Fragrance comparison

Love At Your Darkest vs Malmaison Encore

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

Updated 31 Oct 2026 137 ratings analysed

Love At Your Darkest

Gucci

3.75125 votes

Rank #17,017 Fresh SpicyWoody

Full profile Similar & dupes

55%scent match

Closely related

3 wins

Malmaison Encore

Floris

3.9212 votes

Rank #41,035 AmberVanilla

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Malmaison Encore takes 3 of 5 categories.

Love At Your Darkest
Choose it for a fresh spicy and woody character. Wins on ratings & consensus and fragranxe ranking. Best in fall, day or night wear.
Malmaison Encore
Choose it for a amber and vanilla character. Wins on longevity, sillage & projection and value for money. Best in fall, daytime wear.

Love At Your Darkest2/5

Malmaison Encore3/5

Ratings & consensus: Love At Your Darkest
Community sentiment: Not scored
Longevity: Malmaison Encore
Sillage & projection: Malmaison Encore
Value for money: Malmaison Encore
Versatility: Not scored
Note pyramid (duration): Not scored
Fragranxe ranking: Love At Your Darkest

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance

Love At Your DarkestGucci

Malmaison EncoreFloris

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

3.75/ 5 · 125 votes

Have 28%Had 4%Want 67%

3.92/ 5 · 12 votes

Have 15%Had 1%Want 84%

Category winnerLove At Your DarkestRating weighted by vote count

Community sentiment

How voters split from love to hate

34%Love

32%Like

16%Ok

13%Dislike

6%Hate

125 votes

42%Love

25%Like

17%Ok

17%Dislike

0%Hate

12 votes · too few to score

Category winnerNot enough dataMost positive mix (25+ votes)

Longevity & sillage

0–100 community performance scores

⏱ Longevity54

〰 Sillage45

♥ Love / hate69

⏱ Longevity62

〰 Sillage56

♥ Love / hate73

Category winners

LongevityMalmaison Encore

SillageMalmaison Encore

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value19

¤ Price value40

Category winnerMalmaison EncoreBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

fresh spicy100%

woody83%

amber65%

warm spicy48%

aromatic30%

amber100%

vanilla92%

fresh spicy84%

warm spicy77%

powdery69%

woody61%

Scent match55%Closely related · both fresh spicy, amber and woody

Note pyramid (duration)

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

Top15 to 30 minutes

Black Pepper

Heart1 to 2 hours

Olibanum

Base3 to 5 hours

Cedar

Top

BergamotBlack PepperCardamom

Heart

ClovesNutmegRoseYlang-Ylang

Base

AmberCedarOlibanumHeliotropeTonka BeanVanila

InformationalShared notesBlack Pepper, Olibanum and Cedar. Durations are only published for Love At Your Darkest, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring85

Summer47

Fall100

Winter74

Day100

Night100

Spring40

Summer60

Fall100

Winter60

Day100

Night67

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men46

Unisex46

Women8

Men20

Unisex60

Women20

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#17,017

PerfumerAlberto Morillas

Launched—

Reviews16

Overall rank#41,035

PerfumerNot listed

Launched—

Reviews2

Category winnerLove At Your DarkestHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

Love At Your Darkest by Gucci is a minimalist woody spicy fragrance from The Alchemist's Garden collection. Despite a dramatic title, the composition is surprisingly transparent, airy, and restrained on the skin. It opens with an immediate burst of dry black pepper that feels brisk rather than heavy. As the initial sp…

Reviews →

Floris Malmaison Encore opens with sharp bergamot, black pepper, and cardamom before settling into a warm clove and nutmeg core. Base notes of amber, cedar, and heliotrope add a powdery woodiness that sits close to the skin. It works best on cool autumn afternoons when wearing a wool coat.

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, Love At Your Darkest or Malmaison Encore?

Malmaison Encore takes 3 of 5 categories. Love At Your Darkest is rated 3.75/5 from 125 votes; Malmaison Encore is rated 3.92/5 from 12 votes. Choose Love At Your Darkest for a fresh spicy and woody character. Wins on ratings & consensus and fragranxe ranking. Best in fall, day or night wear. Choose Malmaison Encore for a amber and vanilla character. Wins on longevity, sillage & projection and value for money. Best in fall, daytime wear.

Which lasts longer, Love At Your Darkest or Malmaison Encore?

Malmaison Encore lasts longest (Malmaison Encore 62/100, Love At Your Darkest 54/100), based on community performance votes.

Which projects more, Love At Your Darkest or Malmaison Encore?

Malmaison Encore projects furthest (Malmaison Encore 56/100, Love At Your Darkest 45/100), based on community performance votes.

Do Love At Your Darkest and Malmaison Encore smell similar?

Closely related: a 55% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share fresh spicy, amber and woody accords. Common notes include Black Pepper, Olibanum and Cedar.

Is Love At Your Darkest or Malmaison Encore better for summer or winter?

Love At Your Darkest suits day or night wear; Malmaison Encore suits daytime wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Love At Your Darkest and Malmaison Encore?

Love At Your Darkest has top notes of Black Pepper, heart notes of Olibanum, a base of Cedar. Malmaison Encore has top notes of Bergamot, Black Pepper and Cardamom, heart notes of Cloves, Nutmeg, Rose and Ylang-Ylang, a base of Amber, Cedar, Olibanum and Heliotrope.