5th Avenue After Five

It was a blindbuy just because I found it for a steal(it was a sealed barely used 4.2 oz bottle which I purchased for 14$)and also my other blindbuy from this line was successful(5the Avenue NYC) It's an absolute hit! I never imagined to find such an interesting perfume this cheap! I love it when I can detect different listed notes and it's the case here.I thought it's going to be just a nice but generic perfume and it's intresting notes won't showup but as soon as I spray it coriander says hello to my nose.I know coriander from agent provocative eau emotionelle.back then I didn't like it but gradually I started to appreciate the unique spicy-aromatic-herbal edge it gives to a scent. When first sprayed I can get coriander and a hint of saffron blended with bergamot and a lush and sweet plum.this stage is tasty and intresting and I'm positively surprised.after couple of minutes plum fades and is replaced by a floral bouquet.though honey suckle is one of my favorite floral notes,I wished saffron-plum combo to last more.albeit corridor is more consistent and doesn't leave honey suckle alone and lasts for a long time.well this isn't my favorite stage.maybe because there's no more plum sweetness to cover bitter edges of coriander or it may be because the overall scent is getting drier Luckily soon enough woody notes come closer.well I don't have a fixed emotion towards woody notes.dominant woody notes can ruin a perfume for me but here sandalwood is creamy and rounds the edges and birch is here to make sure 5th avenue after five keeps it's uniqueness.I don't know how birch is supposed to smell but in this stage on my skin there's something very similar to suede/warm skin note in Lacoste pour femme.like a warm,soft,clean and feminine leather just in drydown I start to pickup jasmine and musk and they're subtle,almost creamy and clean just like woody notes 5th avenue after five goes through different stages of development and I enjoy this olfactory travel.it starts as a sweet(not too much)and spicy fruityfloral then turns to a floral with rough,bitterish aromatic/herbal(I don't mean green by using this term)undertone and finally dries down to a rounded woodyfloralmusk.it's not the prettiest smell ever but it's pleasant and original.something that I expect from an expensive highend or even a niche fragrance! Elizabeth arden 5th avenue after five is not a loud and glittery club scent,it's not really dark either but it's a great evening scent just as it's been promised in it's name.it's also wearable during day and for office,year round.it's rather inoffensive but is far from being boring or unoriginal.I see it as a classy feminine scent,warm,pleasant,comforting and clean,sensual and sophisticated but I can see that a man can also pull it off without much difficulty.since it's opening and drydown are totally different I highly recommend you to try it on your skin and give it enough time and keep in mind that what lasts with you for a longtime is the drydown and first stages are there for less than an hour My first experience with this line,NYC,was leaded to an amazing longevity but soft sillage(sillage was moderate at first but it soon dropped,but it lasts as a skinscent on me forever and I can smell traces of it until I take a shower!).longevity is the same here(I think it's something about my skin as it doesn't last on my sister more than seven hours)but fortunately sillage is better.it doesn't pass moderate,just keeps it's projection for longer time.I even like it's bottle(except frosted plastic part of 5th avenue line's cap).it looks simple and classy just like the juice inside I'm very much satisfied with this new member of my wardrobe.It's not what I usually go for.I even don't think I'd wear it often and I know that this huge bottle will last a lifetime for me but I sometimes crave it and go for it specially when I want to step out of my comfort zone .I highly recommend everyone to try it(on skin and with patience)and I see it a safe blindbuy for whoever likes Lacoste pour femme(not that they're similar.they're totally different in first phase but share similarities in their drydown)

