When the Rain Stops

I normally try not to read reviews of a fragrance before I write my own because I don’t want the groups opinions to influence my own, but for this fragrance I couldn’t help it i was so excited to see what other people were saying and as I scrolled further and further down I began to get discouraged. Let me be the dissenting voice in the crowd to say that this fragrance does have some redeeming qualities, and I for one love it dearly. When I first splashed my dabber vial onto my arms (aren’t those just the worst, for this scent I’m choosing to overlook that) I was almost moved to tears. Something about this scent brings me back in time and it slams me down hard into a childhood memory, or experience. This to me smells like a cold rainy autumn day, you’re home from school and there’s nothing better to do (this was before TV, video games, internet) so you go outside and play in the rain. You splash and jump around, feeling the cold rain on your skin and soaking your hair and clothes. After a few minutes of this your mom calls you back inside and meets you at the door with a warm fluffy towel. You hug the towel around you tight while you peel off layers to get dry. Then she runs you a warm bubble bath, and you wash the “dirt” off of you and get sterile clean again. The dry down of this fragrance smells like the cleanliness you feel “after the rain” has stopped, but the opening, and even just so delicately peeking through the dry down there’s that wet earthy scent lingering like a phantom off of your skin, or maybe it’s just in the air. You look outside, now in your fuzzy pajamas and see foggy windows and lightning cracking across the sky, but you’re in your nice warm house, safe and sound. Notes I can detect are the wet notes, rose, oak moss and maybe just a touch of bergamot. There’s also a bit of musk underneath, a salty skin musk not unlike Lazy Sunday Morning. As a matter of fact I detect a lot of similarities between these two scents, except this is more of a Lazy Sunday Night during a thunderstorm. If you didn’t like that scent you may not like this, and vice versa. This would also explain the people who say it’s similar to Aqua Divina, although that one has a lot more salty oceanic accords going on. I am baffled at the amount of reviews and votes saying this leans masculine. When did roses, musk, and the literal scent of water become gendered? Do these things that are found in nature belong to one sex over the other? This must be a case of skin chemistry trickery that does not appear on my skin, luckily. As a woman, I’m finding it 1000000% unisex, I would laugh at anyone who smelled me and said otherwise. It’s the equivalent of standing outside in the rain and refusing to carry an umbrella because those are for women: total absurdity. Don’t let these reviews discourage you until you’ve tried it personally on your skin. And if you haven’t yet, you’re really missing out on a potential gem. I don’t care if anyone else on this entire site feels the same way I do about this scent, something in this is nostalgic and magical to me. I don’t know what sorcery Maison Margiela used to create this but it’s clear that we are on the same olfactive wavelength. I will be trying every single fragrance this house makes that I can get my nose on. And I never want to be without this scent. Love this so much it makes my heart ache (in a good way).

I’ll admit I’m pretty attached to this, my first fragrance I brought with my own money and my first fragrance that made me buy it upon smelling it for the first time. I’ll be the first to admit it’s a very “nice smelling man candle” smell and you will have smelled it before in soaps, candles and colognes - If you ever had the black candle “Midsummer night (I think?)” by Yankee candle, this is very similar. However what I love is A) that it’s so much lighter and airy and b) the projection and longevity is really good for an EDT. I get 4-5 hours with this with good projection even with my dry skin. Whilst the scent itself it’s not unique, I do think the airiness does provide its own standing in the market, most scents of this kind are much stronger or soapy. This is my favourite perfume for job interviews, presentations, work conferences, etc. A fragrance that’s fresh, professional and not cloying without fading into nothing in 20 minutes. Masculine leaning most definitely but I very much enjoy it as a woman. I think the dislike for this perfume is because it’s very true to the when the rain STOPS. You don’t smell rain, you smell fresh dewy plants which you get here with the pine and moss in my opinion being at the forefront. I do just really like it and considering I’m an iris, tonka, vanilla, coconut, honey, etc kind of girl, it’s the most different perfume in my collection (ironic considering that it is so generic.) I do feel this will sadly be discontinued due to unpopularity which is a shame because this is the only fragrance I actually like left from replica (RIP matcha meditation and lipstick on.) I wish they’d stop binning the good ones and keeping the smoky or overly floral / citrus horrors.

