Tuesday

Product Review: Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance



Want to try a little Nuzzle, horse lovers?

Two seasoned scent-makers have teamed up to develop Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance, a new fragrance, especially designed for equestrians.

Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance, created by Patrick M. Etchaubard, president of Beaute Marketing, Inc., and Beatrice Caboche, is now available as a personal gift for horse lovers and those who love them.

“Isn't it about time horse riders had their own fragrance, designed just for them?” asked the pair. The Pennsylvania-based husband-and-wife team (Patrick M. Etchaubard and Beatrice Caboche) are avid equestrians, as well as perfume impresarios with more than 30 years of combined experience.

Patrick M. Etchaubard has participated in the creation and marketing of perfumes for Guess, Paris Hilton, Paul Sebastian, Britney Spears and others.

Nuzzle’s product packaging, created by Dewey Saunders Design (of Philadelphia), proclaims this tribute to equestrians:

“She rides with confidence.
She dreams of freedom.
She wins with Nuzzle.”

Is this product worthy of FAVOR?

For product review purposes, let’s apply the FAVOR model to Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance. FAVOR is this product reviewer’s (copyrighted) model for evaluating product Features, Availability, Value, Options and Rating.


This article originally appeared on another publisher’s site, which is no longer open. All rights reverted to the author, so it appears here with full permission.


Features of Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance

Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance, is a soft citrusy scent, not too overpowering. This is a fruity fragrance (of black currant, lime, orange, pineapple and plum), with light essences of florals (such as Angelica and Violet) and bits of cedarwood, musk and vanilla. Nuzzle is a good choice for horse lovers.

A 1.7 ounce spray bottle of Nuzzle Eau de Parfum comes in a light pink glass vaporizer bottle (inside a glossy black and pink box), with a wearable crystal horse show slider charm attached as a free gift for horse lovers.

The Nuzzle product logo is a sketched line-art heart, created from two romanticized horse heads.


Availability of Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance

Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance, is sold in many saddle shops and tack stores, as well as directly from the manufacturer online.

In addition, the Nuzzle line of perfume products may be found on several equestrian gift and supply websites, and on Amazon.


Value of Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance

Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance, might be considered a mid-range perfume purchase. For example, a 1.7 oz bottle of Nuzzle Eau de Parfum costs approximately $35.00. (A half-ounce roll-on version is available for less than $10.00.)

The producers of Nuzzle have agreed to donate a portion of their proceeds from the sale of this scent to Habitat for Horses, a non-profit horse welfare and equine protection organization.

Options of Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance

Various product options are available for Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance, purchasers. Besides the Eau de Parfum, Nuzzle is available in lip gloss, roll-on and hand cream. (The Nuzzle lip gloss is apple flavored.)

Nuzzle caps, Nuzzle mugs, Nuzzle soaps (in horse head and jumper designs), “I’ve Been Nuzzled” tee shirts and even a pony gift bag (containing the eau de parfum and a pink plush toy horse) may be ordered from the manufacturer’s own website.


Reviewer’s Note:
This product reviewer received a free sample of the product described and evaluated here, although the reviewer has no prior or existing relationship (either familial or professional) with the creator, manufacturer or marketer of the product.


Rating of Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance

A pleasing perfume for equestrians seems like a prudent idea. After all, horse lovers may enjoy the aromas of sweet horse kisses, clean leather and fresh straw. Even so, after cleaning up from a trip to the barn or an invigorating gallop, even equestrians enjoy sprucing themselves up a bit. A light fragrance, created just for horse lovers, is a welcome concept.

Horses seem to like the scent as well. (This product reviewer spritzed herself lightly with Nuzzle perfume before heading into a pasture filled with young horses – without carrots, curry combs or horse cookies – and actually received an abundance of nuzzles from the junior equines.)

Certainly, such a scent is far from overwhelming or overpowering, if it appeals to both humans and equines. And, when it comes to perfumes, isn’t subtlety usually a plus? Because perfumes tend to emit slightly different aromas of various people, this reviewer asked several other horse lovers to sample Nuzzle. Across the board, these equestrians enjoyed the fragrance.

Nuzzle, The Unbridled Fragrance, makes a lovely gift for an equestrian – for an anniversary, birthday, Christmas or even to celebrate a successful horse show.

Monday

I won’t ride with you, if …




I love to ride, and I enjoy riding with other equestrians. But I choose, whenever possible, not to ride with those who repeatedly endanger others with their behavior.

