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evggle2009 – :
One of my favourites of all time. I would give up a lot of perfumes to own this in Parfum! Beautiful, sparkling and dreamy. It’s so special I wear it just for myself – truly a unique and haunting scent amongst so many attention-seeking, sweet scents. I will always have a bottle of the EDT, even if longevity is fleeting!
LevinVE – :
Is there anything on this planet more beautiful, more ethereal, less from this world than this beautiful concoction? I doubt it.
This fragrance doesn’t speak, it whispers…it’s a murmur from a garden, sparkling fresh after a downpour. I can’t even tell you if I’ve already reviewed this, I wore it again today after a few months’ absence, and felt compelled to comment on it. If you’re a Guerlainophile, AL’O is a dream, a collaboration of L’Heure Bleu and Insolence, violets taking centre stage.
Pity those who can’t and never will appreciate it.
exviti – :
So, I’ve smelled this or something similar in my childhood and it’s not giving me a super pleasant scent memory. The scent is soft and doesn’t smell bad per se. It smells like a vintage bathroom. Like the guest bath at one of my grandmothers homes in the late 80’s or early 90’s (before everyone got on the Bath & Body Works bandwagon) – I’m in my early 30’s.
I find it really annoying that I just can’t seem to like any of the vintage Guerlains…yeah, I only like the modern perfumes from this house and even then I don’t really like them very much.
Blade5551989 – :
Oh, my god. This is a BEAUTIFUL fragrance! There is a lot going on when it’s first sprayed on — all good — but then when it dries down… it’s just amazing. It’s like when you stick your nose into an iris — that scent — but without the overpowering sweetness. It is a sweet scent, but not girly sweet. And not gourmand at all (not at all like candy). It’s more like the feeling you get when you look at a Monet painting of water lilies — if that were a smell. It’s very light. My plan is to wear Apres l’Ondee in the daytime (refreshed at least once) followed by l’Heure Bleue starting at the blue hour. Life is good!
EDIT: I contacted Guerlain to ask them to never retire Apres l’Ondee and received the most elegant email response I’ve ever read! Allow me to quote a part… “For a perfumer, it is always a pleasure to arouse emotions to people wearing its creations. Indeed, Guerlain has a little supplement of soul that makes the difference which you have been sensitive to.” signed Isabelle ROUSSEAU.
As we all are on fragantica.
pochipok – :
When I turned five, I was given an Avon violet fragrance in cream form, and fell instantly in love with violets. The lid was lilac in colour, a bunch of violets was painted on the top, and the tiny fluted glass bottle was the size of my child’s hand.
I now own several violet centric fragrances, but none have given me that feeling of wonder which I felt as a tiny child, until I found Après L’Ondee. Perhaps it is the romanticism of having such a rare and renowned fragrance. Perhaps it’s the pretty bee bottle. I think though that I am awed by the simple loveliness of Apres L’Ondee. It was worth waiting for.
Fortunately, given the price, it lasts over 8 hours for me, and well into the following morning. Silage is great. I don’t have the best sniffer either.
Highly recommend if you love violets with a dash of powdery iris.
councesom – :
Apres L’Ondee was the scent that was an instant love, as soon as I tried it on my skin (in 2012, I believe). I never really got around to buying it because I could never actually afford it. Now, skip forward to 2018 and a lovely friend proposed that we make a trade for my L’Heure Bleue for her 100mL bottle of the Eau de Toilette (2014 bottle, from the best I can tell).
The first sniff from the cap – Wow! This is every bit as lovely as I remembered! Perhaps a bit green, even?
The first impressions on my skin – This is almost exactly as I remember. I’m even picking up on things that I never noticed.
What I didn’t notice all those years ago, when my perfume journey was just beginning, was the beautiful sweet tanginess of the anise. As an anise lover, especially if we’re talking anise rings, this just made me fall harder and deeper in love. The greenness that I picked up was a bit like violet leaf, lightly herbaeceous and frolicky. The violets themselves were fairly bold, but still light. The heliotrope reminded me of why I love the note in perfume – took me back to my almost empty vintage bottle of Anais Anais. A friend of mine commented on the scent, stating that it was the ‘scent of angels’. I must admit, now that this has been said, all I can think of is the paintings of cherubs and their beautiful, happy faces. After all, that is exactly what this scent is – happy, joyous and beautiful. Nothing could ever make me dislike this scent. It is my favourite of all time. I may have to nurse this, I just couldn’t bear using the last drops!
