Rake & Ruin
Fragrance notes
Character
Rake & Ruin opens like a gin-soaked handkerchief pressed to the mouth of a Regency libertine at dawn — juniper and Sichuan pepper crackle with boozy bitterness, while coriander and angelica add a weird, herbal greenness that feels almost medicinal. The smoke note is there from the start, but it’s a clean, almost electric smoke, not the sooty campfire you might expect. Within minutes, the heart turns feral: castoreum and cade oil lurch in with a leathery, tarry funk, pine needles and cypress trying and failing to scrub the air clean. This is where the fragrance earns its name — a drunk collapsing into a dirt pile, coat reeking of bonfire and sweat, violets crushed under his heel. The base settles into a woody, ambarome-heavy musk that clings close after a few hours, which explains the modest 3.43 sillage rating. Longevity is better, solidly north of six hours on skin, but the projection deflates fast. It isn’t sweet or fresh; it’s a heavy, resinous mess that feels both natural and aggressively niche — the kind of scent that makes mainstream gourmand lovers recoil. Best worn in fall or winter, preferably during a rain-soaked evening walk or a moody pub crawl, not the office. Suits those who romanticize decay and ruin. Skip it if you want to smell like a gentleman; this one smells like the morning after a rake’s last party.
Smells similar
Built from the same materials — ranked by how unusual the shared notes are, not by how many.
