Le Pot Aux Roses Stephanie de Saint-Aignan for women and men

At first it smells vaguely like rose, as it should, but the rose is accompanied by some very strong musks. These notes are rapidly joined by a whole ensemble of powdery iris-violet ionones to produce a scent that’s a dead ringer for an old-fashioned face powder compact that's been heavily used and gotten kind of oily in the process.

As the drydown progresses, the violet note becomes a bit sour, but not too bad because it’s partly masked by the musk. This is basically a linear scent with moderate to strong sillage and quite long lasting, over 8 hours on skin. Despite the name, this is a violet- and-powder fragrance, not a rose one. If, like me, you’re not fond of the smell of face-powder compacts, then stay away from it. On the other hand, if you love the smell of retro cosmetics, this is a must-try.

After first putting this on and getting a good whiff, I picked up the sample bottle and tried to see where the talcum powder was. Nope, still liquid. Wow, is this ever powdery! That's the most striking note, so if that's not your thing, this is not for you. I get all of the notes listed, in an excellent balance with one another. there's really just a hint of green. It has rose in the name, but it's not really a rose perfume to my nose - the rose and violet are of equal strength, with a touch of iris peeking through. Very light and dry, with a hint of natural floral sweetness and a light, white musk at the base. It's very girly-feminine (or "old fashioned," depends on the generation...)and pretty, makes me feel powder fresh when I wear it. It's kind of a nod to early twentieth century violet fragrances, which I happened to like.

Later note: I would like to add that it smells very much like a fresh face powder compact.