Fragrance comparison

An Air Of Despair vs Black Santal

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

Updated 21 Oct 2026 83 ratings analysed

1 wins

An Air Of Despair

Imaginary Authors

3.5382 votes

Rank #14,999 WoodyWarm Spicy

Full profile Similar & dupes

60%scent match

Closely related

Black Santal

Akbari

5.001 votes

Rank #63,509 PowderyWoody

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

An Air Of Despair takes 1 of 1 categories.

An Air Of Despair
Choose it for a woody and warm spicy character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in fall, daytime wear.
Black Santal
Choose it for a powdery and woody character.

An Air Of Despair1/1

Black Santal0/1

Ratings & consensus: Not scored
Community sentiment: Not scored
Longevity: Not scored
Sillage & projection: Not scored
Value for money: Not scored
Versatility: Not scored
Note pyramid (duration): Not scored
Fragranxe ranking: An Air Of Despair

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance

An Air Of DespairImaginary Authors

Black SantalAkbari

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

3.53/ 5 · 82 votes

Have 18%Had 6%Want 76%

5.00/ 5 · 1 votes

Have 20%Had 0%Want 80%

Category winnerNot enough dataRating weighted by vote count

Community sentiment

How voters split from love to hate

32%Love

34%Like

3%Ok

30%Dislike

1%Hate

74 votes

Not enough votes yet

Category winnerNot enough dataMost positive mix (25+ votes)

Longevity & sillage

0–100 community performance scores

⏱ Longevity62

〰 Sillage61

♥ Love / hate67

⏱ LongevityN/A

〰 SillageN/A

♥ Love / hateN/A

Category winners

LongevityNo data

SillageNo data

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value42

¤ Price valueN/A

Category winnerNot enough dataBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

woody100%

warm spicy88%

musky77%

powdery65%

metallic53%

leather42%

powdery100%

woody92%

musky84%

fresh spicy77%

warm spicy69%

amber61%

Scent match60%Closely related · both woody, powdery and musky

Note pyramid (duration)

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

Notes

SaffronCedarMusk

No top / heart / base split published

Top

Black PepperCumin

Heart

IrisSaffronRose

Base

MuskSandalwoodAmberCedar

InformationalShared notesSaffron, Cedar and Musk. Note durations are not published for these fragrances, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring43

Summer29

Fall100

Winter61

Day100

Night–

No season votes yet

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men40

Unisex20

Women40

Not enough votes yet

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#14,999

PerfumerJosh Meyer

Launched—

Reviews21

Overall rank#63,509

PerfumerNot listed

Launched—

Reviews0

Category winnerAn Air Of DespairHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

An Air Of Despair is a dry, cedar-led scent with saffron adding a leathery, slightly metallic warmth and musk keeping it clean rather than fluffy. It opens sharp for some wearers, then settles into a smooth, comforting woodiness that can feel cozy, austere, and quietly distinctive. This suits someone who enjoys minima…

Reviews →

Black Santal by Akbari is a dry, powdery sandalwood scent with a spicy edge. Black pepper and cumin give the opening a warm, slightly savory bite, then iris turns it smooth and cosmetic, with saffron and rose adding a soft, tinted warmth. In the dry down, musk, amber and cedar keep it woody, musky and quietly sensual …

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, An Air Of Despair or Black Santal?

An Air Of Despair takes 1 of 1 categories. An Air Of Despair is rated 3.53/5 from 82 votes; Black Santal is rated 5.00/5 from 1 votes. Choose An Air Of Despair for a woody and warm spicy character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in fall, daytime wear. Choose Black Santal for a powdery and woody character.

Do An Air Of Despair and Black Santal smell similar?

Closely related: a 60% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share woody, powdery and musky accords. Common notes include Saffron, Cedar and Musk.

Is An Air Of Despair or Black Santal better for summer or winter?

An Air Of Despair suits daytime wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in An Air Of Despair and Black Santal?

An Air Of Despair features Saffron, Cedar and Musk. Black Santal has top notes of Black Pepper and Cumin, heart notes of Iris, Saffron and Rose, a base of Musk, Sandalwood, Amber and Cedar.