At first spray, I was greeted by an incredibly fresh floral note, reminiscent of the aroma when you walk into a flower shop. However, I don’t think this fragrance leans feminine at all; the floral notes feel very unisex. After about two minutes, I began to notice the water notes blending in, which made sense considering the name. That said, I didn’t sense a typical rain smell from the water; instead, it gave off a slightly salty note—think of a Sailing Day by the same house but less salty. After about 10 minutes, the middle notes developed, bringing in a green note that blended beautifully with the floral and water notes. At this point, you can detect the fresh scent of fresh and wet grass. This addition was lovely, creating a fresh and clean aroma that persisted throughout the entire wearing period. By the end, when all the notes came together, the fragrance resembled a wet, grassy field dotted with flowers. I’ll be honest: at first, the name didn’t make sense to me, but once the green notes joined the water and floral components, everything came together beautifully. Regarding performance, this one excels for a fresh Maison Margiela scent. The scent projected well for the first four hours and continued to be noticeable up until the sixth hour. After the sixth hour, it transformed into a more subtle skin scent that lasted well into the eighth hour. This fragrance has outstanding performance, particularly for spring or summer. I really like this one; for me, it feels like a combination of a Sailing Day and a Lazy Sunday Morning, but with more longevity and projection. If you’re a fan of fresh and watery scents, this one is definitely worth a try.

WtRS is not a photorealistic scent, unless interpreted with a touch of whimsy; it is perhaps a fantasy of what it might smell like when the rain stops. With barely a trace of geosmin, it is not particularly reminiscent of petrichor. Suits me fine as someone who finds beetroot repelling. If I wanted that, I’d get DS & Durga’s Steamed Rainbow which conjures up images of Cantonese steamed fish—and is equally unwearable. Personally, WtRS smells like a green elf slipping into an indulgent rose bath. It is serene, a little glowy, but still casual. It's wearable and inoffensive, but distinct enough to feel personal. No trailblazer, but a quietly feminine take on aquatic-green compositions, which often lean more traditionally masculine. I can see why the perfume gets such low ratings on Fragrantica—it falls flat when you compare the product to the concept it promises. But I’ve yet to find another aquatic perfume that wears like this on my skin or complements my personality as well. After owning 2.5 bottles, I’ve noticed that the perfume sweetens as it macerates. To my nose, WtRS opens with watery greens and transitions into a gentle, sweet rose, accented by a touch of pink peppercorn. The drydown is clean and aquatic, with a lingering rosy softness that stays close to the skin.

So this scent is called "when the rain STOPS" so why do people expect it to smell like the rain? It smells like nice clean air after a rainy summer afternoon. It's aquatic, but it also smells like wet branches and there's a vague floral ghost in there, like you would find after it rains in a nice neighborhood in Europe, where people predominantly grow flowers, not manicured lawns. It's not a question of masculine or feminine, because it's a niche concept, where scent sits beyond this division. Mainstream perfumes are yummy or flowery for girls and foresty for boys. It's the wrong paradigm here. My advice is to never blind buy niche perfume, especially not replica. They're supposed to be an experience for YOU, not crowd pleasers. I love it, by the way. It really does capture the feeling after a storm in a neighborhood where people cultivate flowers and trees, especially old trees. It's ... restful, centering. If you know what to look for, it smells like the good life, real luxury for those who know that it isn't clothes and purses, but a 2 million euros antebellum mansion in an old neighbour where life stood still before social media, where people have time to think and relax, and dream.

