The Trained Nose

Black Orchid against Black Orchid Eau de Toilette

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.
Tom Ford

Black Orchid

Amber Floral · lasts about 7.4 h

How close, and when

Across a whole wearing, Tom Ford Black Orchid and Tom Ford Black Orchid Eau de Toilette are all but the same thing. They are nearest during the heart and furthest apart in the drydown, which is the part a single figure would average away.

93% opening · 0–1 h
94% heart · 1–3 h
85% drydown · 3–8 h
Measured across all twenty-four facets, from the notes below — not from the families on the boxes. They share 8 of 25 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 — Bergamot, Blackcurrant, Truffle, Ylang-Ylang
Black Orchid only — Amalfi Lemon, Gardenia, Jasmine, Mandarin Orange
heart
Black Orchid only — Gardenia, Jasmine, Lotus, Orchid, Ylang-Ylang
Black Orchid Eau de Toilette only — Black Orchid, Tuberose
base
both — Incense, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver
Black Orchid only — Amber, Mexican Chocolate, Vanille, White Musk
Black Orchid Eau de Toilette only — Lotus, Vanilla

Other comparisons worth reading

Pairs involving one of these two where the notes are fully recorded on both sides and AKIN has enough evidence for the pair to be worth reading.