Fragrance comparison

Historical Chypre vs Shades of Darkness

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

Updated 7 Nov 2026 9 ratings analysed

Historical Chypre

The Dua Brand

3.502 votes

Rank #65,358 LeatherPowdery

Full profile Similar & dupes

26%scent match

Clearly different

2 wins

Shades of Darkness

Nimere Parfums

3.007 votes

Rank #64,078 AmberWoody

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Shades of Darkness takes 2 of 3 categories.

Historical Chypre
Choose it for a leather and powdery character. Wins on sillage & projection. Best in fall, evening wear.
Shades of Darkness
Choose it for a amber and woody character. Wins on longevity and fragranxe ranking. Best in spring, daytime wear.

Historical Chypre1/3

Shades of Darkness2/3

Ratings & consensus: Not scored
Community sentiment: Not scored
Longevity: Shades of Darkness
Sillage & projection: Historical Chypre
Value for money: Not scored
Versatility: Not scored
Note pyramid (duration): Not scored
Fragranxe ranking: Shades of Darkness

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance

Historical ChypreThe Dua Brand

Shades of DarknessNimere Parfums

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

3.50/ 5 · 2 votes

Have 38%Had 25%Want 38%

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

0%Love

50%Like

50%Ok

0%Dislike

0%Hate

2 votes · too few to score

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

⏱ Longevity80

〰 Sillage75

♥ Love / hate63

⏱ Longevity87

〰 Sillage72

♥ Love / hate50

Category winners

LongevityShades of Darkness

SillageHistorical Chypre

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value50

¤ Price valueN/A

Category winnerNot enough dataBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

leather100%

powdery92%

amber84%

lavender77%

iris69%

animalic61%

amber100%

woody92%

warm spicy84%

green77%

aromatic69%

powdery61%

Scent match26%Clearly different · both amber and powdery

Note pyramid (duration)

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

Notes

LavenderLeatherIrisTolu BalsamCastoreumBenzoinPlumClementineImmortelleAldehydesGardeniaLabdanum

No top / heart / base split published

Top

GalbanumCarnationArtemisiaFig LeafBlack currant leafBergamotNutmegSaffron

Heart

Ylang-YlangNarcissusJasmineIrisTobaccoChampacaVioletNeroli

Base

IncenseTolu BalsamCivetCastoreumAmbergrisCedarVetiverBenzoin

InformationalShared notesIris, Tolu Balsam, Castoreum and Benzoin. Durations are only published for Historical Chypre, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring0

Summer0

Fall100

Winter100

Day50

Night100

Spring100

Summer33

Fall100

Winter100

Day100

Night50

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men100

Unisex0

Women0

Not enough votes yet

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#65,358

PerfumerNot listed

Launched—

Reviews1

Overall rank#64,078

PerfumerNikolay Eremin

Launched—

Reviews1

Category winnerShades of DarknessHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

Historical Chypre by The Dua Brand is an Extrait de Parfum built around deep leather, rich resinous tones, and vintage floral accents. It introduces itself with bright bursts of clementine, tart plum, and soapy aldehydes before revealing an earthy core of oakmoss, lavender, and powdery iris. Resins such as benzoin, la…

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.

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Common questions

Straight answers from the data above.

Which is better, Historical Chypre or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness takes 2 of 3 categories. Historical Chypre is rated 3.50/5 from 2 votes; Shades of Darkness is rated 3.00/5 from 7 votes. Choose Historical Chypre for a leather and powdery character. Wins on sillage & projection. Best in fall, evening wear. Choose Shades of Darkness for a amber and woody character. Wins on longevity and fragranxe ranking. Best in spring, daytime wear.

Which lasts longer, Historical Chypre or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness lasts longest (Shades of Darkness 87/100, Historical Chypre 80/100), based on community performance votes.

Which projects more, Historical Chypre or Shades of Darkness?

Historical Chypre projects furthest (Historical Chypre 75/100, Shades of Darkness 72/100), based on community performance votes.

Do Historical Chypre and Shades of Darkness smell similar?

Clearly different: a 26% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share amber and powdery accords. Common notes include Iris, Tolu Balsam, Castoreum and Benzoin.

Is Historical Chypre or Shades of Darkness better for summer or winter?

Historical Chypre suits evening wear; Shades of Darkness suits daytime wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Historical Chypre and Shades of Darkness?

Historical Chypre features Lavender, Leather, Iris, Tolu Balsam and Castoreum. 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.