Fragrance comparison

Mystery Tobacco vs Shades of Darkness

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

Updated 11 Oct 2026 620 ratings analysed

Mystery Tobacco

Carolina Herrera

4.40613 votes

Rank #1,200 WoodyTobacco

Full profile Similar & dupes

33%scent match

Clearly different

2 wins

Shades of Darkness

Nimere Parfums

3.007 votes

Rank #59,161 AmberWoody

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Shades of Darkness takes 2 of 3 categories.

Mystery Tobacco
Choose it for a woody and tobacco 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.

Mystery Tobacco1/3

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: Mystery Tobacco

Head-to-head breakdown

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

Fragrance

Mystery TobaccoCarolina Herrera

Shades of DarknessNimere Parfums

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

4.40/ 5 · 613 votes

Have 77%Had 23%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

62%Love

24%Like

7%Ok

5%Dislike

2%Hate

613 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

⏱ Longevity75

〰 Sillage67

♥ Love / hate85

⏱ Longevity87

〰 Sillage72

♥ Love / hate50

Category winners

LongevityShades of Darkness

SillageShades of Darkness

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value32

¤ Price valueN/A

Category winnerNot enough dataBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

woody100%

tobacco92%

patchouli84%

sweet77%

aromatic69%

warm spicy61%

amber100%

woody92%

warm spicy84%

green77%

aromatic69%

powdery61%

Scent match33%Clearly different · both woody, warm spicy and aromatic

Note pyramid (duration)

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

Top15-30 mins

OsmanthusGingerCitrusesArtemisia

Heart2-4 hrs

TobaccoPatchouliGuaiac WoodVetiver

Base8-12 hrs

Tonka Bean

Top

GalbanumCarnationArtemisiaFig LeafBlack currant leafBergamotNutmegSaffron

Heart

Ylang-YlangNarcissusJasmineIrisTobaccoChampacaVioletNeroli

Base

IncenseTolu BalsamCivetCastoreumAmbergrisCedarVetiverBenzoin

InformationalShared notesArtemisia, Tobacco and Vetiver. Durations are only published for Mystery Tobacco, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring26

Summer12

Fall0

Winter100

Day27

Night100

Spring100

Summer33

Fall100

Winter100

Day100

Night50

Category winnerNot enough dataMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men67

Unisex27

Women6

Date 43%Party 30%Casual 15%Work 13%

Not enough votes yet

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#1,200

PerfumerQuentin Bisch

Launched—

Reviews113

Overall rank#59,161

PerfumerNikolay Eremin

Launched—

Reviews1

Category winnerMystery TobaccoHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

Carolina Herrera Mystery Tobacco delivers a dense, warming cloud of blonde pipe tobacco, earthy patchouli, and sweet tonka bean right from the first spray. Osmanthus flower adds a subtle apricot fruitiness to the top, cutting through a bright burst of ginger and citrus. Do not overspray it. It feels thick, plush, and …

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, Mystery Tobacco or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness takes 2 of 3 categories. Mystery Tobacco is rated 4.40/5 from 613 votes; Shades of Darkness is rated 3.00/5 from 7 votes. Choose Mystery Tobacco for a woody and tobacco 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, Mystery Tobacco or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness lasts longest (Shades of Darkness 87/100, Mystery Tobacco 75/100), based on community performance votes.

Which projects more, Mystery Tobacco or Shades of Darkness?

Shades of Darkness projects furthest (Shades of Darkness 72/100, Mystery Tobacco 67/100), based on community performance votes.

Do Mystery Tobacco and Shades of Darkness smell similar?

Clearly different: a 33% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share woody, warm spicy and aromatic accords. Common notes include Artemisia, Tobacco and Vetiver.

Is Mystery Tobacco or Shades of Darkness better for summer or winter?

Mystery Tobacco suits evening wear; Shades of Darkness suits daytime wear. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Mystery Tobacco and Shades of Darkness?

Mystery Tobacco has top notes of Osmanthus, Ginger, Citruses and Artemisia, heart notes of Tobacco, Patchouli, Guaiac Wood and Vetiver, a base of Tonka Bean. 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.