Apres l'Ondee

(Review of the extrait c. 1992-1993) Far be it from me to suggest I have the knowledge, experience, or authority credentialing me to make such a statement, but here it is: I do believe this is the greatest perfume ever created. If perfection is possible and it exists, it is Apres L’Ondee extrait. I have lived with and loved Apres L’Ondee EdT for a very long time, but had smelled the extrait only once prior to acquiring a full bottle. That single chance encounter was so startling and captivating that it started a years-long eyes-out for this maiden. I was to look for her everywhere I went of any corner of the world, hoping to see her again. One day, she would be mine. Full bottles very rarely crossed my path, but when they did they were always too eye-wateringly expensive for me to justify a purchase - even a purchase of perfection. Finding a full bottle for a great price, finally, put the hunt to rest and elevated my collection to a milestone level. A feeling of completeness, like finding a soulmate. Finally, she became mine. The first time I went to wear it I approached gingerly and reverently. I even used a sterile pipette from one of my laboratories to place it on my skin. The first sniff confirmed that Apres L’Ondee extrait is just as beautiful as I remember it. Our past dalliance wasn’t a chance summer tryst never meant to last, not a trick of the memory peering through rose-tinted spectacles, it was real. With the EdT every section is a calming experience, quiet, and gentle; as the name suggests it smells like blue skies and sunlight breaking through spent gray rain clouds. The extrait is something else. The opening of neroli and citruses smell completely like the sunshine the EdT only marginally lets through. Bright, rich, a cool but white heat, it shimmers and sparkles like visible spectrums of light bouncing off rainwater. The floral heart does not smell of relaxed earth after a quenching shower, it smells of Mother Nature at her most regal and elegant. Restrained and understated luxury as only she can achieve. Of course, orris is still the star: silvery, powdery, buttery, and starchy white floral notes are adorned with earthy, fleshy and peppery red roses and a honey-sweetened yellow mimosa. A touch of fruity and exotic ylang-ylang adds more decadence and suppleness to the powdery texture. If this is earth after a rain shower, then it is earth of some fantastical and otherworldly place. An enchanted forest. The floor of the forest smells of a floral amber; gently vanillic tonka, sticky earthy resins, and powdery floral and gray musks. It’s an effortless dry down of - dare I say it? - perfection. One of my favorite stories to tell when I’m describing Apres L’Ondee to someone is an experience with the EdT that perfectly encapsulates my total experience with it over many years. While sitting parked in California traffic one morning on my way to the office, not having slept well and stressing out over silly things as we all do, a gentle rain shower was coming down as the sun was breaking through the horizon. There I sat in the comfort of my car, the comfort of jazz through the speakers, the comfort of rain and gentle sunlight, the comfort of Apres L’Ondee wafting from my skin and clothes, and all of the stress and worries disappeared. Like they never existed. Washed away, cleaned, by Apres L’Ondee. The extrait is not like this experience. It is too vivid and dynamic to be calming. Too luxurious to impart a feeling of easiness. Butterflies in the stomach looking upon a face of exquisite beauty that smiles and talks to you. Me? How do I deserve this, such luck? These past few days getting to know the extrait I first encountered so long ago have been some of my best days in my long perfume journey. Apres L’Ondee reminds me why I love perfume, that I am blessed to be able to connect with them in ways beyond my nose and I shouldn’t take that for granted. If Apres L’Ondee is not perfection, then perfection is truly and unequivocally impossible.

