Fragrance comparison

African Gold vs Shades of Darkness

Notes, accords, longevity, sillage, seasons and community ratings, side by side.

Updated 11 Oct 2026 19 ratings analysed

3 wins

African Gold

Pure Gold Perfumes

4.2512 votes

Rank #33,082 SweetWarm Spicy

Full profile Similar & dupes

25%scent match

Clearly different

Shades of Darkness

Nimere Parfums

3.007 votes

Rank #59,368 AmberWoody

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

African Gold takes 3 of 3 categories.

African Gold
Choose it for a sweet and warm spicy character. Wins on longevity, sillage & projection and fragranxe ranking. Best in winter, evening wear.
Shades of Darkness
Choose it for a amber and woody character. Best in spring, daytime wear.

African Gold3/3

Shades of Darkness0/3

Ratings & consensus: Not scored
Community sentiment: Not scored
Longevity: African Gold
Sillage & projection: African Gold
Value for money: Not scored
Versatility: Not scored
Note pyramid (duration): Not scored
Fragranxe ranking: African Gold

Head-to-head breakdown

Every category side by side, with the winner called out.

Fragrance

African GoldPure Gold Perfumes

Shades of DarknessNimere Parfums

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

4.25/ 5 · 12 votes

Have 15%Had 0%Want 85%

3.00/ 5 · 7 votes

Have 6%Had 9%Want 85%

Category winnerNot enough dataRating weighted by vote count

Community sentiment

How voters split from love to hate

42%Love

50%Like

0%Ok

8%Dislike

0%Hate

12 votes · too few to score

14%Love

29%Like

0%Ok

57%Dislike

0%Hate

7 votes · too few to score

Category winnerNot enough dataMost positive mix (25+ votes)

Longevity & sillage

0–100 community performance scores

⏱ Longevity89

〰 Sillage94

♥ Love / hate81

⏱ Longevity87

〰 Sillage72

♥ Love / hate50

Category winners

LongevityAfrican Gold

SillageAfrican Gold

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value100

¤ Price valueN/A

Category winnerNot enough dataBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

sweet100%

warm spicy91%

vanilla83%

fruity74%

cacao65%

amber56%

amber100%

woody92%

warm spicy84%

green77%

aromatic69%

powdery61%

Scent match25%Clearly different · both warm spicy and amber

Note pyramid (duration)

Top, heart and base, with how long each lasts when known · gold = shared

Top20-30 mins

GingerTobacco LeafAniseCoriander

Heart3-4 hrs

DatesTobacco BlossomClovesNutmegDried PlumFigWood Resin

Base8-12 hrs

Cacao PodVanillaTobaccoTonka BeanBenzoinHoneyCedar

Top

GalbanumCarnationArtemisiaFig LeafBlack currant leafBergamotNutmegSaffron

Heart

Ylang-YlangNarcissusJasmineIrisTobaccoChampacaVioletNeroli

Base

IncenseTolu BalsamCivetCastoreumAmbergrisCedarVetiverBenzoin

InformationalShared notesNutmeg, Tobacco, Benzoin and Cedar. Durations are only published for African Gold, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring50

Summer50

Fall75

Winter100

Day35

Night100

Spring100

Summer33

Fall100

Winter100

Day100

Night50

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men100

Unisex0

Women0

Date 40%Party 31%Casual 19%Work 10%

Not enough votes yet

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#33,082

PerfumerJimmy Anton Studer

Launched—

Reviews4

Overall rank#59,368

PerfumerNikolay Eremin

Launched—

Reviews1

Category winnerAfrican GoldHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

African Gold by Pure Gold Perfumes delivers a dark, honeyed wallop of spice from the very first spray. Do not overspray this. The opening strikes with sharp ginger, licorice-tinged anise, and coarse coriander seed before unrolling a sticky feast of dried dates and dark stewed plum. Tobacco blossom and grated nutmeg bu…

Reviews →

Shades of Darkness is a dense, vintage-leaning oriental fragrance that moves from sharp galbanum greens to a deep, animalic, and resinous base. Launched in 2015, this composition offers a complex journey for those who appreciate old-school, heavy, and artistic perfumery suitable for cold weather evenings or formal aut…

Reviews →

InformationalRead bothTaste is personal

How we score: ratings blend public fragrance ratings with Fragranxe member votes; longevity, sillage, value and sentiment are community vote scores, and season bars are relative to each fragrance's strongest season. Categories with too little data are shown but not scored. The scent match weighs accord overlap (60%) and shared notes (40%). More in the FAQ.

Common questions

Straight answers from the data above.

Which is better, African Gold or Shades of Darkness?

African Gold takes 3 of 3 categories. African Gold is rated 4.25/5 from 12 votes; Shades of Darkness is rated 3.00/5 from 7 votes. Choose African Gold for a sweet and warm spicy character. Wins on longevity, sillage & projection and fragranxe ranking. Best in winter, evening wear. Choose Shades of Darkness for a amber and woody character. Best in spring, daytime wear.

Which lasts longer, African Gold or Shades of Darkness?

They last about the same: African Gold 89/100, Shades of Darkness 87/100 for longevity in community votes.

Which projects more, African Gold or Shades of Darkness?

African Gold projects furthest (African Gold 94/100, Shades of Darkness 72/100), based on community performance votes.

Do African Gold and Shades of Darkness smell similar?

Clearly different: a 25% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share warm spicy and amber accords. Common notes include Nutmeg, Tobacco, Benzoin and Cedar.

Is African Gold or Shades of Darkness better for summer or winter?

African Gold suits evening wear; Shades of Darkness suits daytime wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in African Gold and Shades of Darkness?

African Gold has top notes of Ginger, Tobacco Leaf, Anise and Coriander, heart notes of Dates, Tobacco Blossom, Cloves and Nutmeg, a base of Cacao Pod, Vanilla, Tobacco and Tonka Bean. Shades of Darkness has top notes of Galbanum, Carnation, Artemisia and Fig Leaf, heart notes of Ylang-Ylang, Narcissus, Jasmine and Iris, a base of Incense, Tolu Balsam, Civet and Castoreum.