Riders (Bascule)

This is another from the S. Baker Collection, the house's second line, that warrants endless praise. The whole collection, as proven by the Discovery Set that I'm trying out, is all about freshness, but done in very different ways. In this case, that freshness abounds in the fresh green grass, the citrus of bergamot, the succulence of the peach, lily of the valley and even the more spiky freshness of vetiver or fir. But, it's perfectly complemented in contrapunto manner by deeper, heavier notes. The fragrance's equestrian inspiration comes through strong and clear in notes of hay, saddle leather, polished metal riding tack. But it goes way beyond smelling like stables. In fact, for anyone who's familiar with the smell, the animalic notes in there that means that at times it actually smells like an immaculately groomed horse, most certainly a thoroughbred. This balance of fresh or fruity top notes, oozing juiciness, nestled in these deep, intense base notes is simply fantastic. It really is like nothing out there and the perfect way to make a fairly bold statement while somehow still managing to remain understated and exude an impeccable pedigree. It's a good option for those who like long-lasting juices—I spritzed it on in the late afternoon and could definitely smell it when I woke in the morning—and it's one of those fragrances that slowly evolves and changes over hours. I don't doubt that many serious riders will adore this fragrance and it should obviously become a go-to option if attending Royal Ascot or the Badminton Horse Trials. But, even if you're more of an armchair jockey, this is an adaptable fragrance that can be worn all times of the day and in all seasons given it's air of aristocratic understatement. Also, it must be said that it is incredibly good value for a juice of this calibre given the prices of comparable runners in the starting gate.

I’m a fan of classic perfumes mostly and so many of the modern “odd and quirky” indie things just don’t appeal to me, not because I don’t like unique things or that I wear nothing but Chanel, but because so often they feel forced or off balance, like someone trying too hard to be odd and quirky. You know how sometimes you see someone trying to be hip and trendy but it just ain’t working and they aren’t fooling anyone? I’m talking about the perfume equivalent of that. There is that and there is Bascule. Weirdness done right. If this perfume doesn’t win an award then they need to do away with these award ceremonies. This perfume represents everything that it means to be edgy and “indie”, even avant-garde, but it does it in a way that’s exciting and thrilling, establishing a realistic setting of all sorts of things that don’t really smell “good” but it makes them smell good by balancing them perfectly with things that DO smell good. This perfume smells like a dirty horse stable swathed in layers of the most exquisite lily of the valley and peaches. When I first sprayed it, I didn’t even know how to react, there was this shock and excitement, because I couldn’t tell if I was smelling something really good or something almost profane. There is the most beautiful white floral.... I’m like is that lily of the valley in the middle is this horse hair and hay? Then there is the peaches, really delicious peaches, and a roughed up leather....and something cold and almost rusty like metal. And in the midst of all this madness is a sort of odd grace. I don’t know, I know all this probably sounds scary but somehow it works. It REALLY works. I smell a lot of perfume, a LOT, and it’s not often that I have a reaction like this. This perfume is seriously weirdly wonderful.

As many of us do, I own a whole lotta perfumes. But I own nothing like this. If you are looking for something unique and incredibly complex to add to your collection, you should definitely take this for a ride. Beautiful photorealistic grass pervades the dry down with one of the best fresh, green sensations I've ever experienced. The musc and lily of the valley soften the sharpness of the metallic notes. I got a chance to meet Sarah Baker at an event at a local perfume store, and have never smelled something that so perfectly fits the artist's vision. This scent truly embodies the elegant dichotomy of an immaculately dressed equestrian combined with the raw power of an unapologetically confident show horse. Usually I'm not a big fan of "animalistic" fragrances, but this one is a notable exception. You definitely go on a journey with this one, from the hale bales of the barn at the start, to an Hermes saddle in the middle (also one of the best leather notes I've ever smelled), to a wild canter through a spring field of freshly cut grass on the drydown. (Think Pebble Beach golf course.) This one is a masterpiece for a trained nose. This isn't for everyone, but it is incredibly special. Would I wear it to the office or on a first date? Probably not. But would it be absolutely perfect for the Kentucky derby or just a picnic in the park? Hell yes. And if you are nostalgic about the pure joy of riding, this is your lucky day, as she is absolutely true to her moniker.