I must attempt to try the vintage and the parfum, but I’m also scared to. I adore the lightness of this, and don’t want to risk turning a turned version of this, lest it turn me off it.
jannis – :
This is a hard one to review – it’s such a classic that everything has been said a hundred times over, and on top of that in the 100+ years this has existed there must have been so many versions that reviewing any one of them seems kind of futile. Still, I’ll share my own personal impression of Après l’Ondée.
And of course that impression is a very good one, at least as far as the scent itself goes. I can only agree with hundreds of others: this is indeed a wonderful, timeless fragrance. I love violet as a perfume note, and it’s done to perfection here: powdery and not too sweet, very elegant. I can’t pick out any of the other notes, which isn’t a bad thing at all – they’re just a well-blended, clasically “perfume-like” bed for the violet to bloom in. Just beautiful!
The only problem, as others have mentioned plenty of times as well, is the lack of strength. On one hand the lightness and softness are part of the beauty, but on the other hand I’d sure like it if I could enjoy wearing this without resorting to sniffing my wrist for more than half an hour. I would love to wear this to work, for instance, but I need something that will bring me some joy for at least the first half of the workday, and in that regard this one just won’t cut it, even when I double my usual amount of sprays.
I guess I’ll have to try L’Heure Bleue, which some others have called a more modern, more potent version of Après l’Ondée. I hope that’s true – and in the mean time, I’ll very much enjoy using up my decant of this one when I’m at home and free to reapply when the need arises.
blackgoblin – :
For years I have been trying to experience this fragrance.
I always conjured up what this could be like. Violets and Iris was always push forward in description of this. So I always though this was utterly floral like maybe Bagatelle or Champ Elysee. I was hoping it wouldn’t be like Insolence or Idylle. However, also in the description was mention Anise. Which made me think this could be more like Sahlimar or L’Huere Bleue.
Never the one to like overly floral fragrance(though Bearded Irises are my favorite flower), I was surprise at Tom Ford Violet Blonde for being Floral and Sweet at the same time and I assume this is what Apres L’Ondee was like.
The reason I like Tom Ford Violet Blonde was because it remind me of another Guerlain fragrance – Iris Ganache.
Which upon finally sniffing Apres L’Ondee that exactly what I was smelling –Iris Ganache. ( this is not identical to L’Huere Bleue as it is to Iris Ganache)
Apres L’Ondee did not disappoint. It is the sweet and floral combo I expected, more so sweet than floral.For some reason I think it resonate vanilla laced almonds to my nose.—actually macaroons –this make me think of macaroons. I now can’t get the scent out of my nose. I simply seem to smell it in all of Guerlain Gourmand/ oriental fragrance.
It has a modernity to it even though it was release in 1906. Maybe I say that because of twin like relation with Iris Ganache.
Now that I discover this, I have a new desire for next year big fragrance purchase –it actually less expensive than Iris Gananche( please keep it that way, Guerlain ).
I feel like Apres L’Ondee could be my new favorite, like Shalimar, I certainly have given it the same amount of time and obsession, and now knowable desire.
wolf010485 – :
This is what Miss Marple smells like ‘on special occasions’. Also, possibly, Hercule Poirot. With M.Poirot, it is impossible to say, n’est ce pas?
orb922bedyWelty – :
This is a difficult one to describe. Sometimes powdery, then sweet, followed by spicy herbal notes. Not going to lie, occasionally this will remind me of cheap bathroom spray. Other times it’s a field of violets and irises in the morning dew. Never the same, always complex. Sillage is soft and only lasts a few hours on my skin.
gudza5833 – :
Espectacular eau de toilette, extremely romantic and evocative. I had read so many reviews and commentaries over this classic before I tried it that I expected a humid violet very powdery and aniseed aroma. But to my surprise far to find a blue and gloomy cologne, the outstanding on me carnation note, makes this purple composition become warmer and more optimistic than I expected and somehow out of the blue connected to some of my most loved classics as Vol de Nuit and En Avion. A delightful beauty.