I have a friend, for example, whom I have enjoyed for many years. We’ve attended parties, horse shows, and other events together and had a blast. But I won’t ride with her anymore. Why not? Well, every time I have, her horse has reared and bucked and snorted and run off with her. And my horse hasn’t taken too kindly to that. On multiple occasions, I have walked away wrenched from sudden bolts and starts. (Hey, at least I have walked away from these incidents.)

As a result, I now enjoy interacting with this particular friend when both my boots are on the ground, but not in the saddle. Actually, we don’t even keep our horses at the same barn anymore, so this is no longer a concern. But I can still be a little careful about those with whom I am willing to ride, if I have the choice.

If you’ve ever experienced a serious injury after coming off a horse that’s been spooked or startled as a result of another human’s foolish or careless actions, then you know exactly what this means.

Equestrian etiquette is all about mutual safety, with participants aiming to protect one another, while enjoying pleasurable riding experiences.

Here are 18 such folks we’ve identified over the years.

  1. Carla Controlfree
  2. Curt Cutyaoff
  3. Dora Doorslammer
  4. Erma Earbuds
  5. Flora Flipflops
  6. Gayla Gallopoff
  7. Harry Horsebeater
  8. Haylie Hotdog
  9. Lucy Looselunger
  10. Nettie Noreins
  11. Nevin Nevermucks
  12. Odetta Overmounted
  13. Patty Parkandchat
  14. Sally Slackcinch
  15. Shawn Shoutalot
  16. Stu Stopontherail
  17. Tammy Tailgater
  18. Wilma Whipcracker

Safety-conscious equestrians: Have you encountered any of these folks? Know any others worth mentioning here?

If you’re on this list and in the arena when I show up, I'm likely to wait a bit and come back later. Don’t take it personally. I'm protecting you, as much as I am myself and my own horses.

(Yes, the names have been changed to protect the guilty. Any resemblance to real people is unintended.)

Image/s
Public domain photo

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Thursday

Product Review: Bag Balm beats boot-induced cracked heels




Long-time farmers have a skin care secret. Plenty of equestrians are clued in on this one too. Bag Balm is a boon for cold weather skin woes.

All winter, we pack our feet into cowboy boots, riding boots, muck boots, snow boots, or other seasonal footwear. We tromp through mud and muck and mire. Before long, our heels and soles and toes begin to callous and crack. So our feet hurt.

At the same time, our hands grow chapped and chafed and scaly and sore. We catch hangnails on the insides of our work gloves. We scrub and rub our hands raw, washing water buckets and grooming our horses. And our hands hurt.

Enter Bag Balm.


Bag Balm ointment has been around awhile. It’s an old-school product. But it works. It’s alcohol-free and packed with lanolin. It soothes weather-worn cow udders, but it’s super for dry, cracked, winter-weary heels and even those painful fingernail-corner cuticle cracks.

Dairy farmers have used this ointment for eons, slathering it on their cows’ udders to prevent irritation. Doing so, they discovered their hands were soothed and softened. Eventually, the product was marketed for mankind as well.

Personally, I use the stuff each winter. I have even grown to like the smell of it. (OK, that may be stretching things a bit. Let’s say I don’t mind it anymore, because I have come to think of it as somewhat medicinal.)

I smear the stuff all over my feet in the cold-weather months. Then I slip on some sturdy cotton socks and let the stuff stew on my soles overnight. By morning, my feet are softer. (The socks seem to help with absorption overnight, and they prevent any smearing of Bag Balm on the carpet or bedding.)

As a bonus, my hands are softened in the process of applying the stuff to my feet.

Apparently, Bag Balm also works for chapped lips, but the taste is somewhat off-putting, so I don’t use it for that. And it’s not a good idea to get it in one’s eyes. (Trust me on that. It wasn’t pleasant or pretty.)

Priced at about $8 for a sturdy eight-ounce tin, Bag Balm is considerably more affordable than many of the scantier  designer brand winter skin care products sold in beauty supply and department stores. 

CLICK here to buy Vermont's Original Bag Balm Moisturizing And Softening Ointment on Amazon.


Similar bag balm products include:


Several bag balm/ udder balm products are sold specifically for animal (or pet) use, so they may not be suitable for humans. (Extra points here for folks who actually read product labels before buying.)

Bag Balm or Udder Balm might make a suitable holiday stocking stuffer for a special equestrian. Just a thought, if Santa is hunting for horse lover gift ideas.


NOTE:  This blogger has no affiliation with any product/s or companies mentioned in this post and received no remuneration from the manufacturer/s or product promoter/s for this post.
Image:
Product publicity photos
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