I don’t care that this doesn’t literally smell like rain. I don’t care that the performance is weak. I don’t care that it isn’t a statement fragrance designed to turn heads. This is, without a doubt, the most beautiful fragrance in the Replica line and easily one of my favorite fragrances of all time. It’s airy, delicate, and utterly unique. Even though it may not capture the literal scent of sunlight after a rainstorm, it's bright, refreshing, and calming, and evokes that dewy feeling perfectly. What makes it even more special to me is that it shares an aroma chemical with Cartier Declaration d’Un Soir, my all-time favorite fragrance and signature scent. DDS carries a nostalgia that I can’t describe, and this fragrance taps into that same bright, crisp, aldehydic quality that makes it so satisfying to wear. Whenever I’m having a bad day, this is the one I wear, because it genuinely cheers me up. Scent (on skin): 9/10 Scent (sillage): 9.5/10 Projection: 3.5/10 Longevity: 4.5/10 Value: 6/10 Originality: 6/10 Mass appeal: 7/10 Versatility: 4.5/10

I'm not sure if I'm smelling something different than everyone else but this one is up there as one of my favorite Margiela fragrances. It reminds me of the smell of a freshly watered green house full of flowers I used to go to in Pennsylvania. Very beautiful, light, aquatic, and fresh. There's a nice balance of cool aquatic and light floral notes on top with some fresh, almost minty, greens at the base. Performance is surprisingly nice for this style of scent. I get about 6-8 hours out of it. Projection is soft and sits close to the skin but I get a pleasant waft of it as I move about my day. Projection ramps up significantly in high heat. I recently wore this for a hike and and my gf noted she could actually smell it as she walked behind me with just 2 sprays, one on each side of my neck. I would say for a spring / summer freshie this is a really nice option. Very mass appealing and unisex!

It must be regional how it smells “when the rain stops” because to me this smells exactly like how a rainy day in February smells. I’ve never had a fragrance make me feel gloomy before but this one always does. Not because it smells bad (it smells great) but it just reminds me of the walk home from the bus stop after a long day of school on a cold rainy day. This is sort of like the precursor smell to a cozy fireplace (by the fireplace in the same replica line). A smell that while pleasant reminds you to get back inside where it’s safe and warm. It smells like knowing summer is only a few months away but feeling like it might never come. That all sounds very negative but I promise it’s very comforting in a weird way.

This one got me compliments from *everybody* from my partner to my coworkers. This was the first designer fragrance that I bought myself. It doesn’t quite smell like “when the rain stops” but rather the salty air by the sea, it’s such a calming scent & it was perfect for preparing me to move to university in Brighton. Admittedly it isn’t very long lasting, so I found myself respraying on days where I wore it. It’s for sure a daytime “day out” scent, not really for more formal settings like work. I don’t wear it myself these days because it evokes certain feelings however I would highly recommend this to anybody who is romanticising their seaside life, or manifesting it.

Those voting this under a 4.0 doesn't understand this fragrance. This has to be in my top 3 from the Replica line, along with Jazz Club and Whispers In The Library. This evokes such a specific and tangible moment that, after sniffing it, you are immediately transported to a dripping wet flower garden after a Summer rainstorm. I imagine a scene where the downpour has just finished, clouds quickly dissipating to reveal the orange glow of the setting sun's dying light, water dripping from every leaf and flower petal in the garden, and the smell of wet grass awakens your senses to a fresher world. This is phenomenal stuff. Severely underappreciated.