I was raised at the stables. My mother was a dressage trainer and I was her willing stall-mucker, horse feeder, hot walker, groomer, tack cleaner, leather polisher – you name it – anything to be with the horses. It was my Zen, my calm, my deepest love. Exchanging warm, dusty nose blows with my favorite buddies; the grainy and malty smell of oats and honey combined with the sweet green floralcy of alfalfa and manure; and handling cold metallic tack and smelling the deeply animalic notes of saddle leather combined with the warm musk of horse hide as I prepped a horse to be ridden - these are scent memories that bring me joy. So, when I say that Bascule carries the best scents of my childhood in a bottle, but in the most gorgeous way possible, you know what I mean. Love. Love. Love.

A lot like the early parts of "Sloth" by Zoologist, but linear, without the wonderful transition to "forest floor" that "Sloth" has in the dry-down. Hay, grass, and peach, are dominant along with leather, tobacco, and a green fir right underneath. A metallic note can be detected along with a raspberry note. I also get a hint of vanilla. There is also a clean musk way in the background. I love this fragrance. It's crisp, fruity, and green, with a leathery and metallic twist. It's different then most fragrances, and is very pleasant and interesting. Personal score: 9/10. I'd personally rather wear "Sloth", as the transition it goes through is spectacular. But, if it's didn't have "Sloth", I'd wear this for spring and fall (and cool summer days).

This perfume is pure sensation. I love it, as soon as I put it on my skin it smells like grass, green grass, freshly cut grass... but on my skin I quickly feel the sweet aroma of the fruit that mixes with the grass, it is a sensation of a super aroma natural and of great quality. In this sense, it is a very unisex aroma, I think that more than anything it is a type of perfume that will appeal to people who like green aromas, green grass. For me it is a perfume for spring summer, its aroma invites you to go for a walk, to feel the sun... In general I have loved it, above all I highlight the quality of the blunt slabs that it presents us, extremely beautiful and special.

i was curious after i read about this in a forum, some people who dislike this fragrance very much, with passion, which made me curious, so of course i had to give it another try. i had tried it when it was bascule, i think it is the same formula. i was glad i did! i don't know if it's my taste, or if it is the formula that has changed, or my distaste of those reviewers, but i really like it more now. its very green animalic but somehow also clean. i grew up going to a friend's farm where we rode horses, and this fragrance captures that perfectly. it's like an enhanced poetic memory of horseback riding. definitely worth trying and I'm getting a bottle.

I feel almost unhinged for loving this as much as I do. Yes, it smells like a stable. An enchanted stable. It’s real, grounded, even dirty, but with something surreal woven through it. The air is thick and humid, the sun beats down mercilessly, making you long for the cool shade of the nearby peach trees. The sky is perfectly clear. The stable itself is ordinary, but overtaken by vines creeping up the beams, blooming with strange, elegant flowers. It’s sweet, animalic, metallic, green, all at once. The stable is neat and tidy. Leather saddles hang in order, hay is neatly rolled in perfect bales. Smells like sweat, soil, life.

This is an equestrian scent, but not that of inside a stable. It's an outdoors scent. It smells of the crushed grass that your horse has just trampled over, mixed with turned earth, fresh air and warm saddle leather. A little touch animalic but in the best possible way. It's a love letter to horse riding on perfect sunny days when you haven't got a care in the world. Long lasting performance with moderate silage. Perfectly unisex.

A romanticized version of a farm esque scent profile that’s really enjoyable. Smells like dry hay and sweet grasses and peach skins left behind. There’s a metallic sweaty animalic musk in the background that gives this character and warmth, and makes it interesting. It’s a humid day on a farm, a sticky and hot air filled with earthy sweetness and the familiarity of beloved animals nearby.

I love to wear Bascule when I'm going to be outside — there's an open airy scent to it that transports me to picnicking in a park. It strikes me as a warm weather kind of scent. And I love that it lasts so long. I can run around all day with just one spritz and it's going strong as the sun goes down. This is a special perfume.

