Hoarse

 After having heard a thousand praises murmured that stun, I fell down the rabbit hole. Once in my hands and harshly taken advantage of, Rauque hasn't precisely astonished me, it did however wake up the nostalgia for good (old) fragrances or, better said, the denial of the painful modern perfume-making. The anticipation of the next Greco. The intimidation by the breadth of Christopher Sheldrake’ work. Maybe before acquiring it my blinders were on and all I could see in front of my eyes was a lutensian deity and a gifted lensman. Don't get my expectations wrong, in terms of composition Rauque is a captivating and perfectly balanced fragrance, yet I was looking for a full pure experience, merely untainted, and which was desensitized by the fact that the fragrance didn't expand to my desire nor stirred up the drama. Yes, I wait for a glass of water to be thrown at my face when it comes to Masters’ magic. 

As an obvious distillation of Sheldrake’s brilliance through Greco's filter, Rauque comes off as a scanned classic (masculine) photoshopped to modern times. Their teamwork brings back the 80s leathers to expose them to those unacquainted with their charm. Personally, I perceive it as a guest that visited my home and stayed in for consistent periods of time and if I wouldn't be accustomed to that feeling, I’d consider Rauque exceptional.

Rauque smells like a bull in motion, at least that's how it builds up in my head while it rides on my skin. Bareback. Sweat running down his spine. Rocking his fatty horns from one side to the other. His breath's warmth cutting through the crisp air. Earth trapped into his hooves, an amalgam of greens, hay and mushrooms. Broken stems. Resins glued to his tale. And smoke caged into his throat. Hoarse. Heart is racing. 

Abstract. 

For those familiar with both styles, Rauque is a bit more Roberto than Christopher. There's an almost sepia effect of L’Œielleres’ leathery accents and its slaughtered-to-dust-and-oil dried flowers. The first times wearing it and in spite of Sheldrake’s exquisite playfulness with ingredients, there was some material hauling inside that threatened the full enjoyment of the fragrance and stopped it from moving forward. Somehow, I came to peace with it after a while when I realized it was intended to add a mineral and truffle-like (leathery-rotten wood-earthy) pulse to the animalic accord, and from that moment on the whole composition unraveled to my senses.

Every time I go back through it, I find there's much more texture and even though I don't find it outstanding, I do recognize its contribution to the current perfume market and particularly to my personal experience, representing that special category that rekindles my lifelong passion for fragrances.