OVERHATED!! Personally this is one of my most fav fragrances from the replica line, it’s definitely not for women even tho it’s marketed to women but it’s definitely unisex and ladies could pull this off ngl. THIS. ISNT. MEANT. TO. SMELL. LIKE. RAIN!! people are reviewing this badly because it doesnt smell like rain but this is meant to smell like the dewy weather AFTER the rain, the wet flowers, the trees, the mud, and the freshness of the weather. I love this fragrance alot and its sad to see it be reviewed so poorly cause it’s totally misunderstood!! 9.5/10

I love this fragrance, it's like a guilty pleasure of mine. I spray it and immediately I feel like a kid again playing outside in the puddles after it was done raining. It doesn't remind me of muddy puddles though, it reminds me of a fresh clean puddle formed on concrete. I usually hate florals in fragrances, but this scent is probably one of my favorite scents ever. The longevity on my skin isn't very good, I feel like it disappears off my skin very quickly. Overall one of my favorite fragrances, but I wish it had better longevity.

Whenever I’m unsure of what to wear, I always find myself coming back to this one. It features an aquatic note with a slightly dark undertone, accented by a touch of green. It’s a wonderful fragrance with a dual nature—refreshing yet possessing a certain shadowy quality. Its true appeal shines when applied to the skin, evoking the atmosphere of grass after the rain and a sense of humid air. The longevity and projection are just right; a single spray on three different points is plenty. I reapply it after about four or five hours.

lovely - i really love it - but too masculine and sharp for me. the pepper and bergamot must be a part of that. it does feel a little too citrusy. kind of stormy. makes me think of an urban area with trees around during a lightning storm. could be more earthy and petrichory for me and i would love it even more. after trying this i decided on a drop d'issey fraiche which was absolutely the best decision ever. i read a review on it that said it is what when the rain stops was supposed to smell like, which i can't disagree with.

Very underrated EDT. If you want an earthy fragrance with a Petrichor accord, look elsewhere. This is a clean and refreshing combination of Rose Water scent, a bit of Bergamot and Pink Pepper on top, and a good dose of green notes (including a subtle, herbal Patchouli, and a greenish Jasmine Grandiflorum). Unisex, office-safe, with more than 8 hours of longevity and moderate projection, so you may want to re-apply. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I doubt anyone would find this fragrance challenging or offensive.

For me, this is more 1981 than 1967. Skinned knees, summer boredom, and that restless urge to get into trouble just to shake off the monotony. *When the Rain Stops* smells exactly like that moment when the rain lets up, the air is thick, and the cement is steaming, releasing all those pent-up city toxins. It’s almost acidic, a little sharp, but in that weirdly addictive way that makes you keep going back for another whiff. This doesn’t just smell like rain, it smells like the memory of it, gritty and real.

Reminds me of growing up in a pine forested farmland, running in the morning dew to catch moths. Getting a hug from my suntanned father who just washed his hair with T-Gel. The gray stormclouds drenching the lonesome rural area around me, but those green notes that carry the hope of my future and that the sun will shine again like those dewy mornings when the mourning doves sing, and my shoes sink into the soft layer of fresh pine needles while I run with my pet cat.

Super comforting smell, I think it's purely unisex but there are certain moments that can lean more masculine. I agree that it doesn't really smell like "after the rain" though, just aquatic notes. Continued to get whiffs of it for most of my 9hr work day and became a skin scent after 6-7ish hours I would say. Fairly linear journey (but I can't complain because I love it!) and the dry down is soapier but in a very light way that I enjoy.

I bought this perfume in the winter to spring after a summer romance that would never have worked out. It was a damp, nostalgic aftermath of February and March. This perfume is certainly evocative of rain but does has a soapy freshness that I think works well. This scent, to me, is similar to the smell of washing your hair after being unforgivingly drenched by a freak downpour, beginning to feel warm again.

I love this! The vetiver is strong and everything blends together beautifully. No, it doesn't smell like rain or soil (no petrichor or ozone notes) but it still has magical nature vibes. It is more forest spirit than Soul of the Forest and way better honestly. Its fresh, green and definitely unisex. I would wear it all the time if it didn't give me headaches, unfortunately most of the MMM fragrances do 😩

This is my go to daily perfume. I understand those saying the pine is very strong, but for me the rain notes are just super clear. It smells exactly like standing in a rose garden after the rain. It's masculine in the sense that it's woody but for me it's a very delicate, fresh smell and the rose makes it very feminine. Great if you want to smell clean, and an interesting perfume without being offensive.