I do love that it reminds me of Deneuve!

I blind smelled and the first sentence out of my mouth was "Oh boy, this one is funky" I knew I was in for a wild ride. And then I read the review below mine from @ciaobonefish, and it says it smells funky, and like horses. Further down, someone said it smells like goat cheese.These descriptions are 100% accurate. It smells like horses, earthy Rocafort, leather, wet hay bales, and the outdoors. Very challenging initially. Same vibe (but not precisely the same smell) of Dior Leather Oud, and Beaufort Iron Duke, which smells like horse stables As it's drying down on my skin, turns green, and adds saddle leather, ash and outdoors. If this sounds rough, that's because it is rough for a bit, but then things start getting more wearable. The base notes start to surface to organize the chaos into a cohesive fragrance. It reminds me of vintage powerhouse fragrances. Same vibes (but not exactly the same) as Ted Lapidus but without carnation and less spicy, Dior Leather Oud, and Beaufort Iron Duke (horses). ------------------------------------------------------ It's a wild ride (pun intended 🐴) of horses, green fields, leather, barns and horse stomped mud. It's got some layers and complexity. If you like this you'll like Iron Duke and Leather Oud, both of which are better a rendering imo. Never a dull moment with Sarah Baker. Scent 6.5/10 Performance 7/10

I don’t know how it is possible to capture the equestrian essence into a fragrance, but Bascule successfully does that! Everything from the smell of the horse, to the hay in the stable, the wood of the stalls, to the grass in the pasture, the leather of the saddle and riding boots, and the metal of tack- it’s all there!! Not just that, but this is a very wearable fragrance! On my skin, this opens up with the exact smell of horseback riding! Shortly after that, the greenness of the grass as well as the hay start to come in. The fruity and floral notes then start to become quite prominent (almost a slightly aldehydic vibe- which I love) along with a very brief notice of the metal tack note. Don’t let that scare you, this is not a metallic fragrance. It actually becomes a bit of a soapy floral fragrance on me, with prominent Lily of the Valley. One thing that I have noticed about the fragrances I have tried from this house is that they really transform as you wear them. The fragrance is well blended, so the various notes and nuances transform from one into the other very smoothly. I think that this fragrance is completely unisex, and could be worn anytime of the year. The green and floral notes really lift it, while the Leather and Tobacco ground it making it appropriate for any season. Lasting power is fantastic, lasted all day on me.

this is really weird, but on my skin it's pretty normal for some reason. If im not wrong they were inspired by horses while making this scent, which is really true on the tester strip. On the tester strip it smells exactly like a used horse saddle. Hints of a weird tobacco and metallic notes combination is accompanied by a really heavy animalic type of leather with a sharp grass smell. All of these just to make it smell like a some sort of barn or a used horse saddle. There's also a reaaaly tiny bit of peach out there too, really hard to sense it. On the skin tho it just smells like a super soapy, freshly cut grass with a juicy peach, yeah that's all. I think The scent on the tester strip was what they were going for but my skin just didn't accept that. i'll give it a 8/10 in general.

Hyper-realistic horse stables. Instantly brings me back to my time working with rescue horses over a decade ago. Honestly, a round of applause to Sarah Baker for bottling all the nuances of this scent experience so accurately. I smell the animals first and foremost, with their undulating muscles, skin twitching to shake flies off their haunches, and hot, noisy breath exhaling as they snuffle and snort in their stalls. I can smell grass and hay as well as some dusty, dirty leather. A glimpse of peach is somewhere in there as well. There is a noticeable amount of fecal skatole going on here, and for that reason I don't think I could see myself wearing this fragrance out and about... but I am absolutely going to hold on to my sample in order to smell it and go on an olfactory journey.

