Fragrance comparison

Don't Explain vs Carmine

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

Updated 22 Oct 2026 11 ratings analysed

4 wins

Don't Explain

DSH Perfumes · 2021

4.717 votes

Rank #30,090 White FloralAnimalic

Full profile Similar & dupes

23%scent match

Clearly different

Carmine

Vivace

2.504 votes

Rank #66,840 White FloralWarm Spicy

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Don't Explain takes 4 of 4 categories.

Don't Explain
Choose it for a white floral and animalic character. Wins on longevity, sillage & projection and value for money. Best in spring, evening wear.
Carmine
Choose it for a white floral and warm spicy character. Best in fall, evening wear.

Don't Explain4/4

Carmine0/4

Ratings & consensus: Not scored
Community sentiment: Not scored
Longevity: Don't Explain
Sillage & projection: Don't Explain
Value for money: Don't Explain
Versatility: Not scored
Note pyramid (duration): Not scored
Fragranxe ranking: Don't Explain

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance

Don't ExplainDSH Perfumes

CarmineVivace

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

4.71/ 5 · 7 votes

Have 6%Had 1%Want 93%

2.50/ 5 · 4 votes

Have 0%Had 0%Want 100%

Category winnerNot enough dataRating weighted by vote count

Community sentiment

How voters split from love to hate

71%Love

29%Like

0%Ok

0%Dislike

0%Hate

7 votes · too few to score

25%Love

0%Like

25%Ok

0%Dislike

50%Hate

4 votes · too few to score

Category winnerNot enough dataMost positive mix (25+ votes)

Longevity & sillage

0–100 community performance scores

⏱ Longevity50

〰 Sillage50

♥ Love / hate93

⏱ Longevity28

〰 Sillage30

♥ Love / hate38

Category winners

LongevityDon't Explain

SillageDon't Explain

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value50

¤ Price value0

Category winnerDon't ExplainBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

white floral100%

animalic92%

musky84%

lactonic77%

leather69%

earthy61%

white floral100%

warm spicy88%

cinnamon77%

floral65%

powdery53%

tuberose42%

Scent match23%Clearly different · both white floral

Note pyramid (duration)

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

Notes

ButterMushroomGardeniaCheeseCivetTiare FlowerCastoreumAmbergrisLeatherTuberoseGreen AccordJasmine

No top / heart / base split published

Top

Taif RoseAldehydes

Heart

Jasmine SambacTuberoseGardeniaOrange BlossomHeliotropeRose

Base

SandalwoodCinnamonOsmanthusTolu BalsamCivetCambodian OudCastoreumAmber

InformationalShared notesGardenia, Civet, Castoreum and Tuberose. Durations are only published for Don't Explain, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring100

Summer75

Fall100

Winter50

Day56

Night100

Spring0

Summer0

Fall100

Winter100

Day–

Night100

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men0

Unisex20

Women80

Date 41%Casual 27%Work 17%Party 15%

Men0

Unisex0

Women100

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#30,090

PerfumerDawn Spencer Hurwitz

Launched2021

Reviews3

Overall rank#66,840

PerfumerSultan Pasha

Launched—

Reviews0

Category winnerDon't ExplainHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

Don't Explain by DSH Perfumes rebuilds the living gardenia from root to petal. Independent perfumer Dawn Spencer Hurwitz rejects synthetic, sugary white floral formulas here. Instead, you get ripe gardenia blossoms layered with savory white button mushroom and rich butter CO2. It feels startlingly organic on first spr…

Reviews →

Carmine reads as a dense white floral built around rose, jasmine sambac, tuberose and gardenia, with aldehydes up top and a warm, spicy base. The mix of cinnamon, balsam, oud and animalic notes gives it a vintage-leaning, dressed-up character rather than an easy everyday feel. Based on the available voting data, it ma…

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, Don't Explain or Carmine?

Don't Explain takes 4 of 4 categories. Don't Explain is rated 4.71/5 from 7 votes; Carmine is rated 2.50/5 from 4 votes. Choose Don't Explain for a white floral and animalic character. Wins on longevity, sillage & projection and value for money. Best in spring, evening wear. Choose Carmine for a white floral and warm spicy character. Best in fall, evening wear.

Which lasts longer, Don't Explain or Carmine?

Don't Explain lasts longest (Don't Explain 50/100, Carmine 28/100), based on community performance votes.

Which projects more, Don't Explain or Carmine?

Don't Explain projects furthest (Don't Explain 50/100, Carmine 30/100), based on community performance votes.

Do Don't Explain and Carmine smell similar?

Clearly different: a 23% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share white floral accords. Common notes include Gardenia, Civet, Castoreum and Tuberose.

Is Don't Explain or Carmine better for summer or winter?

Don't Explain suits evening wear; Carmine suits evening wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Don't Explain and Carmine?

Don't Explain features Butter, Mushroom, Gardenia, Cheese and Civet. Carmine has top notes of Taif Rose and Aldehydes, heart notes of Jasmine Sambac, Tuberose, Gardenia and Orange Blossom, a base of Sandalwood, Cinnamon, Osmanthus and Tolu Balsam.