Apres l'Ondee by Guerlain

guest_

A beautiful perfume. these days perfumes smell synthetic. If you like violets, then you will like this. It is a soft, gentle perfume. that has been blended so well. I find it comforting, romantic and nostalgic.

guest_

My Great Aunty Kitty wore this perfume. She was a very classy lady. As a child I loved going to her house. Antique clocks would chime in various rooms and the smell of this perfume would gently waft,making you feel comfortable and secure. This perfume is truly beautiful, just like my beutiful Aunty Kitty.

kastehelmi

I have heard that many love L'Heure Bleue and write off Après L'Ondée as less complex-and I have also heard that Après L'Ondée is the more beautiful-and more melancholy fragrance-more approachable than the other more popular classic. I became acquainted with the smell of L'Heure Bleue from working a few years in a retirement home-clean but powdery anise is that blue hour, that familiar old signature sillage.

I can smell the iris (among other notes) in common, but this stormy scent has a crisp and muted quality-a fresh violet, that epitomizes violet perfection for me(I don't like violets generally)....
This is the scent of burying yourself in tender leaves, covering yourself in violets, feeling drizzle, smelling the scent before a fantastic storm-the sky becoming grey and charged....And then you wake up at your great-grandmother's house (whom you are not acquainted with)-there is a gentle powdery scent in the air-a dusty but cozy and eerily familiar aroma. The rain is pounding on the windows, you are seated on a faded lace-covered cushion in a well-preserved sitting room-the branches stir at the windowsill and all seems still. That is Après L'Ondée....

rithacha

The initial crackle of neroli fades into a tapestry of anise, violet, and jasmine. These smoky, dusky colors are punctuated by violent jabs of carnation, woods, and dry benzoin rising from the base. These is something melancholic about Apres l'Ondee, but there's also something sharp and edgy about it. It seems more lively than wistful, more cranky than soothing. Too spicy to wear to sleep, too memory-provoking to release the imagination.

Unfortunately, Apres l'Ondee does not sit right on my skin; it feels nervous and off-kilter. I count myself lucky to have no desire to own this one; it's quite overpriced.

loismonahan

I had to have this after reading the reviews, so I made the trek to the Guerlain store on Bloor Street. Absolutely beautiful scent - like an elusive memory. This is the fragrance I have been seeking but could never describe.

NuriaRose

this one is realy like " Insolence" maybe lighterand more balanced
i like the lemon note in the opening!

Persephone

After rain... A cloudy, dreamy morning. Ghosts haunting your great-grandmother's distant estate. Wet birch-tree benches. Pale ethereal Degas' ballerinas dancing on the crushed violet petals. Fluid visions of the past. Or the future? Transparent, like solemn tears, which you can't tell from the rain drops anymore. Yellow pages of a Virginia Woolf's book. The ticking of an old clock. At first, a crisp, pure voice of my little sister being born and then a subtle incoherent murmure of my great-grandmother on her deathbed. A daily reminder of how fragile human life is. After rain, so be it. EDT only, which is so so subtle, gosh I literally have to pour it on to enjoy this masterpeiece. Pure parfum I found costs $3000. It is a crime.

KalteStern

The violet/mauve hue of the label suits it very well, because of the heliotrope/iris notes; I think of it as the 'quiet Guerlain', as it has the depth and richness of the underlying base that is characteristic and distinctive of the older Guerlain fragrances, but it not nearly so loud as L'Heure Bleue. For that reason you can wear it during the day, and even to work, and rely on it being distinctive but not overpowering. It is certainly going to mark you out as different, but perhaps in such a low key way that people are not entirely conscious of it. Classic and classy, but still romantic

mymlan

Since I recently got my hands on this stunningly beautiful gem it has been in heavy rotation. I'm getting afraid that these precious 100 ml will not last for very long.

Apres l'Ondee has everything I want from a perfume. The anis, violet, jasmine and vanilla is dominant on my skin and the scent is extremely soft and comforting. It's wonderful for lazy days, evening wear or right before going to sleep when you emotions are a bit more sensitive. It washes away a stressful working day and I have even sprayed a little on my pillow as suggested from a forum member, which also made the bed to a heaven for a few nights.

As said before this perfume lacks the social dimension as it doesn't create attention among surronding individuals. Insted it is a quiet, clean and calming fragrance which I love to enjoy on my own.

I joined Fragrantica hoping to track down my one and only signature. Instead I have learnt about the aroma-therapeutic qualities of different fragrances and how to be more aware of how I feel and how different fragrances can influence my emotional life. And for that I'm very grateful to this forum.

SedNonSatiata

There is something uncanny about this breathtaking masterpiece. Uncanny (Unheimlich) in the Freudian sense: familiar but foreign; paradoxical; seductively troubling.

What I find most disarming about Après l’Ondée, is its balance of sweetness and solemnity. The name signals a degree of separation between the fragrance and the rain. But for me the distance feels spatial rather than temporal, like watching the rain from the warmth of a sumptuous room. Subtle lemon and heliotrope keep it joyful. Violet and iris root add a sense of longing and nostalgia. Vetiver and benzoin balance bitter and sweet. The overall composition is rich but lilting, grounded but uplifting. Like a pastel painting displayed on a stone gray wall.

I mourn the parfum version which is no longer produced, but I am confident its ghost haunts the exquisite EDT.

High quality, long-lasting, and remarkably different from the Guerlains built on a vanilla base.

Kterhark

I have to edit my comment on this one... I kept my sample and went back to it after a month, and decided to buy.

This is probably one of the top fragrances you can get if you want 1) an iris, 2) a meloncholy fragrance, or 3) a well grounded earthy scent with a touch of florals.

the longevity is OK, could be better, lasts about 4 hours on me. Tends to wear better in cooler weather than hot.

