Fragrance comparison

Courageous vs The Scarlet Letter

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

Updated 14 Nov 2026 7 ratings analysed

1 wins

Courageous

Ellen Tracy

3.437 votes

Rank #57,224 PatchouliWoody

Full profile Similar & dupes

37%scent match

Some overlap

The Scarlet Letter

Sared Perfumes

—0 votes

Rank #76,124 WoodyMusky

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Courageous takes 1 of 1 categories.

Courageous
Choose it for a patchouli and woody character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in spring, daytime wear.
The Scarlet Letter
Choose it for a woody and musky character.

Courageous1/1

The Scarlet Letter0/1

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: Courageous

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance

CourageousEllen Tracy

The Scarlet LetterSared Perfumes

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

3.43/ 5 · 7 votes

Have 88%Had 3%Want 9%

—/ 5 · 0 votes

Have 67%Had 0%Want 33%

Category winnerNot enough dataRating weighted by vote count

Community sentiment

How voters split from love to hate

29%Love

14%Like

29%Ok

29%Dislike

0%Hate

7 votes · too few to score

Not enough votes yet

Category winnerNot enough dataMost positive mix (25+ votes)

Longevity & sillage

0–100 community performance scores

⏱ Longevity36

〰 Sillage40

♥ Love / hate61

⏱ LongevityN/A

〰 SillageN/A

♥ Love / hateN/A

Category winners

LongevityNo data

SillageNo data

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value90

¤ Price valueN/A

Category winnerNot enough dataBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

patchouli100%

woody92%

warm spicy84%

powdery77%

rose69%

musky61%

woody100%

musky86%

amber72%

oud58%

sweet44%

leather30%

Scent match37%Some overlap · both woody and musky

Note pyramid (duration)

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

Top15 to 30 minutes

Black PepperBergamotLemon

Heart1 to 2 hours

RoseWater LilyDewberryCassisOrris

Base2 to 3 hours

PatchouliMuskVanillaSandalwood

Top

SaffronCassisLitchiBergamotLemonMandarin OrangeOrange

Heart

OakPralinePlumWater LilyPeonyJasmine

Base

PapyrusAgarwood (Oud)AmbroxanPatchouliMuskVanilla

InformationalShared notesBergamot, Lemon, Water Lily and Cassis. Durations are only published for Courageous, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring100

Summer100

Fall50

Winter0

Day100

Night–

No season votes yet

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men0

Unisex14

Women86

Not enough votes yet

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#57,224

PerfumerNot listed

Launched—

Reviews4

Overall rank#76,124

PerfumerNot listed

Launched—

Reviews0

Category winnerCourageousHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

Courageous by Ellen Tracy delivers a bright citrus opening balanced by earthy patchouli and soft floral undertones. Fresh lemon and zesty bergamot introduce the scent with a light pinch of black pepper. Soon after, watery rose and delicate water lily emerge alongside tart dewberry and powdery orris root. The base sett…

Reviews →

The Scarlet Letter by Sared Perfumes opens with a bright, fruit-tinted citrus splash (lychee, cassis, mandarin) dusted with saffron. Soon it turns darker and more textured, with plum and florals over a woody, musky amber base. Expect a sweet praline thread running through the wear, alongside oud, patchouli and vanilla…

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.

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Common questions

Straight answers from the data above.

Do Courageous and The Scarlet Letter smell similar?

Some overlap: a 37% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share woody and musky accords. Common notes include Bergamot, Lemon, Water Lily and Cassis.

Is Courageous or The Scarlet Letter better for summer or winter?

Courageous suits daytime wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Courageous and The Scarlet Letter?

Courageous has top notes of Black Pepper, Bergamot and Lemon, heart notes of Rose, Water Lily, Dewberry and Cassis, a base of Patchouli, Musk, Vanilla and Sandalwood. The Scarlet Letter has top notes of Saffron, Cassis, Litchi and Bergamot, heart notes of Oak, Praline, Plum and Water Lily, a base of Papyrus, Agarwood (Oud), Ambroxan and Patchouli.