Fragrance comparison

Don't Explain vs Secret Joly

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

Updated 22 Oct 2026 182 ratings analysed

Don't Explain

DSH Perfumes · 2021

4.717 votes

Rank #30,090 White FloralAnimalic

Full profile Similar & dupes

43%scent match

Some overlap

4 wins

Secret Joly

Oriza L. Legrand

3.84175 votes

Rank #5,633 White FloralFloral

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Secret Joly takes 4 of 4 categories.

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

Don't Explain0/4

Secret Joly4/4

Ratings & consensus: Not scored
Community sentiment: Not scored
Longevity: Secret Joly
Sillage & projection: Secret Joly
Value for money: Secret Joly
Versatility: Not scored
Note pyramid (duration): Not scored
Fragranxe ranking: Secret Joly

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance

Don't ExplainDSH Perfumes

Secret JolyOriza L. Legrand

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

4.71/ 5 · 7 votes

Have 6%Had 1%Want 93%

3.84/ 5 · 175 votes

Have 33%Had 11%Want 56%

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

50%Love

22%Like

13%Ok

13%Dislike

2%Hate

127 votes

Category winnerNot enough dataMost positive mix (25+ votes)

Longevity & sillage

0–100 community performance scores

⏱ Longevity50

〰 Sillage50

♥ Love / hate93

⏱ Longevity75

〰 Sillage64

♥ Love / hate77

Category winners

LongevitySecret Joly

SillageSecret Joly

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value50

¤ Price value56

Category winnerSecret JolyBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

white floral100%

animalic92%

musky84%

lactonic77%

leather69%

earthy61%

white floral100%

floral92%

musky84%

amber77%

animalic69%

balsamic61%

Scent match43%Some overlap · both white floral, musky and animalic

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

JasmineHyacinth

Heart

Jasmine SambacGardeniaYlang-YlangTuberose

Base

Peru BalsamHoneyCivetMuskTobaccoBenzoin

InformationalShared notesGardenia, Civet, Tuberose and Jasmine. 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

Spring100

Summer71

Fall0

Winter35

Day–

Night–

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men0

Unisex20

Women80

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

Men5

Unisex26

Women70

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#30,090

PerfumerDawn Spencer Hurwitz

Launched2021

Reviews3

Overall rank#5,633

PerfumerNot listed

Launched—

Reviews35

Category winnerSecret JolyHigher 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 →

Secret Joly is a radiant white floral built around jasmine, hyacinth, gardenia, ylang-ylang and tuberose, with a warmer honeyed, musky base underneath. On skin it often reads clean, powdery and bright rather than heavily animalic, though the civet, balsams and tobacco give it a vintage shadow. It suits lovers of polis…

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 Secret Joly?

Secret Joly takes 4 of 4 categories. Don't Explain is rated 4.71/5 from 7 votes; Secret Joly is rated 3.84/5 from 175 votes. Choose Don't Explain for a white floral and animalic character. Best in spring, evening wear. Choose Secret Joly for a white floral and floral character. Wins on longevity, sillage & projection and value for money. Best in spring.

Which lasts longer, Don't Explain or Secret Joly?

Secret Joly lasts longest (Secret Joly 75/100, Don't Explain 50/100), based on community performance votes.

Which projects more, Don't Explain or Secret Joly?

Secret Joly projects furthest (Secret Joly 64/100, Don't Explain 50/100), based on community performance votes.

Do Don't Explain and Secret Joly smell similar?

Some overlap: a 43% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share white floral, musky and animalic accords. Common notes include Gardenia, Civet, Tuberose and Jasmine.

Is Don't Explain or Secret Joly better for summer or winter?

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

What are the notes in Don't Explain and Secret Joly?

Don't Explain features Butter, Mushroom, Gardenia, Cheese and Civet. Secret Joly has top notes of Jasmine and Hyacinth, heart notes of Jasmine Sambac, Gardenia, Ylang-Ylang and Tuberose, a base of Peru Balsam, Honey, Civet and Musk.