Today is a rainy spring day where it had rained earlier and now it's stopped, so I thought it would be a good time to try Après L'Ondée (After the Rain Shower) I was surprised, when I smelled the juice before applying, I expected it to be more vintage powdery, but it smelled actually sweet, presumably from the anise. But after applying, it was a very green, grassy smell mixed with powdery and earthy violet and iris. I do get the sense of wet plants after the rain here after the sun has come out. Walking around outside, smelling and feeling the grassy sweetness and wetness, getting some dew on your shoes. I agree with the reviewer below me about it being experiential. Would I want to smell like wet flowers and grass? Not really, but it is a very nice evocative scent. I could also smell it strongly from at least a foot away after initially applying! After about 7 minutes, some sweetness comes through like violet candies. I feel like there's a slight joyfulness from this scent, washed through with a veil of contemplativeness. I felt the iris and violet in Insolense was elegant, calm, melancholy, ladylike, and classy. The iris and violet in Après L'Ondée seems more like it's still got something subdued to it, but almost some hope and excitement from it from the rain letting up. Perhaps because of all the sweetness in it, as well as it has a brightness to it, honestly probably from all the notes listed in the opening here with the neroli, bergamot, etc. It's like a young and innocent chipperness that you can go play and walk outside again after the rain. I don't think it's really that melancholy, despite what others have said, especially after a few minutes. There's something romantic and poetic to it as well. 15 minutes later, the mimosa starts to come out more, which is sunny and calm. I assume the 'sunshine after the rain'. I'm surprised though that the strength has already let up a lot from that strong initial blast, and I smell it only more close to the skin now. There's still a bit of sweetness as well. I was afraid this may turn into another typical vintage fragrance that was slightly dated, but I am so happy I tried this. It feels very refreshing, like truly the namesake, of the feeling of a garden after it rains in spring and the sun coming out- the cool, innocent, spring water that got on you from the rain that will soon dry in a beautiful day. There's a quiet, calm, serene, fresh positivity and hope to this and something to be happy about. I think Guerlain did a great job combining it with, and overcoming, the melancholy feel iris and violet can give to create a whole scene and a feeling. 30 minutes later and I get a hint of a comforting vanilla, like now I've been able to wrap myself in a warm dry towel or blanket after getting wet. By now it's already a slightly lighter skin scent, but I don't mind it. It adds to the calm, soft, relaxed end to this experience. Moving towards 40 minutes, there's still an earthy floral element to it, but all the warmth and sweetness from the things listed in the basenotes come out, even with an overall air of slight 'coolness' still to it. A sweet warm comfort. It was truly my pleasure to try this fragrance. I'm so glad I got to have a moment and experience with Après L'Ondée. I'll see how long it lasts for, but I think this scent will have a special place in my heart. 3 hours later and it's basically gone. At around the 2 hour mark, it was already a somewhat faint skin scent. Now at 3, one arm I can't smell anything on anymore, and the other there is a slight twinge of herbal and floral sweetness.

An absolute beauty in all forms and formulations it has existed in for many reasons, not the least of which is the way it clearly serves as the formulaic basis for so much of Guerlain's stable. The central accord of anise, violets, orris, and the plush skinlike combo of musks, animalics, and coumarin can be found throughout the brand's catalog from the classics (L'Heure Bleue, Fol Arome) to the most contemporary (Insolence, Mon Precieux, Secrets de Sophie). The different concentrations and formulations focus on different nuances of the scent, but every version is recognizably "Apres," IMHO. Some specifics on a few particular versions: Current (2022) bouchon coeur--is a lovely, dry orris. The interplay between bergamot, violet leaf notes, chilly, powdery orris root, and wood takes center stage. A lovely, "grey" carnation note pervades as well...grey simply in its vibe, that is, since I know grey carnations are not a thing! Lovely and perhaps the most "unisex" (in that it reads as woody.) 1990's EDT -- contains some of that lovely, dryness found on the most recent EDT--the violet leaf and orris and greenness and woodiness--but it also has some of the sweetness and greater floralcy of the vintage extrait. Extrait--I've owned extrait from both the 90's and the 60's. Both, overall, have a similar "texture" to me. The extrait feels like it has a greater emphasis on heliotropin, the sweet, candied violet beta and alpha ionones, and the vanilla-coumarin base. That sweetness is juxtaposed with a rich and juicy and tart citrus. Everything else from the other versions of ALO is there--clove, carnation, anise--but they all play more of a background role to the sweeter florals and sumptuous base mentioned above. The 90's and 60's extrait do, indeed, have the same overall scent profile...the 60's extrait I own is just "more"...definitely more bergamot, more sweet, more MORE. Strangely enough, the very clear violet leaf notes that smell like methyl octine carbonate (aka the Fahrenheit violet leaf note) that are pretty strong in both EDT formulations are more absent in my super vintage. I wonder if it's because they were achieved more by natural violet leaf absolute in older formulations which had dissipated with time. My favorite formulation is the 90's EDT. It has the best of both worlds with sweet heliotrope-violet, and a very notable greenness and woodiness to it...and a more rounded muskiness and lasting creaminess to it. This tension, to me, is what makes this fragrance different from L'Origan and elevates it beyond soap and powder. Smelling the 2022 EDT and 60's extrait together, they do almost seem like totally different scents. The 90's EDT is actually a really helpful bridge that makes me see and understand the sweet, violet aspects of the 2022 scent that I at first didn't recognize in the dry orrisey modern version, as well as the anisic, spicy dryness in the vintage extraits that tend to be more obscured by lusher, sweeter notes. That said, every version is beautiful. I do love the abstract bouquet of violets, carnation, heliotrope, jasmine, and orange blossom at the core--a true "Monet" of a scent--which still feels well-captured in the most recent version. That's a feat of reformulation genius! Based on the order of ingredients in every ingredients list for this, I assume it's the iso-eugenol (the spicy, lily, clovey scent that's highly restricted) vs the eugenol (more pure clove and less restricted) that's the biggest limitation in maintaining the beauty of this scent. Much gratitude that such beautiful history is still available

