Dégagé

The citrus is initially bold, distinctly bitter and vegetal. The bitterness is complemented by the dry, incense-y notes of sandalwood and slight resin-y turpentine of balsam. As it dries, it sweetens with orris root, tonka bean, and what truly smells like dusting powder. An orange potpourri perfuming a 19th century Parisian ballet backstage, wood floors infused with decades of tobacco smoke, dancers drying sweat with dusting powder. It is definitely aged. I think of Degas.

I am basically a total beginner at trying out fragrances, and started with the sampler set from La Curie -- I realize this was a bold and offbeat choice on my part. This fragrance did not at all smell how I pictured. It opens boldly, as noted by the other reviewer, but for me it dried down within minutes into a classic vintage/old-timey powdery scent, and I couldn't pick out orange or any interesting "twist" to the powderiness. After a few hours, it became one of those smells where someone would hug you and think "wow, this person smells nice," but in a neutral, ambient sort of way. I'm guessing that's the iris, powder, and sandalwood. I like that, but I think there's more straightforward fragrances to achieve the same thing, and I'm underwhelmed at how the scent played out compared to the opening.