Fragrance comparison

Chenonceau vs Shades of Darkness

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

Updated 20 Oct 2026 11 ratings analysed

Chenonceau

King's Palace Perfumery

4.504 votes

Rank #33,903 VanillaAmber

Full profile Similar & dupes

31%scent match

Clearly different

2 wins

Shades of Darkness

Nimere Parfums

3.007 votes

Rank #60,745 AmberWoody

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Shades of Darkness takes 2 of 3 categories.

Chenonceau
Choose it for a vanilla and amber character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in fall, day or night wear.
Shades of Darkness
Choose it for a amber and woody character. Wins on longevity and sillage & projection. Best in spring, daytime wear.

Chenonceau1/3

Shades of Darkness2/3

Ratings & consensus: Not scored
Community sentiment: Not scored
Longevity: Shades of Darkness
Sillage & projection: Shades of Darkness
Value for money: Not scored
Versatility: Not scored
Note pyramid (duration): Not scored
Fragranxe ranking: Chenonceau

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance

ChenonceauKing's Palace Perfumery

Shades of DarknessNimere Parfums

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

4.50/ 5 · 4 votes

Have 9%Had 0%Want 91%

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

50%Love

50%Like

0%Ok

0%Dislike

0%Hate

4 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

⏱ Longevity84

〰 Sillage60

♥ Love / hate88

⏱ Longevity87

〰 Sillage72

♥ Love / hate50

Category winners

LongevityShades of Darkness

SillageShades of Darkness

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price valueN/A

Category winnerNot enough dataBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

vanilla100%

amber92%

powdery84%

cacao77%

iris69%

warm spicy61%

amber100%

woody92%

warm spicy84%

green77%

aromatic69%

powdery61%

Scent match31%Clearly different · both amber, powdery and warm spicy

Note pyramid (duration)

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

Notes

Cacao PodAmberVanillaIrisTonka BeanMusk

No top / heart / base split published

Top

GalbanumCarnationArtemisiaFig LeafBlack currant leafBergamotNutmegSaffron

Heart

Ylang-YlangNarcissusJasmineIrisTobaccoChampacaVioletNeroli

Base

IncenseTolu BalsamCivetCastoreumAmbergrisCedarVetiverBenzoin

InformationalShared notesIris. Note durations are not published for these fragrances, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring0

Summer0

Fall100

Winter100

Day100

Night100

Spring100

Summer33

Fall100

Winter100

Day100

Night50

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Not enough votes yet

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#33,903

PerfumerMarlen Harrison

Launched—

Reviews3

Overall rank#60,745

PerfumerNikolay Eremin

Launched—

Reviews1

Category winnerChenonceauHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

Chenonceau is a warm amber vanilla with cacao, iris powder, tonka and musk giving it a soft but textured feel. Wearers describe amber and cocoa up front, then a sweeter powdery dry-down that can feel resinous, plummy, woolly and comforting in cold weather. It is best for people who like rich amber blends with sweetnes…

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, Chenonceau or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness takes 2 of 3 categories. Chenonceau is rated 4.50/5 from 4 votes; Shades of Darkness is rated 3.00/5 from 7 votes. Choose Chenonceau for a vanilla and amber character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in fall, day or night wear. Choose Shades of Darkness for a amber and woody character. Wins on longevity and sillage & projection. Best in spring, daytime wear.

Which lasts longer, Chenonceau or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness lasts longest (Shades of Darkness 87/100, Chenonceau 84/100), based on community performance votes.

Which projects more, Chenonceau or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness projects furthest (Shades of Darkness 72/100, Chenonceau 60/100), based on community performance votes.

Do Chenonceau and Shades of Darkness smell similar?

Clearly different: a 31% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share amber, powdery and warm spicy accords. Common notes include Iris.

Is Chenonceau or Shades of Darkness better for summer or winter?

Chenonceau suits day or night wear; Shades of Darkness suits daytime wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Chenonceau and Shades of Darkness?

Chenonceau features Cacao Pod, Amber, Vanilla, Iris 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.