The Trained Nose

Apogée against Grand Bal (2018)

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.
Louis Vuitton

Apogée

· lasts about 6.8 h

How close, and when

Across a whole wearing, Louis Vuitton Apogée and Dior Grand Bal (2018) are all but the same thing. They are nearest during the heart and furthest apart in the opening, which is the part a single figure would average away.

86% opening · 0–1 h
94% heart · 1–3 h
93% drydown · 3–8 h
Measured across all twenty-four facets, from the notes below — not from the families on the boxes. They share 3 of 14 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
Apogée only — Orange, Tangerine
Grand Bal (2018) only — Bergamot, Orange Blossom
heart
both — Jasmine
Apogée only — Lily of the Valley, Magnolia, Rose
Grand Bal (2018) only — Hedione, Peach, Ylang-Ylang
base
both — Sandalwood, White Musk
Apogée only — Guaiac Wood