I recently blind bought a bottle of Les ombres fantastiques, and I can confidently say that it may be one of my best blind buys ever. This is a very underrated fragrance, and I'm more than pleased to have it in my collection. This fragrances opens up with a very soapy, powdery floral note that's interlaced with a bit of citrus and cardamom. The opening sort of smells like baby soap at first, it's very delicate and clean, and by no means overpowering. As it dries it gets a bit more depth, retaining it's powdery facets and sweetness and exchanging the soapiness for a really great earthy, vetiver. Although the dry down isn't soapy like the opening, I think it still smells very clean and fresh, like opening a window up on a warm summer morning. There is also a bit of a woody/zingy note in the dry down that adds some warmth. Another point to make is that this fragrance makes excellent use of iris. It's a present note here, but doesn't have that cloying, makeup-like feeling that iris can have.
I'm always a bit confused as to why d'Orsay doesn't get more attention than they do. Their fragrances are very light and easy on the nose, while still having enough depth and variation to keep things interesting. I certainly hope they will see a bit more popularity in the future because they certainly deserve it, especially when looking at this particular fragrance. d'Orsay in general has become a favorite house of mine recently, due most in part to this fragrance being tres fantastique!
