Fragrance comparison

Love At Your Darkest vs Vespero

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

Updated 30 Oct 2026 127 ratings analysed

Love At Your Darkest

Gucci

3.75125 votes

Rank #17,017 Fresh SpicyWoody

Full profile Similar & dupes

62%scent match

Closely related

2 wins

Vespero

Maison Anonyme

3.502 votes

Rank #65,326 Fresh SpicyAmber

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Vespero takes 2 of 3 categories.

Love At Your Darkest
Choose it for a fresh spicy and woody character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in fall, day or night wear.
Vespero
Choose it for a fresh spicy and amber character. Wins on longevity and sillage & projection. Best in fall, evening wear.

Love At Your Darkest1/3

Vespero2/3

Ratings & consensus: Not scored
Community sentiment: Not scored
Longevity: Vespero
Sillage & projection: Vespero
Value for money: Not scored
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

VesperoMaison Anonyme

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

3.75/ 5 · 125 votes

Have 28%Had 4%Want 67%

3.50/ 5 · 2 votes

Have 7%Had 13%Want 80%

Category winnerNot enough dataRating 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

50%Love

0%Like

0%Ok

50%Dislike

0%Hate

2 votes · too few to score

Category winnerNot enough dataMost positive mix (25+ votes)

Longevity & sillage

0–100 community performance scores

⏱ Longevity54

〰 Sillage45

♥ Love / hate69

⏱ Longevity60

〰 Sillage63

♥ Love / hate63

Category winners

LongevityVespero

SillageVespero

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value19

¤ Price valueN/A

Category winnerNot enough dataBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

fresh spicy100%

woody83%

amber65%

warm spicy48%

aromatic30%

fresh spicy100%

amber92%

warm spicy84%

woody77%

musky69%

balsamic61%

Scent match62%Closely related · both fresh spicy, woody and amber

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

Black Pepperelemi

Heart

OlibanumMyrrhJasmineRose de MaiYlang-Ylang

Base

MuskCedarAmbergrisPatchouli

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

Spring0

Summer0

Fall100

Winter100

Day–

Night100

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men46

Unisex46

Women8

Men0

Unisex0

Women100

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#17,017

PerfumerAlberto Morillas

Launched—

Reviews16

Overall rank#65,326

PerfumerChristopher Gordon

Launched—

Reviews0

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 →

Vespero by Maison Anonyme presents an intriguing contrast of sharp black pepper and cooling elemi resin. The heart opens with sacred olibanum and myrrh, softened by a delicate floral bouquet of jasmine and rose. It eventually settles into a grounding base of cedar and ambergris. This unisex composition offers a versat…

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 Vespero?

Vespero takes 2 of 3 categories. Love At Your Darkest is rated 3.75/5 from 125 votes; Vespero is rated 3.50/5 from 2 votes. Choose Love At Your Darkest for a fresh spicy and woody character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in fall, day or night wear. Choose Vespero for a fresh spicy and amber character. Wins on longevity and sillage & projection. Best in fall, evening wear.

Which lasts longer, Love At Your Darkest or Vespero?

Vespero lasts longest (Vespero 60/100, Love At Your Darkest 54/100), based on community performance votes.

Which projects more, Love At Your Darkest or Vespero?

Vespero projects furthest (Vespero 63/100, Love At Your Darkest 45/100), based on community performance votes.

Do Love At Your Darkest and Vespero smell similar?

Closely related: a 62% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share fresh spicy, woody and amber accords. Common notes include Black Pepper, Olibanum and Cedar.

Is Love At Your Darkest or Vespero better for summer or winter?

Love At Your Darkest suits day or night wear; Vespero suits evening wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Love At Your Darkest and Vespero?

Love At Your Darkest has top notes of Black Pepper, heart notes of Olibanum, a base of Cedar. Vespero has top notes of Black Pepper and elemi, heart notes of Olibanum, Myrrh, Jasmine and Rose de Mai, a base of Musk, Cedar, Ambergris and Patchouli.