, I immediately sought to experience it. There is the lather and suds of a carbolic soap used lovingly. There are sweet violets à la Jolie Madame in this meadow. The mammalian kindness and sweet gaze, the rawness of a living being full of verve, yet has moments where it is as gentle as any kind soul could be, of course while chewing dandelions. The grassy, leathery musk of a stable and the round hay bales in the adjacent pasture are here. To call this idyllic would nearly undermine the experience—it feels so much more real than any hackneyed fairy tale. It somehow reminds me of what I regard as one of the most beautiful films ever made, "Days of Heaven"—painterly cinema, the lonely expanse of the Texas prairie—it is a must watch. The "horse skin" here is the most thoughtfully rendered animalic accord I've experienced. Earnest, unyielding horsey cresols perhaps only tempered by the appearance of a bittersweet opoponax. Wearing it feels like the honeyed glow of a hopeful sunset, and as I ponder my own inner self while Epona is on my skin, I think of the liberation that comes from letting go of thoughts that restrain. "You are not your thoughts," a wise horse whispers in my ear. How about that? I can remember that each time I wear Epona and am transported to a place that feels alive and free. I will agree with another reviewer that this ranks with a vintage Caron extrait in design; absolutely moving wizardry.

Leather. Of the Mona di Orio Cuir variety. Violets. Slightly anisic, powdery and sweet. Hay. Sun dried in the field. Narcissus. In the sun, slightly pissy but more dry and fragrant. A slight gasoline whiff in the first few seconds. I have no experience with horses, but I’m assuming that the whole is the saddle skin accord. Imagine a dry green chypre with a touch of indolic florals and a leather base, but on the skin of a person. What emanates after a bit of sweat has been there. Now take the whole and add some violet and honey sweetness. Just a tad, enough to make it lived in and get rid of the dryness. It’s still leathery, it’s still hay-ish but smooth and buttery. This is Epona! I find it more introspective and quiet than the rest of the Papillon line up, but I think that’s the point; a moment with yourself or a loved one, which could easily be a horse for lovers of these beautiful equines. But make no mistake, this isn’t a light or quiet scent; the scent envelops rather than radiate. And it feels like a hug. While I don’t associate it with other scents, I do perceive it as vintage, just like most Papillons. It has the gravitas of a perfume from the 1930’s to the 1950’s, and like SuzanneS said, it belongs with the great classic wonders of yore. Another masterpiece from Liz! Brava! Edit: the drydown is magical!

The opening notes of Epona (named by equestrian Liz Moores for the Celtic horse goddess) display a smooth, ambered, iris-buttery leather like the inside of an old-fashioned purse, with a faint touch of lipstick-y violet. Cuir de Russie stuff, basically: the plush, feminine side of leather. Then it gets a lot smokier and earthier and mossier, not at all like a “normal” leather scent, with glints of golden honey amid the earthy-green depths. The core is now a dark-brown smoky leather with a pine-tar quality. Our “horse” is taking a walk in the woods. In the drydown, the smokiness fades and the leather is just soft and steady, with glints of warm lamplight amber and a hint of “soapy” clean flowers. As always, Liz Moores is subtle. This isn’t a loud piney-smoky leather like so many niche perfumeries do (Hiram Green Hyde, Pryn Taiga, Zoologist Tyrannosaurus Rex). Epona is low-key, close to the skin, and kidskin-glove soft, while still evoking the outdoors. It feels quieter and simpler than Moores’ earlier perfumes (the majestic floral Hera, the mighty leather-incense Anubis). Epona feels more like chamber music where those were symphonies: fewer moving parts, more subdued, but still lovely.