EmilMailliard – :
While I can appreciate this scent, It’s not for me. There’s an underlying note that I can’t quite put my finger on, but it smells identical to diaper rash cream. Thankfully, the whole experience was over within 20 mins.
aposs13 – :
I wear L’Heure Bleue when I want to rest and eventually sleep, but Apres L’Ondee is what I wear to dream. There is something otherworldly about it. Sweet, powdery violet, laced with narcotics. I feel like Dorothy falling in to a slumber in the poppy fields of Oz when I wear this beautiful fragrance. An absolute masterpiece.
SeM – :
Wistful watercolour violets with a powdery veil of heliotrope and iris, this is the ghost of love lost sweetened by gentle mimosa and then tempered by the true vanilla dab in the base (which Guerlain fragrances do so well) along with bergamot and other citruses to lift and carry it all lightly. Those violets though….
hjv113Negeltzex – :
Ethereal, like a pastel-colored Impressionist painting or a soft watercolor landscape. A bit melancholy, and as delicate as gossamer lace. There are no harsh edges in this fragrance, just the experience of floating, the aura of a purple flower petals drifting in a birdbath just after the rainfall.
Moderate longevity, and a sillage that whispers. Apres l’Ondee is meant to be enjoyed only by its wearer and maybe by the one who gently kisses your neck before you drift off to sleep. It’s like aromatherapy to me. Like soft moonlight, lovers holding hands, and crushed petals with dewdrops bottled.
It is so delicate, so beautiful, that I rarely wear it. It’s like a treat for me, and something so precious that I can only experience it once in a blue moon in order to preserve its divinity. I only wear it when I truly need it, but when I need it, it is beyond a desideratum.
The most beautiful thing I have ever smelled.
ruellia – :
I should have baught it years ago.
Yes, it is very close to l’Heure Bleue and it does not have HB sillage or longevity, not even close. But Après l’Ondée did came first. And it’s probably the most delicate and poetic perfume I will ever put my nose on. Hautingly beautiful.
I have impression that it comes and goes in perpetual mouvement until it fades away and I realy do miss it when I’m not wearing it.
Andrei-g111 – :
A solid, multi-layered powdery scent. I’ve got sweet creamy violet, lower-pitch orris, an oily/muddy/spicy heliotrope, and some subtle mimosa tone.
All of which is accompanied by high-pitched, chilly medicinal disinfectant notes, close to galbanum but not quite so. Styrax maybe? I honestly wonder why they put it there.
Since I don’t know any french, I don’t get the rain/water/moisture suggested by the name. It’s fairly dry to me. If I stretch a bit, perhaps that medicinal note is mean to represent the soil after rain?
Bymmexdaype – :
Apres l´Ondee is an affectionate killer. Using this perfume is like trying to intoxicate yourself with a sip of narcotic violet potion. It´s definitely not a fresh floral scent, I consider it to be a deep, magical and concentrated violet essence, with a hint of iris and heliotrope “feeling”. If I wanted to feel like Queen Mab one day, I would surely choose this one, I´m sure I would enjoy this majestic aura.
vovan1982 – :
#115
Apres L’Ondee starts out, on me, bright and sweet – very floral. Powdery, I love it.
Then, it quickly moves on to a very strange smokey and woody tone. So, so unusual.
scott – :
This is my second review on this. This one I like a lot sometimes and sometimes I regret buying it .I get icy mint from it. It must be violet and heliotrope together making that. It is very light and summery and the drydown is dry. It does not remind me of l’heure bleue at all. Not in smell and not in texture and feeling. That one is much denser and sweeter. This one to me has some resemblance to insolence eau glacee, a little to impossible iris and a bit to creed fleurissimo. Today I am liking it. It is rainy and grey outside. And AO is bright, happy and awake. It makes my throat a bit harsh tho sadly.
Deaths_head – :
A soft flowery (purple flowers- yes this smells purple) powdery light airy dream. Beautiful.
