The Trained Nose

Shalimar Indian Nights by Maison Gripoix against Elixir Charnel Oriental Brulant

One number per era rather than one number overall — two fragrances can be near-identical at the opening and different things by the evening, and an average hides exactly that.

How close, and when

Across a whole wearing, Guerlain Shalimar Indian Nights by Maison Gripoix and Guerlain Elixir Charnel Oriental Brulant are related, not interchangeable. They are nearest during the drydown and furthest apart in the heart, which is the part a single figure would average away.

61% opening · 0–1 h
54% heart · 1–3 h
78% drydown · 3–8 h
Measured across all twenty-four facets, from the notes below — not from the families on the boxes. They share 2 of 10 materials, which is worth holding beside the figures: a pair can share almost nothing and still converge, because different materials can smell of the same things.

What AKIN predicts

AKIN predicts these two are alike, and the evidence behind that is substantial.

Two signals sit on this page and are never averaged: what the note pyramids measure these two to share, and what AKIN’s resemblance graph predicts. Where they part, that is the finding rather than a fault.

The pyramids, side by side

Compared by material rather than by spelling, so a note recorded two ways is not counted as a difference.
top
Shalimar Indian Nights by Maison Gripoix only — Bergamot
Elixir Charnel Oriental Brulant only — Tangerine
heart
Shalimar Indian Nights by Maison Gripoix only — Iris, Jasmine, Rose
Elixir Charnel Oriental Brulant only — Almond
base
both — Tonka Bean, Vanilla
Shalimar Indian Nights by Maison Gripoix only — Opoponax
Elixir Charnel Oriental Brulant only — Styrax