Fragrance comparison

Memory Motel vs Shades of Darkness

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

Updated 24 Oct 2026 603 ratings analysed

Memory Motel

Une Nuit Nomade

3.96596 votes

Rank #6,667 TobaccoWarm Spicy

Full profile Similar & dupes

19%scent match

Clearly different

2 wins

Shades of Darkness

Nimere Parfums

3.007 votes

Rank #61,472 AmberWoody

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Shades of Darkness takes 2 of 3 categories.

Memory Motel
Choose it for a tobacco and warm spicy character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in winter, evening wear.
Shades of Darkness
Choose it for a amber and woody character. Wins on longevity and sillage & projection. Best in spring, daytime wear.

Memory Motel1/3

Shades of Darkness2/3

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

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance

Memory MotelUne Nuit Nomade

Shades of DarknessNimere Parfums

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

3.96/ 5 · 596 votes

Have 76%Had 24%Want 0%

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

38%Love

33%Like

16%Ok

11%Dislike

2%Hate

596 votes

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

⏱ Longevity68

〰 Sillage56

♥ Love / hate74

⏱ Longevity87

〰 Sillage72

♥ Love / hate50

Category winners

LongevityShades of Darkness

SillageShades of Darkness

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value51

¤ Price valueN/A

Category winnerNot enough dataBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

tobacco100%

warm spicy92%

floral84%

leather77%

earthy69%

vanilla61%

amber100%

woody92%

warm spicy84%

green77%

aromatic69%

powdery61%

Scent match19%Clearly different · both warm spicy

Note pyramid (duration)

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

Top15-30 mins

Bergamot

Heart2-4 hrs

CarnationIrisIncense

Base6-8+ hrs

TobaccoLeatherVanillaOakmossPatchouli

Top

GalbanumCarnationArtemisiaFig LeafBlack currant leafBergamotNutmegSaffron

Heart

Ylang-YlangNarcissusJasmineIrisTobaccoChampacaVioletNeroli

Base

IncenseTolu BalsamCivetCastoreumAmbergrisCedarVetiverBenzoin

InformationalShared notesBergamot, Carnation, Iris and Incense. Durations are only published for Memory Motel, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring57

Summer0

Fall0

Winter100

Day42

Night100

Spring100

Summer33

Fall100

Winter100

Day100

Night50

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men30

Unisex61

Women9

Date 34%Casual 28%Party 21%Work 16%

Not enough votes yet

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#6,667

PerfumerAnnick Menardo

Launched—

Reviews64

Overall rank#61,472

PerfumerNikolay Eremin

Launched—

Reviews1

Category winnerMemory MotelHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

Une Nuit Nomade Memory Motel captures the atmospheric grit and bohemian charm of Montauk in the late 1970s. It is not your typical sugary pipe tobacco scent. Instead, master perfumer Annick Menardo builds a dry, melancholy warmth around unlit cigarette tobacco, bitter bergamot, and a powdery iris heart. Carnation inje…

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.

Common questions

Straight answers from the data above.

Which is better, Memory Motel or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness takes 2 of 3 categories. Memory Motel is rated 3.96/5 from 596 votes; Shades of Darkness is rated 3.00/5 from 7 votes. Choose Memory Motel for a tobacco and warm spicy character. Wins on fragranxe ranking. Best in winter, evening wear. Choose Shades of Darkness for a amber and woody character. Wins on longevity and sillage & projection. Best in spring, daytime wear.

Which lasts longer, Memory Motel or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness lasts longest (Shades of Darkness 87/100, Memory Motel 68/100), based on community performance votes.

Which projects more, Memory Motel or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness projects furthest (Shades of Darkness 72/100, Memory Motel 56/100), based on community performance votes.

Do Memory Motel and Shades of Darkness smell similar?

Clearly different: a 19% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share warm spicy accords. Common notes include Bergamot, Carnation, Iris and Incense.

Is Memory Motel or Shades of Darkness better for summer or winter?

Memory Motel suits evening wear; Shades of Darkness suits daytime wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Memory Motel and Shades of Darkness?

Memory Motel has top notes of Bergamot, heart notes of Carnation, Iris and Incense, a base of Tobacco, Leather, Vanilla and Oakmoss. 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.