Bascule, photo by S. BAKER Perfumes and digital effects by Elena using photo by Equine Wellness Magazine
Have you ever observed a horse approaching an obstacle in a gracious stride, engaging hind legs forward under the body, flexing loins, with hind legs lined up together to push upwards? The beauty of these magnificent animals moving up and forward to prepare for the jump is immense, the movement of muscles under shiny, well-groomed horse coat powerful.
Bascule – Horse Jump, photo by Equine Wellness Magazine
Their necks are extended, forelegs folded up and curved during the takeoff phase, and that specific and exact moment when a horse flies over the obstacle (measured in seconds), when the whole muscular body of magnificent animal curves in mid-air to form an arc (bascule in French) – is simply spectacular. Bascule is considered to be one of the most beautiful segments of equestrian show jumping – an athletic activity that requires almost a symbiosis of a rider and a horse, and always manages to leave observers breathless.
“When I bestride him, I soar, I am a hawk: he trots the air; the earth sings when he touches it; the basest horn of his hoof is more musical than the pipe of Hermes. ” – William Shakespeare / Henry V
Hipppodrome Party, photo by Pexels
The Hippodrome not far away from where I live and the relaxed atmosphere of observing a horse-jumping show is where Bascule transported me in a matter of seconds! Memories began to float, and I felt an air of joy and anticipation that’s breezing around you when you walk slowly across a well-groomed, freshly mowed grass field above the track as you approach white tents scattered around the field, providing shade above carefully arranged tables with crisp-white settings. Cold drinks and cocktails decorated with lemon spirals are served to welcome the guests, and waiters circle around with trays of petits fours frais, cubes of juicy peaches, and yet the scent of soft grass carpet you are standing on is present at all times. The show, and everything surrounding the show was always classy, I remember. You can hear horses nearby, the sound of their snorting and neighing signaling their excitement. Those stables are kept impeccably clean, and the scent of fresh hay on a sunny afternoon is soothingly sweet-leaning and tenderly earthy-warm. I find the hay accord used in Sarah Baker Perfumes Bascule addictive; it adds extra depth to the scent and builds an interesting passage towards the deeper tones and a change of atmosphere that follows. As the fragrance develops further on my skin, it feels as moments when the attention of spectators on the hippodrome shifts toward riders on the course, with their meticulous attire, well-polished leather riding boots, and to horses with carefully adjusted martingales, bridles, crops, and shiny twinkles of spurs in the sunshine. What surprised me the most is that the very smooth vetiver note at one moment reminded me of the scent of a clean horse, an amazing and delicious smell of a fine and well-groomed animal that you can feel if you lay your head against a horse’s and bury your nose in it!
Hug, photo by Pexels, edited by Elena Cvjetkovic
The beautifully balanced dry down brings forward traces of softly glowing amber that swirls around more balsamic and aromatic notes, with earthy vetiver touched by dry white tobacco that is slightly spicy at moments. Sarah Baker Perfumes Bascule thrusts off with impeccably-groomed fields of fresh grass, adds a touch of elegance by well-dosed citruses-infused bitterness, canters in a round, balanced frame with neatly arranged and addictive smelling stacks of hay, jumps over a steeple-chase fence wearing high leather boots, and finishes all the combinations and all the rounds of its development in a well-composed way, remaining refined until the end of the competition. Poise, angelic grace, and effortless elegance: even when your horse acts stubbornly, or you step into a pile of dung.
Notes: grass, peach, bergamot, Lily of the Valley, hay, leather, vetiver, amber, musk, fir, tobacco, metal tack.
Elena Cvjetkovic, Editor and Author of The Plum Girl
Disclaimer: A sample of Bascule was kindly sent to me by Sarah Baker for my consideration. Opinions and feelings are – as always – of my own.
Thanks to the generosity of Sarah Baker Perfumes, we have a 50 ml bottle of S.Baker Bascule for one registered reader from EU/Great Britain, US, and Canada (you must register on our site or your comment will not count). To be eligible, please tell us what you enjoyed about Elena’s review, if you have tried a Sarah Baker fragrance before and where you live. Draw closes 10/11/2020
Sarah Baker (L) and Ashley Eden Kessler (R)
Editor’s Note: Bascule, is a new fragrance and one of five launched in the “S.Baker Collection” last week. Perfumer Ashley Eden Kessler has been developing it since 2015! Sarah Baker, the house’s founder and creative director makes her debut as a perfumer, contributing two fragrances in this collection: G Clef and Flame & Fortune. Far From The Madding Crowd is created by Miguel Matos, and Christian Carbonell composed Symmetry.
S. Baker Collection via Sarah Baker
The London-based Sarah Baker Perfumes brand launched the new S. BAKER Collection last week as an adjunct to its existing collection. They are Eau de Parfum and lighter than Extrait de Parfum fragrances the house is known for. Sarah refers to them on the brand’s new website as: “spanking new, and for Very Important Parfumistas“. Each fragrance is available in a rectangular 50 ml glass bottle with a matching gunmetal cap, and the label on the signature is made of matte gray paper by British heritage papermakers G.F. Smith.
Sarah Baker explains: “For quite a while I thought there was a need for this kind of collection. Everyone in the industry knows that fresh, light fragrances are very popular. But we wanted to try and approach it in a new way, a way that isn’t obvious. The heritage of cologne was the starting point—even though this collection is entirely Eau de Parfums. We want a good spectrum of variety within the core concept, and I think we’ve achieved that, from the lightest, angelic meadow freshness on one end of the spectrum, to smoky, burned notes, combined with juicy freshness and florals on the other.“
The new S.Baker Collection is currently available in the USA exclusively at https://www.sarahbakerperfumes.shop/ Available to the rest of the world online at https://www.sarahbakerperfumes.com/ and at select stockists.
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Photos: Sarah Baker Perfumes, Equine Wellness Magazine, HRT, Pexels – digitally edited by Elena Cvjetkovic
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