Fragrance comparison

Écrin de Fumée vs Balade Imaginaire

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

Updated 26 Oct 2026 1,534 ratings analysed

Écrin de Fumée

Serge Lutens

4.171,515 votes

Rank #25,026 WoodyCacao

Full profile Similar & dupes

37%scent match

Some overlap

Balade Imaginaire

Slava Zaitsev

3.8919 votes

Rank #51,828 SmokyAromatic

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

No clear winner: the 5 categories split 2–2.

Écrin de Fumée
Choose it for a woody and cacao character. Wins on ratings & consensus and fragranxe ranking. Best in winter.
Balade Imaginaire
Choose it for a smoky and aromatic character. Wins on longevity and sillage & projection. Best in fall, evening wear.

Écrin de Fumée2/5

Balade Imaginaire2/5

Ratings & consensus: Écrin de Fumée
Community sentiment: Not scored
Longevity: Balade Imaginaire
Sillage & projection: Balade Imaginaire
Value for money: Tie
Versatility: Not scored
Note pyramid (duration): Not scored
Fragranxe ranking: Écrin de Fumée

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance

Écrin de FuméeSerge Lutens

Balade ImaginaireSlava Zaitsev

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

4.17/ 5 · 1,515 votes

Have 83%Had 17%Want 0%

3.89/ 5 · 19 votes

Have 22%Had 7%Want 71%

Category winnerÉcrin de FuméeRating weighted by vote count

Community sentiment

How voters split from love to hate

47%Love

35%Like

10%Ok

6%Dislike

2%Hate

1,515 votes

32%Love

47%Like

11%Ok

0%Dislike

11%Hate

19 votes · too few to score

Category winnerNot enough dataMost positive mix (25+ votes)

Longevity & sillage

0–100 community performance scores

⏱ Longevity71

〰 Sillage57

♥ Love / hate79

⏱ Longevity73

〰 Sillage60

♥ Love / hate72

Category winners

LongevityBalade Imaginaire

SillageBalade Imaginaire

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value50

Category winnerTieBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

woody100%

cacao88%

smoky77%

tobacco65%

warm spicy53%

rum42%

smoky100%

aromatic92%

leather84%

woody77%

amber69%

animalic61%

Scent match37%Some overlap · both woody and smoky

Note pyramid (duration)

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

Notes

CacaoRumSmokeTobaccoWoody Notes

No top / heart / base split published

Top20-30 mins

IncenseWormwoodRumPink Pepper

Heart2-4 hrs

CypressSage

Base6-8+ hrs

LeatherSmokeTobacco

InformationalShared notesRum, Smoke and Tobacco. Durations are only published for Balade Imaginaire, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring24

Summer12

Fall0

Winter100

Day–

Night–

Spring33

Summer22

Fall100

Winter89

Day44

Night100

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men41

Unisex53

Women5

Men40

Unisex53

Women7

Date 35%Casual 28%Party 22%Work 15%

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#25,026

PerfumerNot listed

Launched—

Reviews0

Overall rank#51,828

PerfumerRobertet

Launched—

Reviews0

Category winnerÉcrin de FuméeHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

Serge Lutens introduces a dark, woody mood in Écrin de Fumée. This unisex scent combines dry tobacco leaf and roasted cacao beans with a warm, rum soaked opening. It sits close to the skin on winter nights, offering a cozy but smoky shadow that suits drinkers of black coffee and lovers of dark wool coats.

Reviews →

Balade Imaginaire by Slava Zaitsev smells like stepping into a warm, wood-paneled library on a crisp autumn evening. The fragrance opens with a generous pour of dark spiced rum and dry resinous incense, balanced by a bitter splash of green wormwood. As the scent warms up on skin, fresh pine needles, aromatic sage, and…

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, Écrin de Fumée or Balade Imaginaire?

No clear winner: the 5 categories split 2–2. Écrin de Fumée is rated 4.17/5 from 1,515 votes; Balade Imaginaire is rated 3.89/5 from 19 votes. Choose Écrin de Fumée for a woody and cacao character. Wins on ratings & consensus and fragranxe ranking. Best in winter. Choose Balade Imaginaire for a smoky and aromatic character. Wins on longevity and sillage & projection. Best in fall, evening wear.

Which lasts longer, Écrin de Fumée or Balade Imaginaire?

They last about the same: Balade Imaginaire 73/100, Écrin de Fumée 71/100 for longevity in community votes.

Which projects more, Écrin de Fumée or Balade Imaginaire?

Balade Imaginaire projects furthest (Balade Imaginaire 60/100, Écrin de Fumée 57/100), based on community performance votes.

Do Écrin de Fumée and Balade Imaginaire smell similar?

Some overlap: a 37% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share woody and smoky accords. Common notes include Rum, Smoke and Tobacco.

Is Écrin de Fumée or Balade Imaginaire better for summer or winter?

Balade Imaginaire suits evening wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Écrin de Fumée and Balade Imaginaire?

Écrin de Fumée features Cacao, Rum, Smoke, Tobacco and Woody Notes. Balade Imaginaire has top notes of Incense, Wormwood, Rum and Pink Pepper, heart notes of Cypress and Sage, a base of Leather, Smoke and Tobacco.