Honestly, I do not understand some of the negativity in the reviews here - but the two most recent reviews nailed what this special fragrance is all about: capturing the photo realistic sense of ‘when the rain stops’. This is precisely the moment when you want to spray this scent on. I really like the distinctive approach of the Replica series and imho this scent is one of the best (alongside Beach Walk)

Right up there with Kate Spade's "Walk on Air," After The Rain is a fresh, aquatic scent kissed with greenness and white florals. I enjoyed it immensely in the hot Texas summers, and also used the perfumed reeds across my home, but it appears that in 2024 the formulation changed, as it has not even a whisper of its former silage in any form, and disappears between the spray and contact with skin.

Very familiar scent, reminds me a bit of Prada Luna Rossa Carbon, maybe Dior Sauvage, but more rounded and aquatic. Hit the nail on the head with the rain accord but there's also a sweet lavender-like rose accompanying the clean petrichoric scent that makes this fragrance have a veristile, all-year-round, unisex classification. This is my favorite Maison Martin Margiela fragrance.

I love this. It doesn't actually smell like petrichor, but does anyone actually WANT to smell like petrichor? (Idk, maybe I'm the odd one out). To me, this smells like hiking in the mountains and getting caught in the rain. It's cool and calming and lasts a long time. Great for rainy or overcast days when you need something to calm your nerves.

this smells like being a child and your grandparents just woke you up from a nap and you’re still half asleep remembering playing in the rain then taking a bath and you smell like your grandpas body wash bc there was nothing else to use but it smells like his hugs and in ur little head everything is how it should be

Simply a great fragrance. Its nothing special but its really clean musky floral aquatic soft fragrance that is nostalgic in a way. One of my favorite from the replica line. As for performance with the nature of this fragrance it is not very loud but it does have lasting power and you will smell yourself for a while

absolute favorite fragrance of all time. my signature scent. smells like pine trees and flowers that are still damp from being rained on the night before. definitely a good spring/summer scent but i wear this year round for pretty much any occasion and get complimented the most wearing this. love love love.

someone you vaguely recognize as you frequent the same cafe steps into said cafe as rain pours down, they have an umbrella but don't escape the rain unscathed, you hope they don't smell like pennies and nickels. they dont. thank god. and they slide you their number, score!

To the naked nose it kinda just smells like soapy florals but the more I smell it the more I get a morning in the Amazon rain forest after it got done raining and I love it so much ts is majestic and definitely more unisex or even for men to me

I forgot to add this in my original post but it smells mostly like rain its a very peaceful natural type smell think about going outside in the grass with the some flowers and trees next to you but you mostly smell the rain

This says its for women but im a man and just bought this for myself. I like this a lot. Its outdoorsy smelling, imo masculine. Im not sure its worth the money, but I like the scent. It will be in my 2026 summer rotation.

When the rain stops is a very soft, natural scent. Wet soil, green grass, light flowers after rain. Aquatic and fresh, like walking outside right after storm. Calm, nostalgic, peaceful nature vibe in a bottle. 8.5/10

this is the perfect rainy day scent - soft and mineral-leaning, like wet rock or moss on a churchyard wall. comforting and close to the skin, i like to spray this more on clothing than on skin to make it last longer.

My most COMPLIMENTED perfume hands down! Over the MFK’s and any other perfumes I own, this one always gets the most attention. New age classic, clean, slightly masculine, aquatic scent. Loves it 10/10 no notes

I was surprised this is listed as a women's fragrance, I loved it from first spray, it has that classic old school cologne bed. As a man, I like reaching for this before a date.