One of the loveliest fragrances of all time. Just like going for a woodland walk in early spring, when some of the snow are left on the ground and the air is still cool. The sun is setting and the sky turns into a beautiful lilac color. Birds are chirping, and the streams are flowing with crystal clear, ice cold water. The first violets give a bit of color and life to an otherwise bleak soil. You sit down for a while, reflecting. As you get back inside, you're greeted with the warm smell of freshly baked pastries and your mothers loving hug. This is how Apres l'Ondee translates to me. The parfum version that once existed must have been absolutely flabbergasting, because I've only smelled the new edt and it's gorgeous. Bursting with ethereal powdery violets, a softly sweet, marzipan like heliotrope and an airy, faint anise. The other notes stay in the shadows of these three. The blending of the entire notes pyramid gives the effect of classic, chalky violet candies and powder. Or maybe, because of it's marvelous cool touch, a violet flavored ice cream. I can seriously picture scoops of pastel green and purple ice cream in a crystal bowl. If I were to discover an ice cream with this flavor I would have a serious problem because I wouldn't be able to stop eating! Not saying this is a gourmand because it definitely isn't, but this particular element of the scent is very edible to me. Apres l'Ondee is pure, unconditional love bottled! It's emotion in a bottle.. How did Jacques do it? It's so magnificent! Indeed similar to L'Heure Bleue, only more soft and smooth in character, and here we have a much bigger emphasis on the violet note. Since violet is my favorite note ever, Apres l'Ondee is to me even more spectacular than it's well known, younger cousin. This is my absolute favorite right now, along with N22 by Chanel. Both powdery floral masterpieces, they each highlight different notes but end up forming the impression of a similarly stunning whole that's just incredibly emotion arousing. So wonderful you don't know whether to laugh or to cry. It's borderline impossible to not get moved one way or the other! Doesn't matter either way though. In cases such as this one you just need to forget about analyzing further and simply take it all in to enjoy. Thought you didn't like floral fragrances? Try either of these two and you might just get converted for life. It's fall at the moment, but I cant wait til spring is back again, I bet it will be "out of this world amazing" at that time of the year! Silage is pretty soft and lasting power isn't that great, three hours max on my skin, but in this case it's way forgiven. Lingers a bit longer if sprayed on clothes though, in that case it dries down to a soft, powdery smell that lingers, but very close to your body. It leaves me speechless and in awe each and every time I wear it. Comforts me like nothing else, and makes me feel like I'm drifting away while enveloped in soft purple clouds. Sheer perfection, I will love Apres l'Ondee forever!

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!