Super original and compelling! Still figuring out the context in which I'll wear this, but it definitely begs for slightly warmer months and more pastoral endeavors. The first burst definitely feels green and fresh and hay, though there's always an funky animalism beneath it. If I think and smell, I can detect each note profile (peach, green/grassy, suede, muguet, hay) coming out, but the overall impression is a pastoral landscape occupied by humans, machinery, metal. It's not super sweet and coumarinic, and it was refreshing to smell a more complex iteration of the hay smell. While it's not a smell alike to this scent, it conjures some of the weird florals/pasture meets synthetic vibe of Room 237, but it's definitely more wearable than that one.

This has a funky photo-realistic animalic horse note right up front, but as it dries, it’s all grass and leather tack and hay and walking your red-head mare who has a mind of her own sometimes but still gets scared by puddles on the ground reflecting the sky. You give her a horse cookie at the end of the ride and a peach for yourself. It's such a phenomenal experience of a scent, weird and funky and a bit comforting too with that peach in the end. I'm rather looking forward to wearing this in the spring.

Really fun as a novelty smell, but I could never ever EVER actually wear this to 99% of the places i go. I bought a sample of this before i knew literally anything about fragrances bc I saw "green" as the top accord and wanted to know what that smelled like, and man let me tell ya it is somehow so accurate. this literally smells just like the color green, and kinda like a wet animal but not in a bad way somehow. Very perplexing, but it brings me genuine joy to smell this weird

So nice. I was a little hesitant to try more from Sarah Baker after smelling Atlante, thankfully this is a totally different experience. Fresh smelling leather supported by grass and LOTV. Not a weird animalic at all, this just makes you feel powerful. Reminded me of Cyllene from La Curie, but Bascule shapeshifts in a fun way and is a tad sweeter and fruitier.

Ivory soap. That's it. No leather at all, no complexity. Flowery and pleasant, but the advertising is so false I'm thoroughly pissed. I do like the scent to be clear, I'm just off my rocker at how delusional the notes are. It's the scent of an old couch being hauled through an airport, that latent cigarette smoke hidden deep under powdered grandmotherly flowers. I'd wear this scent daily if it were ten dollars a bottle- a fair price for a generic, uninspired scent. Rub some Irish Spring on your face and save a bundle

I can see the comparison to goats, this starts off very animalic (though for a true goat scent, Haxan can't be bleat, er, beat.) The dirty notes chill after a few minutes, sticking around but fading enough to reveal some soft fruit and leather facets. Then it all slowly melds down to a powdery/animalic haze. Pretty interesting, but not what I wanted. The hunt for a true hay scent continues.

The missing note is manure. It’s not grassy at all to me. Nor is it hay. It smells like cigarettes, manure, horse sweat, some leather and a sharp citrus and metallic note. It’s actually kind of crazy how much it smells like a horse saddle after you have been riding.

Clear blue skies, crisp green turf, a musty tack room. A rare fresh-earthy hybrid. The equestrian accords in Riders are literal, from the hay to the horse sweat. And, unfortunately, the manure. There’s a twist of pale, dewy peach in this, but it’s not enough to transport you too far from the barnyard. This was the scent that tempted me to order the discovery set, but unfortunately pulls too animal for my liking. Riders is still fresher-pressed than an actual stable, just don’t come looking for Barbie Riding Club: The Perfume. Come looking for an actual ride. Mental Snapshot: A historic country manor, foxhounds piled on the furniture. A Land Rover, hunter green and spattered in mud, just like her Wellies. A regular at Hermes, just for the tack. She shares a bounty of farmers market fruit with her prized dressage prospect. Forget horse girl, this is a horse woman. tl;dr: even the royals’ stalls need mucking 🐴🧹

Though I’m a city girl, I’ve been riding 20+ years and have always owned a horse. This does NOT smell like a horse or an equestrian barn. 🐎🐎 This specifically smells like goats. I’ve boarded at a few places that had goats: this smells exactly like their pens and what my hands smell like after petting them. You can also smell this scent at petting zoos. It’s very different from what a horse’s stall smells like or what my hands smell like after working with horses. I would not recommend this for equestrians, but what a wonderful scent for goat lovers! Bahhh 🐐🐐

