We’re recommending Lauren Akins’ two brand-new layering perfumes and other great Western fragrance pairings for couples and singles.
My personal Western fragrance journey began last year in earnest as I was trying to identify “signature” scents I could rock for years to come. I ended up discovering many more than a few top-notch Western fragrances — most of them extremely affordable — and told you about them. With that research, an obsession was born. The healthy kind, of course.
The right scent not only improves the impression you make on others; it brightens your own daily experience, especially if you’re wrapped in something that brings coziness, confidence, or an extra pep to your step.
Lauren Akins has a similar passion for fragrances. The wife of country superstar Thomas Rhett (and mother to their four young daughters) says she never leaves the house without applying perfume. She’s an admitted layerer, blending scents from different lotions and fragrances to find her ideal combo. She’s also a devoted philanthropist, giving time and attention specifically to Love One International, an organization that provides life-saving medical care to children in Uganda. The two passions have now come together for Akins in a new collaboration with the buzzworthy Nashville fragrance house Ranger Station.
We were lucky enough to try Akins’ new pair of scents — dubbed The Daisy & Cowboy Perfume Collection — which gifts a substantial part of its proceeds to Love One International. Read on for our first thoughts on Akins’ scents, and then we’ll recommend several more great pairings — for a couple hitting the town, for a fella moving from workday to night, or for anyone who prefers to stand out from the crowd.
The Daisy & Cowboy Perfume Collection (by Ranger Station)
Earthy, musky Ambergris is a dominant note in both fragrances in Akins’ new duo (in collaboration with Ranger Station). Cowboy combines it with leather notes for a masculine effect, while Daisy brings in smoother, sweeter sandalwood. According to Lauren, these could be his and her scents or could be layered together or alternated. “I use both the Daisy and the Cowboy fragrance and find myself rotating between the two depending on the day,” she says. I enjoyed layering them, being that they both lean unisex.
THE DAISY & COWBOY: ORDER ONLINE
Nashville Blue and Starlet (by Murcielago)
Murcielago is a Nebraska-based house that sells its fragrances through Boot Barn, Cavender’s, and other Western retailers. They have a variety of celebrity and lifestyle-inspired scents, but the two we’re sampling here would appeal to any younger couples looking to add some whimsy to their counters. Starlet is sweet, pink, and flirty, offering notes of bergamot, ocean breeze accord, water lilies, sandalwood, and melon. Nashville Blue complements it well, also sporting fruity notes but layering in the masculine aqua-fresh effect.
MURCIELAGO FRAGRANCES: WHERE TO PURCHASE
No 3 Lonestar Memories (by Tauer)
Passion (by Elizabeth Taylor)
This pairing is for couples who like to keep things interesting or unpredictable. No simple scent will do — we’ll need notes that are deep, complex, and elicit a sense of place. Swiss perfumer Tauer hit a home run with its Texas-inspired Lonestar Memories. Normally I’d focus on the earthy, sage-y, smoky notes, but the perfumer’s description actually says it best: “The scent of a lonesome rider, wearing old jeans and leather jacket, after a long day on the horse in the dry woods, preparing his coffee on the open, smoky fire.” Balance his smoky scent with a glamourous, clean, and heady concoction for her — Elizabeth Taylor’s 1989 classic, Passion. It doesn’t smell as dated as other ’80s celebrity scents. Many of its notes — woody, spicy, amber, white floral — are still relevant and trendy today.
NO 3 LONESTAR MEMORIES: PURCHASE ONLINE
Wild West and Sagebrush (by Annie Oakley Natural Perfumery)
I have grown to love the whole line of affordable, all-natural, organic colognes by this Indiana perfumery. I’m recommending two to take any respectable cowboy from day to night. Wild West is the morning freshness you need, with bergamot, lemon, and vetiver. Sagebrush brings the sexy once the sun goes down, with similar citrus but the added warmth of sandalwood. You can’t go wrong layering the colognes and perfumes from Annie Oakley’s line.
ANNIE OAKLEY NATURAL PERFUMERY: PURCHASE ONLINE
Stetson and Stetson Legend
Ahh, the classics. There’s no better strong, nighttime cowboy scent to spray than the classic Stetson, with its rich notes of amber, tonka bean, vanilla, honey, cedar, and sage. Its newest flanker, Stetson Legend, came out just last year and is perfect for lighter, fresher, daytime outings. Think the base Stetson notes but a little less heavy, with added prickly pear, bergamot zest, and black pepper.
STETSON COLOGNES: PURCHASE ONLINE
Men's Wrangler Original (by Tru Western)
Pearl Snaps (by House of Matriarch)
For our last day-to-night cowboy combo, we have a bit of a curveball. Start in the morning with the crisp citrus and slightly sweet, fresh aromatics of Tru Western’s 2023 collaboration with Wrangler Original — the iconic brand’s new signature scent for men (there’s one for women as well). Move into the evening with something equally Western from the American niche brand House of Matriarch. The new Pearl Snaps scent is made for cowboys, with leather, tobacco, cedarwood, and botanicals all playing important parts. Buy him these two scents, and he’ll be pretty much set for most occasions.
MEN'S ORIGINAL WRANGLER: PURCHASE ONLINE