I have the recent EDT, which is rather weak. And the perfume as a whole reminds me of Insolence mixed with LHBleue and then watered down.
I put this ALL over myself heavy in the morning, and I can still smell it lightly. It does smell wet… like beautiful flowers after the rain. 😉 <3 Perfect. I’d love something stronger, but an extrait of Vol de Nuit just killed my finances. 😉
Severina8710 – :
I have read all the gushing reviews and now I wonder if I’m smelling this after a stroke? Should I call 911? “help, I can’t smell this perfume correctly!” I must be ill. I dont get “rain drops falling from trees” or an “spring morning mist covering wild violets.” I get the bottom of a purse or the sleeve of a leather jacket. At least its a nice leather smell. But I’m so mad I can’t join the Guerlain party, because all of the descriptions sound amazing. I wish I could smell this straight from the bottle, maybe I would have a different experience. I took a risk and got a decant off ebay. Sad this doesn’t work for me.
fgh071JeomiWogkig – :
So many people use the word “pretty” to describe this fragrance, and it fits it so well.
This is very soft, full of whispering, delicate spring flowers with a backbone of softly liquorice sweet anise.
Those violets, though! They are so soft, powdery and pretty. Wearing Apres L’ondee is like wearing those delicate little violets in your hair. It’s so innocently romantic. I might be gushing at this point, but I find this fragrance so completely delightful. It’s so well composed to me; there isn’t a note that I don’t enjoy.
It doesn’t have the longevity of other Guerlains I’ve tried, but it’s such a pleasure for me to spray this throughout the day and experience its sweetly soft opening.
pfm758speagoessenda – :
I agree completely with fishwife down below. I’m not a fan of powdery perfumes but this is so enchanting. It’s a perfume fit for any age – one part of it reminds me of a lady, very well put-together and classy yet melancholy, but sometimes it reminds me of a young girl, innocent and happy.
Almost every note is possible to pick out, even down to the citrus-y ones. I feel so pretty in this.
alehno – :
This is such a “pretty” perfume…so soft, light and classic…I’m not a huge fan of powdery scents per se, but Apres is so different than most floral perfumes…I think it’s the lightness…this thing almost floats on the skin…love it…
ser9701969622 – :
It opens beautifully, a warm violet scent not to powdery but it gets very powdery in a matter of minutes and fades out really quick.
Titan555 – :
Thank you Michylaka so very much for sending me some of this. I love it! So elegant and well composed. The flowers are powdery and clean. They’re so soft and bright.
This feels cold to me. Powdery and wet at the same time. Reminds me of a really chilly, rainy day in the beginning of spring. You accidentally left the bedroom window open because it was nice out just an hour before!
The cosmetic powder on your vanity mixed with cold, wet spring air. Freshly bloomed purple florals. Bitter, crisp green stems and makeup compact..
серёня555 – :
I consider Apres l’Ondee to be a masterpiece. She is light, beautiful and remarkable. My Swiss grandmother wore this from the 1920’s forward. She was every bit as classy and feminine as her scent of choice. I used to love nestling up to Oma Kauffman while she read to me and smelling this delightful scent. I think of her every time I smell this iconic juice and rightfully so. Class acts belong together after all!
At first spritz there is a burst of Anise and Citrus mixed with the dreamy Violet, Iris and Heliotrope. The Anise abates and then the Mimosa becomes evident as well giving her some added vibrance. There is slight Woodiness to her bouquet as well but it is very slight. She has wondrous Vanilla too. Ahhh…Guerlain…the Vanilla of legends comes from you! It is here but as a compliment not the star. So lovely.
She is similar to Guerlain’s L’Heure Bleue. I agree with some that she is like the EDT of it. BUT…the Violet is the star here while the Iris is the star of L’Heure Bleue. That is the main difference. I love them both but I feel this lovely lady has a place/shrine all her own in Fragrance history.
Her sillage is enormous at first then it becomes moderate for the duration which is not very long. She lasts about four hours on me. I don’t mind though. I love refreshing myself with her. She is a luxury to be enjoyed no doubt.
