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FRAGRANXE
Fragrance comparison

Dancing With A Stranger vs Shades of Darkness

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

Updated 37 ratings analysed
Some overlap
Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Shades of Darkness takes 2 of 3 categories.

  • Dancing With A Stranger

    Choose it for a woody and warm spicy character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in winter, evening wear.

  • Shades of Darkness

    Choose it for a amber and woody character. Wins on longevity and sillage & projection. Best in spring, daytime wear.

Dancing With A Stranger1/3
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
Dancing With A Stranger

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance
Dancing With A StrangerProad
Shades of DarknessNimere Parfums
Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split
4.47/ 5 · 30 votes
Have 22%Had 3%Want 75%
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
67%Love
20%Like
7%Ok
7%Dislike
0%Hate

30 votes

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
⏱ Longevity74
〰 Sillage55
♥ Love / hate87
⏱ Longevity87
〰 Sillage72
♥ Love / hate50
Category winners

LongevityShades of Darkness

SillageShades of Darkness

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it
¤ Price value62
¤ Price valueN/A
Category winnerNot enough dataBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both
woody100%
warm spicy92%
whiskey84%
aromatic77%
sweet69%
powdery61%
amber100%
woody92%
warm spicy84%
green77%
aromatic69%
powdery61%
Scent match47%Some overlap · both woody, warm spicy and aromatic

Note pyramid (duration)

Top, heart and base, with how long each lasts when known · gold = shared
Top30 to 45 minutes
WhiskeyCardamomPink PepperJuniper BerriesBergamotOrange
Heart2 to 3 hours
Dried FruitsIrisVioletPapyrusRoseJasmine
Base5 to 8 hours
SandalwoodAmberVanillaTobaccoVetiverCacao PodCedarLeather
Top
GalbanumCarnationArtemisiaFig LeafBlack currant leafBergamotNutmegSaffron
Heart
Ylang-YlangNarcissusJasmineIrisTobaccoChampacaVioletNeroli
Base
IncenseTolu BalsamCivetCastoreumAmbergrisCedarVetiverBenzoin
InformationalShared notesBergamot, Iris, Violet and Jasmine. Durations are only published for Dancing With A Stranger, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season
Spring80
Summer13
Fall93
Winter100
Day33
Night100
Spring100
Summer33
Fall100
Winter100
Day100
Night50
Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes
Men62
Unisex33
Women5

Not enough votes yet

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#26,593

PerfumerJutinat Piyaweerawong

Launched—

Reviews3

Overall rank#64,078

PerfumerNikolay Eremin

Launched—

Reviews1

Category winnerDancing With A StrangerHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

Dancing With A Stranger by Proad opens with a bold pour of warm whiskey, sharp juniper berries, and crushed cardamom, cut by a quick flash of bergamot and sweet orange. The boozy start soon softens as dried fruits, powdery iris, and violet join deep floral touches of rose and jasmine. At the foundation, a heavy base o…

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.

Recent comparisons

Head-to-head activity from live history

Common questions

Straight answers from the data above.

Which is better, Dancing With A Stranger or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness takes 2 of 3 categories. Dancing With A Stranger is rated 4.47/5 from 30 votes; Shades of Darkness is rated 3.00/5 from 7 votes. Choose Dancing With A Stranger for a woody and warm spicy character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in winter, evening 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, Dancing With A Stranger or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness lasts longest (Shades of Darkness 87/100, Dancing With A Stranger 74/100), based on community performance votes.

Which projects more, Dancing With A Stranger or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness projects furthest (Shades of Darkness 72/100, Dancing With A Stranger 55/100), based on community performance votes.

Do Dancing With A Stranger and Shades of Darkness smell similar?

Some overlap: a 47% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share woody, warm spicy and aromatic accords. Common notes include Bergamot, Iris, Violet and Jasmine.

Is Dancing With A Stranger or Shades of Darkness better for summer or winter?

Dancing With A Stranger suits evening wear; Shades of Darkness suits daytime wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Dancing With A Stranger and Shades of Darkness?

Dancing With A Stranger has top notes of Whiskey, Cardamom, Pink Pepper and Juniper Berries, heart notes of Dried Fruits, Iris, Violet and Papyrus, a base of Sandalwood, Amber, Vanilla and Tobacco. 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.

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