This fragrance sets the equestrian bar 10/10 Finally. Finally, I've found a refined perfume that is based on a true relationship with a special horse and a day spent with it. Finally, I'm not being gaslit by perfumers about the smell of cow leather equating with the smell of horse skin. The first minutes are dusty florals, but after that it's a GORGEOUS wearable animalic with amber, hay, vetiver, saddlesoap, and light florals. I say it's wearable, but you have to like horses because I can smell horse mane, horse shoulder, girth area, and even stall cleaning time. This is not a linear fragrance and it will take you on a journey of an elevated, realistic equestrian experience. Longevity: This lasts 6 hours plus. It really lasts longer, but I reapply at 7 or 8 hours because I am not given to subtlety. EDIT: All four of my horses love this perfume. They look astonished and delighted, yet oddly calm. I guess it speaks to them too. I've never seen them react like this except for a minor riot when I wore Kajal Ruby and they thought I had hidden fruit treats.🍑🍎🍏🥥

A crisp morning; the glorious smell of dew and grass mingles with my scent. Three kids standing in an alley Excuse me, sir, are you with the military? A resounding 'NO' follows... Echoes from boots fade. A sneeze ends the echo's embrace. A smile curls on the man's face. A man shifts his gaze to the women on his right. Excuse me, miss, is that you on that nice horse? 'yes' "it is a nice horse' Well, thank you. Do you ride as well? Dubious: 'no' Nervous laughter follows... Her smile widens. Two moments from a day with Epona ===== I won't bother telling you what this smells like. This is a grand gesture to the perfumer's companion; let that really sink in. Every time I spray this again, it keeps showing me new facets. The scent changed a bit as some air got in the bottle. I still can't wrap my mind around what this perfume is, so I will just keep on wearing it. If you are a leather lover and appreciate art in a bottle. Just click buy; don't bother testing. We need to be supporting perfumers like this more.

This is a stunner. The animalic note in it (the horse skin accord) does not come out feisty (like the animalics in Salome – my personal favourite from Papillon) but rather restrained and elegant. Some refer to it as the ultimate horse person scent, but that is not my experience. Sure, the horse skin accord is very naturalistic, but at the same time toned down by elegant, honeyed flowers. I do not associate it with the great outdoors, but with quiet elegance more suitable for social or even professional occasions, as the slight animalic skank is beautifully balanced and smoothed out by soapy violets. Perhaps some reviews mentioning its affinity with old-school Chanels have tainted my perception? All in all for me it's a lovely warm/moderately warm weather scent. In the cold, it becomes more subdued.

This transportive scent galloped straight into my heart. Liz brings us a stunning green leather fragrance. The humidity from the hot August afternoon as you ride through the grassy fields, the musky horse scent coupled with its leather tack and a spray of powdery violets is just intoxicating. A little sweetness to keep things from going too austere. The hearts soapy floral moments are just lovely. It reminds me of the great green leather classics of yesteryear like Balmains Mdme Jolie, only friendlier and more luxe. Bandit wishes it could be as warm and lived in as Epona. If you needed one fantastic green leather fragrance for your collection, there is no competition. Epona is top of the genre.

Moores’ entry into the rapidly proliferating equine canon is as nuanced and imaginative as anyone familiar with her oeuvre should expect it to be. It is not the photorealistic horse mane aroma of MAC’s Ruade, nor the fetid barn blanket of Goodsir’s Corpus Equus (both of which I also love). Epona is more impressionistic, conjuring for me the image of a meadow just after horses have bedded down in it, or a waft of air following a wild herd as it streaks through a pasture. Violets pop alongside fruity ester aromas, settling smoothly into a bed of unlit incense, hay, and warm polished leather. File alongside Dryad and Salome in the Papillon s-tier.

Perfect if you want to feel like you're out of a vintage Ralph Lauren magazine spread. It's a great late 80' trow back. Thick, leathery, animalic, a bit skanky but also clean. I don't actually know what saddle soap smells like but guessing from this fragrance it's balmy and thick. For me, the violet really comes out on the dry down, it's a bit sweet and crunchy, almost candied. I love how vintage this fragrance feels, it's very ''perfumy''. We went though a clean-gourmand-leaning phase where most fragrances felt almost pastel to me but his a gem-toned perfume. Super saturated and rich.