She is the Impressionist of fragrance with her powdery, slightly creamy Violet weaving a soft aura of intrigue. In my mind I can see raindrops falling from trees making dripping noises on the colorful, pretty flowers beneath releasing their botanical yet ethereal scents. I think I need to go paint now. I give her a 10++++
sergey_mol – :
little minty in top note then all about the violet; powdery and soft skin scent, too light and not long lasting
Isabella_fromAF – :
I adore this fragrance and it transports me to early Springtime. Soft powdery floral violet, iris, heliotrope. Vintage perfume is the only way to experience it properly. I do wish that the modern version could be revised to be closer to the original. The modern version only has a bare shadow of the original. The modern version does give up more of a glimpse of it’s original beauty when spritzed onto warm bath water.
waginer – :
Such an emotional scent… I spray and feel the sadness rising on my face. Delicate and purple anis in chrystal cold glass. Graciously it turns to melancholia. This is its introduction. Après L’Ondée, it settles to a comforting powdery cloud and gives you peace.
Leaves me sad that it stays only for some sighs. If not this scent would be my remedy.
елайджа – :
Imagine an early spring morning mist covering wild violets in dew at the edge of a deep green forest and you deeply inhale the pure, dewy softness that lingers in the air. I close my eyes, inhale Apres l’Ondee and I’m transported to this place of tranquility.
lidinh – :
If the dew in heaven’s gardens could be bottled up, this would be it.
MelOVik – :
Simply stunning scent, name and bottle!
Denis3410 – :
continuo a chiedermi come doveva essere alla sua origine, nel 1906, questa sinfonia floreale, dato che molto nel suo bouquet è cambiato da allora. cosa rimane: un concetto, un’idea di classico che, come suggerisce calvino, in quanto tale ha ancora molto da dirci. il suo nome innanzitutto: dopo la pioggia; un nome biblico, mi vien da pensare. e a tutta la natura umida, bagnata, gocciolante rimanda questo profumo, fatta di foglie e di fiori quali violetta, iris, mimosa, eliotropio, ma anche rosa, ylang ylang etc. ma questo è un accordo soprattutto viola, da purple rain sì, in cui la violetta rimane preponderante e si assesta polverosa su un fondo di sottobosco paludoso. progenitore di profumi verdi e acquatici, vira, nel tempo, su sentori di cuoio e vaniglia. nulla di più bello, si potrebbe dire. eppure a me apres l’ondee, per quanto complesso, variegato, intramontabile, mi mette una tristezza infinita. per questo forse lo associo a quel che segue ad un diluvio devastante. non è una natura che si sveglia, ma piuttosto la natura sopraffatta, un solo attimo prima di rimettersi in attività. nessun’altra fragranza fin qui annusata mi fa questo effetto: bellezza e tristezza, quasi angoscia.
venom1234 – :
Apres L’Ondee (After The Rain)
This fragrance is a prototype for L’Heure Bleu. There’s no getting around the fact that this perfume is very similar to L’Heure and contain so many of the same notes and scents: iris heliotrope violet, powder, rose, amber, sandalwood, vanilla. This is as powdery and “blue-purple” as L’Heure and has the same mood. It’s the scent of twilight in a garden of violets, heliotropes and iris flowers. In this fragrance’s defense, however, it’s more romantic and aquatic, fresh, like a really well made full bodied toilet water or skin freshner. It’s an evening eau de toilette to wear when you don’t want to make a statement and just smell good and like flowers with a lighter texture for a romantic dinner.
The opening is anise seed which replaces aldehydes because in 1906, there were no aldehydes. It’s fresh but also spicy and there is enough citruses including lemon and bergamot to keep it old timey fresh and perfumy. The floral notes are lovely. Love that rose, heliotrope and iris/violet combination. The florals are sweet and powdery because it has orris. It reminds me of boudoir scents, delicate, soft and easy to wear with nightgowns to bed.