This is not the smell of a horse from barnyards and farmlands; certainly not a working horse. This is the smell of a stable horse. The floors are not of nature but of brick and the walls of polished wood. Saddles that are never too worn nor ever too dirty. A rider from wealth and excellence, a silver spoon instead of a pacifier. This animal's training is not of plowing, herding, or maintenance of land. It consists of elegant movement, abandonment of instincts, and show business. The person leading them is not the person to ride this animal, the floral perfumed rider waiting in the grounds. Obstacles lining the manicured lawn, no mud or dirt to be found even with the constant smashing of hooves that shake the ground underneath them. The floral perfume mixing with the smell of saddle soap as they mount the freshly cleaned leather, the newly groomed animal standing awaiting order. Gloved hands gripping the lead tighter as the grass flings into the air. Hours spent together, the sun almost seeming to melt them together - the rider and animal both feeling sores swell up and sweat streak down their bodies. After they unmount the worn animal the trainer tries to take the lead just to be interrupted by a soft polite voice asking to lead the animal to a generous meadow; getting met with a swift nod and instructions not to ‘dilly dally’. Soft steps from both animals and controlled breaths as they walk the well groomed grass together. Soon the smell of lily of the valley, wet soil, and rushing water fills both of their noses and excitement bounces between the pair as the land gets more wild and less manipulated by man; the earth starting to tickle their legs as if it’s beckoning them to come play. The rider swiftly removes the saddle and headpiece then letting it rest against a tree while the animal makes their way to the flowing water. Kicking off their boots and hoping forward on one leg while struggling to remove their last sock, throwing both on top of the discarded boots after regaining balance. Their hands gripping onto the bark of a sturdy old tree, pulling their body onto one of its stable limbs and resting their back against the strong trunk. Mighty legs kicking in the water and soaking into their fur, water caressing years of muscle and grueling work. A mind that is always at ready for a new order finally letting its guard down, filling with the smell of possibility. Bark stained hands reaching into their vest and pulling out a hanker chief holding a lightly bruised up peach. Teeth ripping into the flesh and juice dripping down their chin to be dabbed up before it stains their clothes and gives away their secret. Before it reveals the hunger of freedom both animals feast on.

One of the most unique & challenging fragrance in my collection. This is straight up grassy, leathery, animalic. This is horses running in a field. Definitely not for everyone, Some even say this smells funky, but I do enjoy that photo realistic happy strolling horses in this bottle, very equestrian. The dry down is an raw yet elegant artisan leather. This is weird yet wonderful. Definitely for one who wants to stand out from the crowd

As an equestrian that spends from Dawn til dusk in a horse barn I can honestly say this IS NOT “that horse smell!” I was so excited for a leather, animal scent that took me to that place....it did not. In fact quite the opposite. It’s frankly not for me. Even my husband said “not a fan!” $95 blind buy regretted. If anyone wants a bottle hit me up; I’m selling.

So stunning and wonderfully evocative. Smells like you’re eating the juiciest freshest peach in a fresh clean stable while a horse nibbles on hay on a bright green lawn. So completely gorgeous I am just blown away. It’s a little soapy initially, but other than that just a gorgeous fragrance. Good for mothers who listen to Joni Mitchell and love the sunshine

بهش خیلی امیدوار بودم یه رایحه خاکی و گرفته سبز و قدیمی و صد حیف که جان ندارد 😔 میوه ای نه نیست ----------- Scent & Quality: 9/10 Longevity: 7/10 Sillage: 6/10 Creativity & Uniqueness: 8/10 Affordability: 6/10 ----------- Overall: 7.2/10

green metalic animalic loved it i immediately bought it, reminds me of caduus of jorum studio but more grassy and shiny, believe me, people will not smell that animalic scent on you but a fresh cut grass

I don't get the "funk" everyone else is getting in this at all and I wish I did. I get peach. Lots of big juicy peach and some nondescript freshness behind it.

I know there is no note of milk or anything similar, but I got a vibe of goat cheese. I like to eat goat cheese, but not on my Skin please.

Seconds 1-5 “What?! This is so pleasant! It doesn’t smell like a horse...” Second 6 “Oh! Oh, yes it does! My lord!”