On instant spray I was hit with a fruitiness and im not sure where it came from, it was a kind of Grapefruit citrus, very sweet and tart, kind of red, but left within a minute. I was really scared to try this one thinking it was going to be fecal or gross but its pleasant. It is a comforting sort of dirty clean scent. I imagine a cowboy smelling somewhat like this. A lot of people see this as to warm for summer and I agree but I also live up in the mountains in the summer and I am curious how it plays in the heat up there, I think it might be good, I'll have to wait and try it.

I’m not a horse rider, but that doesn’t stop me from loving Epona. The opening is butter smooth leather, after which comes a warm hay note I find surprisingly sexy and sweet, almost caramelised and gourmand. Maybe it’s because Dzing! was my signature scent for years, but I’m really attracted to softly animalic leather and hay perfumes like this. It’s mild enough not to offend, but strong enough to attract attention. This is the nearest perfume I’ve ever found to my beloved Dzing! No horse riding lessons needed, I’m the wild pony in this perfume 🐎🐴

Well, my daughter (aged twelve) just told me I "smell like Play-Doh" i.e Plasticine, and now that she's said it, I can't argue lol It does smell a little Plasticine like. I do, however, love it. I've always been a horse rider. Epona brings me back to my training days, when I was roughly four or five years old, and my dad took me horseback riding every Wednesday. There is something very comforting in the scent of a warm horse and leather. This fragrance captures it perfectly. It also layers really well with Riders (Bascule) by Sarah Baker Perfumes.

Absolute slap in the face when first spraying: animalistic and ripe. And now it's dried down, I smell like spicy (?) suede that's been soaked in a bucket of saddle soap/bright powdery violets. I literally don't know how it changes so much over its life! It's avoided being overly sweet with the other notes in unison. I'd say it's strong, not moderate, but in a way where I can see it lasting for hours and churning up the air. One of those perfumes where you can't stop smelling your wrist. Horse girl must-have.

Really enjoyed this one and easily one my favorites out of the Papillon line - comes off as green, animalic and ever so soapy. I could see this pulled off any time of year - but that doesn't necessarily mean its a crowd pleaser. There is funk in here very reminiscent of somewhat of a leathery barnyard aspect, not like oud but more of a fresher greener barnyard. This perfume is both dirty and playful with underlying edge - definitely wearable though I would say, my forte at least. 8.5/10

Cold, floral Soap washing over a saddle, with bubbles so effervescent it's almost like sparkling water is being used with the soap. Whatever kind of aldehydic magic this contains puts No 5 to shame. The the animal comes forward and nuzzles your soapy hands. There's hay and straw baking in the sun, life smells good. What a marvelous perfume, I'm always bound to fall in love when I get to smell another Papillon fragrance.

Smelled this today while on the hunt for a new, animalic fragrance. Just stunning. Green opening with a smoky leather undertone that turns into soft, warm, horse-like bliss. Evokes a memory that I barely remember of running through the fields at the university my mother attended and seeing the horses in the distance. Definitely worth the high praise it receives.

Not really a crowd pleaser, non horsey people won't get it. When i directly smell the sprayed area the leather note stands out the most to me, but in the lingering scent cloud i get that horsey note that reminds me of the smell of my hands after petting a horse. After a few hours i start to get unlit incense. Very special and deserves a way prettier bottle lol

I immediately get the warm, and slightly sweaty leather, and also the saddle soap! Then, all of a sudden, I actually smell the warm coat of a horse who just got the saddle lifted off, while standing and munching on some fresh hay. I did not expect to get actual horse! Damn it Liz, you are a sorceress! Again, this is beyond perfume!

To my nose this is a violet fragrance more than a leather one. The leather is a first impression, then comes a nice soapiness, then violets for the long dry down. This is the kind of perfume where picking out individual stated notes is easy to do. I wish it were a bit more powerful.

Gorge..sexy. Truly unisex. yes definitely horse but so beautifully blended and ethereal. I want every scent from this fragrance house and there's nothing else like it. Begging them to change the bottles though, my goodness, just awful bottle.