A dry down of vanilla, benzoin and amber. It’s a bit creamy and powdery, long lasting and there’s also vetiver keeping it glossy and a bit herbal. This is so beautiful. I have enjoyed this fragrance as a boudoir scent and toilet water for years. I began to wear it after I came back from my 1st honeymoon in 1955. This scent has everything you loved about L’Heure although it’s quite pricy. If I had to choose between L’Heure and Apres L’Ondee I would go with L’Heure but this is not a bad alternative.
vv.vitos – :
I have had some EDT for a while and after an initial weird sharp note when I first spritz it on (maybe the anise or the carnation, I am not sure, but it smells slightly fishy to me like cod liver oil), it settles down into a mellow floral haze with anise spice and carnation peeking through and then, poof, gone, as others mentioned. Apres L’Ondee does seem to clearly foreshadow the wondrous creature that is L’heure Bleue. Thank goodness the modern LHB has better longevity than the modern ALO.
Today I finally got to try some actual vintage 1970-1980s Apres L’Ondee extrait. So much better, no momentary fishy thing, just flowers and spice. It smells much clearer, more defined, and leads me to believe the original 1908 stuff was probably even more wonderful. Too bad IFRA regs have made the old formula and extrait version obsolete. The creative artistry of the Guerlains really shines through in their vintage products.
Note: The extrait is much longer lasting than the EDT but if you decant EDT into a clean storage bottle snd then apply it, it is much stronger and longer lasting. I spritzed my EDT into a 5 ml bottle so I could carry it with me and found I got a more long-lasting blast of fragrance by splashing it on my wrist. I recommend this subtly beautiful perfume for meetings where you want to smell nice but not overwhelming.
qwert71 – :
Oh, I finally feel all grown up, my first classic Guerlain love! Just exquisite, it actually sends shivers down my spine. I’ve always loved violet scents, and this is just the truest and freshest presentation of the flower I’ve found.
Longevity is unfortunately pretty poor though. But even so, I NEED this!
tsi876speagoessenda – :
“A springtime garden after a downpour, the sunlight warming the rain droplets on the flowers and leaves”. Yes! That is exactly how this smells to me!
I kind of wish I hadn’t known the name or story behind this perfume before smelling it for the first time. I’d be interested to see if my perception correlated so closely, or if I have just subconsciously bought into the sales speak. A bit like going to see a film before reading the book.
Whatever, this perfume is heavenly. Light and fresh like a dewdrop on a flower, with just an – inspired – hint of anise to give it a glorious crispness.
No, it doesn’t last very long, but I think it would be impossible to have a scent this sheer and refreshing that would last more than a couple of hours on skin. That’s just the way the molecules work!
A serious contender for the answer to ‘if you could only ever wear one perfume again which one would it be’.
Transcendentally beautiful.
ejvsrzulbu – :
UPDATE:
I am uncertain as to why this projected SO badly on my skin just a couple of months ago. It had to be stress or the like, because I haven’t changed my diet, meds or anything like that. I gave it one last try before officially putting it in the “for sale” box. Boy! Am I glad I did. NOW I get what all the lovers of this are getting at. It is a beeeeautiful powdery iris….which I am digging a LOT lately.
This was my previous post. Mucho different, huh??
******************************
I am unsure what in particular my skin HATES about this fragrance. After reading all the reviews, I was so hoping for this ethereal, rain soaked garden of violet and iris. What my horrid skin projects is a composte heap of years of dead and wet and, well, decomposing violets and iris…violets projecting more. And, with my luck, it isn’t fleeting. It couldn’t be scrubbed off. It lasted for hours….never changing. Could it be the heliotrope?
SnoneeTut – :
I’m a guy and I just love this in spring. The softest violet with irises blooming over cold, damp earth. The austere anise adds a sense of drama and nostalgia. Old but not dated. It remains one of the best feminine guerlain for men.
zmey6285 – :
Except for a couple of attempts with Shalimar, I am a Guerlain virgin. I ordered a Guerlain sampler set and tonight, I randomly chose Apres L’ondee to try for the first time.
The very first thing that came to mind was “candy.” The next was “purple,” and then “wet.” After trying and failing to pull up in my mind what type of candy I was imagining, I finally peeked at the notes and I realized I’m smelling the anise – a licorice note.