IMO, this is one of Guerlain's better fragrances, it is not as 'heavy' as L'heure blueu, Mitsouko or shalimar. I reach for this when I'm especially feeling happy and content.

kewart

This is the only scent that brought tears to my eyes the first time I sniffed it. It is so melancholic, so bittersweet!
Having said that I love and admire it totally. No perfume has ever moved me so emotionally and I see that as a good thing.

maggiesmeow

MASTERPIECE, but-- what Madame Butterfly would wear while comMitting harakiri. the deee-lish guerlinade under the sepulchral, DEPRESSION-INDUCING vile-et isn't enough reward. hurts me to write that.

MrGuerlain

My love for perfume all started with my purchase of a bottle of Après L'Ondeé... .
It has to me one of the most intense olfactive memories and associations and I treasured the fragrance like it was the most precious thing to me.
I love it, it opened a whole new world to me. I will keep on wearing it.

Aalia

I recieved a tiny sample, and a great pleasure. Sometimes I check the Fragrantica database information on notes and history before testing, and, sometimes not. This time I just casually chose my new scent to test, popped open the cap. I thought..oh, a garden scent! I cannot say floral, I cannot say green, all I can think, and picture- is garden. At first application I thought of how odd and intriguing the scent is. I also thought it reproduced some cloudy familiarity from childhood, perhaps the favorite of an Aunt of mine, or a similar soap or dusting powder. Those were my initial impressions. I came here to the database to gather the details, read about the composition. I can write and say that I am mesmerized by the combination of sandalwood and mimose. I love the spicy tingles within all the floral notes, and the base is strong and a combination of all the deep, earthy scents I love. I cannot write too much here, perhaps I am in awe, and a bit confused at the same time while experiencing this scent for the first time. Others here before me have fashioned thier ideas and scenes so well. Please Please, read below and take thier well crafted words to understand better how wonderful, unique, and complex this scent is.

flowers&spice

This is the kind of fragrance that you wear for you, and you alone. It's the scent I wear when I'm home with my husband and our daughter on lazy weekend mornings. It's the scent I reach for before I go to bed. While it is not a fragrance that I get many compliments on, that's not a bad thing. Let me explain: it wears very close to the skin and gives the impression that you smell beautiful, clean and fresh - not that your perfume does. I love the opening notes with their slightly herbal and grassy edge. As the scent develops it becomes the most beautiful aroma of slightly spicy, fresh flowers. I think it's carnation and violet I love so much here. How wonderful that it's feminine without being sweet. It makes me feel calm and happy. To me it's a beautiful scent to be worn casually.

classic

I love this one. It's sweet but fresh and not at all artificial - reminds me of gorse-flowers - that wild honey smell. Plus it has been around since 1906! Let's celebrate the enduring scents from the past rather than buying into the new ones which smell like alco-pops!

Mals86

I agree with Jalutschka; this is Debussy set to scent, and Monet's palette in the air, an Impressionist masterpiece. It is all pastels and sweet melody, gently smudged outlines and sustained chords, and it is so beautiful that it brings tears to the eyes. The anise, violet and carnation, along with the woody resin base, give Apres l'Ondee its shape, and iris/orris root gives it its wistful elegance. The sweetness of the heliotrope keeps circling round -- every time I think, well, it's gone, and what could I expect of so ethereal a fragrance? -- there's the heliotrope again. This lasted, even in eau de toilette, for more than four hours on my dry winter skin, and I expect it might persist longer when the weather warms a little.

This is spring in a bottle: the beauty of blooming things, the delicacy of their blossoms, and the ephemeracy of pure joy. Spring doesn't last, but it is all the more beautiful because it passes so quickly, and so it is with Apres l'Ondee.

DawnLady3

A very unusual fragrance. I didn't think I would like to wear this when I first sprayed it on, though I was instantly aware of its quality. There is no hint of sweetness and it doesn't seem in any way feminine to me (not masculine either - very neutral). I am aware of the aniseed note all the way through and this gives the fragrance a melancholic and haunting quality that makes me want to keep having another sniff, so that I find myself captivated and intrigued. It is so beautifully blended it is impossible to pick out most of the individual notes (except the aniseed), which is typical of so many Guerlains. I agree with klonk that it is a true work of art. Definitely worth trying!

tessture

Light, creamy violet and vanilla. Gorgeous and clear like watery violet over ice cream. A very beautiful and ephemeral fragrance, hard to find now.

veruska

A legendary melancholic blast from the past! i've associated it with my mothers much older professional associate, a very graceful and beautiful woman that wore Chanel suits, spoke fluently french, had the perfect chignons and was educated in Wien. She died from cancer in her mid-fifties and this was her signature scent. With all this on mind i could never wore this just cause i can't possibly fit in this tremendously radiant lady's shoes. Sadly i can't experience this spicy womanly opening, the wonderfuly mild lighthanded greeness, wth honeyed sweet nothings and the lovely perfectly judged spicy amber drydowmn. An undeniably classic.

Jasper

This smells Divine! Clean, floral opening. What amazed me is that there was no "sweetness" in the top notes which I found unique for a lady scent.
the middle note are decadent blend of lots of flower but I can feel the lovely dewy-green aroma now and then. It purplexed me so much I test it twice within 24 hours. So rich and opulent but manages to give the freshness aura. This is something I would love to wear to a formal meeting because it gives "nice & reliable-person" feel. Though wearing it to bed will surely give me the restfull sleep and a sweet dream!

klonk

A work of art. Truly the most beautiful scent I ever had the chance to wear... Soft floral, romantic, fresh yet warm, slightly sweet and powdery, sophisticated, classy, sad and happy scent. A perfume that really awakes emotions.