I'm surprisingly impressed with Elizabeth Arden 5th Avenue After Five! The 5th Avenue line has been a bit all over-the-map for me (though I've only tried 5 of the whopping 15 (!!!) flankers). Mostly I've found them to be dissatisfying -- not bad smelling/stinky, just disappointing due to lack of intensity, projection, and longevity. But I keep trying them because they all are, at the very least, pleasant, and a few are absolutely lovely and beautiful -- and they're VERY inexpensive. So far, the two winners of the five I've tried are My 5th Avenue (a lovely pear/jasmine/musk reminiscent of Ralph Lauren Woman) and, now, 5th Avenue After Five. So, 5th Avenue After Five is not just pleasant; it's actually interesting! I keep seeing people saying in their reviews that it's non-offensive and, while I think that's true, After Five is a step above the usual office-friendly frag. While not exactly complex, it does play with opposites very skillfully, maybe the way a classic chypre would. It starts with a burst of citrus/lime and is quite soapy, almost aldehydic (maybe, a little like Estee Lauder White Linen, but without all the oakmoss) -- so you have to like soapy scents to enjoy After Five. Then, as it settles down, a beautiful fresh, green but sweet honeysuckle comes in along with the lightly animalic bite/tang of birch/leather and the rumbling deep fruitiness of the plum. That leather/birch + plum accord gives it just an echo of the weightiness of heavy hitters like Rochas Femme (an old favorite of mine) and Calvin Klein Secret Obsession (a newer fave), but without the over-the-top thickness/richness/heaviness of these older ones. 5th Avenue After Five is not gourmand sweet, but it is sweet; the plum gives it a deep fruit sweetness and the lily of the valley brings a fresh "green" floral sweetness of LOTV, if that makes any sense. But these opposites -- plus the leather/birch note + lime -- play so well together that After Five never comes off as particularly sweet even though it is kind of sweet. Ultimately, there's something so reminiscent here of more "old school," 20th century scents -- but way more low-key -- which, I guess, is partly why I like it so much. It also performed very well on me; I do tend to overspray (especially with Elizabeth Arden scents!), but my 12 or so spritzes radiated steadily (though at close range) throughout the 8 hour day. In spite of having echoes of Femme and Secret Obsession, 5th Avenue After Five is really in the same genre as two other light birch/leather perfumes I have -- Alfred Sung Shi and Alaia for Women -- and I will probably be storing it next to these two. As light, fresh leathers, these three are similarly fresh, clean, "cold," well-balanced, and unisex. All are proper, office safe, reserved and classy scents. Overall, After Five is a great find and fantastic hidden gem for both fans of old school classics and modern light unisex leathers. <3

I don't know how there isn't cedar in this because when I first spray, I smell cedar woods strong.. then a blast of lily of the valleys before it settles out and is blended so well almost right away into a soft white floral and powdery woody beauty. I've layered just now with the lotion, the spray, then some vintage chanel 5 edt, vintage Picasso edp, and non vintage chanel 5 edp for good measure so I'll leave a better review when using this alone, but I'm just so shocked there isn't cedar here, because I smelled it very strong that first few moments before I started spraying other stuff on top like a mad woman. 😅 I love powdery scents after a bath before bed and to get that perfect powdery goodness, I've got to layer. I will say, this is so classy and elegant smelling, an easy signature scent, non offensive, every day wear. Smells like clean fresh soap layered with clean laundry, but not that overpowering chemical cheap laundry soap, something fancier. The good stuff lol so clean laundry on clean skin after bathing in beautiful rich soap.. it's gentle, like what I'd imagine a sweet mother's hug would smell like. Or your sweet grandmother who believed cleanliness was next to godliness. Anyhoozie.. I'll edit when I'm wearing it on its own. For now I'll just enjoy my layers, because I like to be punched in the face with powder before bed and After Five is more like a light dusting, not strong enough on its own for me, though very much there, it sits very close to the skin for me in early June (Canada, so don't be thinking summer yet lol we're still very early spring).

In a word, this is versatile. Do I love it? Will YOU love it? I do because it has a place just like many of my scents. It's a feeling, a mindset. If I had to split my perfumes in half and throw away half of them, this would go. But there are days when I would love this more than ALL of them. Just not as often. So I love it, but it's not really a "love", MOST of the time. Will YOU love it. Probably about the same as me unless your CRAZY in love with this, which could be more than possible! Most everyone can love this SOMEtime. It's a great gift! The clear bottle and liquid are a favorite of mine. I like that "pure" look. It's like the first waters of the earth. To compare this scent so you might have an idea of what I smell would be, Paris Hilton's St. Mortiz. I don't think it's just ME. I think you certainly can smell a bit of St. Moritz IN this scent. I can't comment on the lasting of this scent yet. It usually takes awhile before I am sure. I've had to come back more than once and rescue my lying reviews! But I can say, it's alright for sure. It's cheap enough that if it only last a few hours, it's worth the buy! I hope you enjoy your bottle as much!

Ok. Oh, so... this sure is surprising! I honestly wasn't expecting... anything like this! I smell white florals, but no so much of that plum... but a lot of coriander, which I instantly love. Bergamot and birch really complement each other beautifully, and coriander+saffron create this addictively unique, cool and fresh, uplifting and warming combination, that I can almost call nostalgic. This perfume takes me to places... It's like a scene from a memory. I hear the loons calling... I feel the wings of the dragonflies against my legs... I smell smoke. A dinner is cooking over a fire, and wind is rustling through the birch leaves. I feel calm. I smell... serenity. This perfume, to me, is the purest essence of summer. No fruits, no sugar. Just pure flowers, bright and comforting zing of the birch, and coriander... reminds me of our old summer cottage, at the middle of the forest. I see the night of the Midsummers Eve, when the air is cool and warm at the same time, and the bonfires burn at the middle of the lake. This is love. The smell of the North. This is home.