Very similar to Acqua Di Gio EDT, but less soapy and more floral; both are very fresh, light scents that I could blindly recommend to anyone wanting something timeless.

after getting a tester for this i got a full bottle like a week later this is genuinely the best scent ive ever smelled in my life 10/10 will be my signature

Just a perfect fresh fragrence. Its not unique smells like a lot of other men's fragrances that are like fresh with patchouli but this one is more airy

if you had ever smelled christmas tree scented sticks then this is what it roughly smells like, very reminiscent of my childhood.

This scent is my go-to, reminds me more of a clean fresh scent rather than petrichor. scent is more masculine than feminine

yummm! smells slightly citrusy but also very aquatic, this one was my fav out of the whole replica line

I usually don't write reviews from just sampling, but this smells so nice! Very wet and sweet rose.

my first favorite signature scent - aquatic scents r so perfect for gender neutrality

layered this with By the Fireplace and it smelled so good I nearly fainted

Smells 87% like after the rain, but it's still good scent.

masculine aquatic &woody clean scent

Starts off fresh, watery and green with a zing of pepper. I don't smell much bergamot on its own, but I think it's there to brighten everything up. Once the pepper settles, the scent becomes softer and more earthy. It's not earthy like damp or wet soil however. The pine is the note that stands out most to me. I don't pick up on the jasmine, rose or patchouli that are listed. It's difficult to describe because it doesn't smell like one specific thing. It's watery, aquatic, slightly salty and almost mineral-like. To me, it smells like standing beside a pine tree after the rain, with a rocky shoreline and sea somewhere nearby. There's a cool salty breeze running through it that makes it feel calming. It leans quite masculine on my skin, which isn't usually what I go for. I do enjoy wearing it, but I actually prefer the rain feeling of (the sadly discontinued!!) Marc Jacobs Rain, which feels softer, more floral and feminine to my nose. Longevity is always an issue with freshies, that's to be expected. Like many Replica fragrances I've tried, it sits close to the skin and fades fairly quickly. So yeah, it's a fresh, rainy, atmospheric fragrance that's easy to wear. It's a like, not a love. I'll continue to use this sample until it's gone, but wouldn't consider buying a full bottle.

The core idea of this fragrance is the image of rain-soaked roses after a shower. It smells lush and dewy, softly diffusive, yet neither sweet nor overtly floral. This is a rose with water droplets still clinging to its petals, giving a feeling of freshness, cleanliness, and quiet vitality. The overall composition carries a persistent green and airy character, reminiscent of stems, leaves, and cool, humid air surrounding the flowers. It is not a powdery or sugary rose, but a truly natural one with a slightly raw, realistic edge. The scent clearly evokes the sensation of walking through a flower market, standing in front of a rose shop just after the flowers have been freshly misted—cool, open, and pristine. When the Rain Stops is therefore a fragrance with a polite, calm, and gentle demeanor. It is well suited to those who appreciate natural, unadorned floral scents and who seek the feeling of “fresh after the rain” rather than a traditionally romantic sweetness. Mood: Fresh, calm, natural Character: Green rose, rain-soaked, clean and airy Wearability: Daytime, office settings, rainy days, or anytime you want a comfortable, unobtrusive scent

I had mixed feelings when I first sprayed this fragrance, this is a very casual smell, something that you probably have smelled before, it’s on the same side of Creed silver mountain water and Versace pour homme. It’s fresh, aquatic and masculine, yes this is masculine leaning so l wouldn’t recommend girls to blind buy it. It doesn’t last long, max prob five hours and a slightly moderate projection. I found a really good layering for it, Sunset hour and this fragrance work really well. But tbh you don’t need this fragrance, it’s too casual too basic nothing crazy about it. It doesn’t even smells like rain or anything like that either, it’s just so simple. And I don’t know why but these type of fragrances always makes you feel nauseous and gives you headaches I don’t know if I’m the only one like that, prob a note of it causes me feel like that, I just don’t recommend this fragrance, it’s not worth it at all.