The Trained Nose

Arome Arthes against Arome Absolu

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.
Jeanne Arthes

Arome Arthes

· lasts about 5.5 h
Jeanne Arthes

Arome Absolu

· lasts about 6.1 h

How close, and when

Across a whole wearing, Jeanne Arthes Arome Arthes and Jeanne Arthes Arome Absolu are all but the same thing. They are nearest during the opening and furthest apart in the drydown, which is the part a single figure would average away.

98% opening · 0–1 h
97% heart · 1–3 h
90% drydown · 3–8 h
Measured across all twenty-four facets, from the notes below — not from the families on the boxes. They share 13 of 21 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
both — Mandarin Orange, Peach, Plum
Arome Arthes only — Amalfi Lemon
Arome Absolu only — Blackberry
heart
both — Cinnamon, Coriander, Ginger, Jasmine, Lily of the Valley, Rose, Tuberose, Violet
Arome Arthes only — Arum Lily, Blackberry
base
both — Amber, Sandalwood
Arome Arthes only — Vanille, Virginia Cedar
Arome Absolu only — Cedar, Vanilla