What an interesting scent this is…there’s the anise/sweetness, the soft purple violets, and a sharp sense of wetness. I thought it was going to be a somewhat sad, nostalgic scent, but I find it uplifting and sunny…like well-dressed ladies coming outside to gossip in the garden after being kept inside during a long rain.
Now, with the anise fading, it’s really beautifully soft and comforting. I liked it upon initially trying it, and now I’m starting to fall in love with it. Soft, sweet and lovely!
breelryenep – :
A pretty floral is normally not my kind of thing, but with the anisic cool, this works. It is beautiful but sadly fleeting. However, I’m not sure how much this would work if it were heavier or longer lasting – its appeal is that it feels transparent.
If you do want a spicier, sweeter version of this, you could try Lolita Lempicka – a different vibe altogether, though!
timos – :
In the first moments that I smelled Après l’Ondée for the very first time, two words immediately jumped to mind: delicate and serene. I envisioned feeling the silky, sheer, purple iris petals between my fingertips, taking deep breaths of clean air, my shoulders enrobed in warm sunshine.
Here’s what I love and what is so unique about Après l’Ondée. Its notes not only evolve from the traditional French top-heart-base, but the scent also changes from one spot on my skin to another. It’s as though I sprayed two different perfumes on my skin immediately next to one another. In one place I smell damp violets, but as I slide just an inch or two along my arm, I pick up sweet mimosa and a pop of cassis, which creates a vibrant green effect. Another few centimeters reveals the scent of rich and starchy orris root. The result is an olfactory impressionist landscape of a spring garden in the French countryside. On my arm sits a watercolor painting with swirls of purple and violet; hues of blue; a layer of green; brownish-gray round shapes strewn along the bottom. In my mind’s eye I am Monet.
Painting: Monet’s Irises at St. Remy
It’s rare that I liken a perfume to a symphony, but the complexity and even feelings evoked by this perfume indicate that it was created by a master who is the olfactory equivalent of Beethoven. Après l’Ondée is a carefully orchestrated piece of art. The complexity, layering and harmonization of every single note is nothing short of genius.
Since violet is IMHO the biggest note in this fragrance, I want to focus on it a little bit. While the cassis does provide a green staccato (uh-oh! I’m breaking out the musical terms), the violet note itself hugs the line between a cool, wet, natural violet and sweet violette pastilles. I really like the fact that the violets are neither here nor there but strike a perfect balance in the middle, the likes of which I have never experienced in any other violet perfume.
Après l’Ondée is a classic that is still relevant today. And while perhaps marketed to women, in today’s gender-bending society I can easily see it as a modern men’s fragrance. We no longer have to adhere to the rules of “women wear violets and roses and men wear lavender and fougères.” I can picture it on a man wearing a black suit as well as on a man who is enjoying Sunday brunch with family.
I am not a self-professed “violet lover” by any means. I am very particular about my violet perfumes. But if there were ever a violet perfume to own, Après l’Ondée would be it!
impaniscind – :
I had to buy Apres L’Ondee. My preference is Not over $100 a bottle as I pride myself on purchases which are delightful and affordable. That said, I’ve also been opening the wallet to allow some Guerlain and other legendary fumes into my collection. Already had L’Heure Bleu so this wasn’t a very necessary purchase. Couldn’t pass on the historical importance of it. Reformulations notwithstanding, I like being a part of Guerlain’s Fragrance history. I love wearing it even as it may be an echo of what it was. It is still progeny of that lineage. Also was very curious about wet leaves and the smell of after a rain and how does that smell anyway?? L’Heure Bleu is all powder to me, no wetness whatsoever .. as I said in my review, it is rainbows and tea cakes. I suppose that is the relation. Apres L’Ondee is just Before that rainbow appears! Indeed, it starts off like a fresh rain in the garden and that is a marvelous sensory tickle. It does become very much family and predecessor to you know who .. but keeps a distinct identity. The other way to see it is if you love the one how could it hurt to have the other? Bookends. Personally, I love to smell like it is one hundred years ago or more under changing skies somewhere in France as I enjoy a coffee and pastry and the finer and simple things in life at once. Finally, it is not so rare or hard to find but I wasn’t sure if it