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Apres L'Ondee

post #1 of 41
5/4/12 at 6:43am
Thread Starter 
I am wondering about the EDT of this scent. I have heard amazing things and I am considering ordering a bottle from Amazon. What does it smell like? I'm curious to hear your interpretations.
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post #2 of 41
5/4/12 at 6:50am
I have not smelled the recent ones, apparently it was reformulated around 2010 or so.

I have an older one. It's a combo of violet, heliotropin (almond), and a touch of iris, sprinkled with french herbs (thyme and the like). Very beautiful and haunting, but it's difficult to describe because on the market right now there's really nothing that has the same style and feel. It will likely appear "old style" to mainstream consumers.

For this reason, it's likely not a safe blind buy. Luca Turin thinks that the reformulation is pretty much an iris soliflore, but, again, I have not smelled it.

cacio
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post #3 of 41
5/4/12 at 6:53am
Like heliotrope, slightly almond-flowery and iris prominent. It has a nostalgic, transparent feeling with a touch of herbs and a pleasant non-sweet Guerlainade prominent drydown. When I wear it, it makes me feel introspective, wistful and a bit reflective. I usually avoid wearing it when I'm depressed or sad since it seems to intensify these sort of moods.

According to people who wore vintage EdT from years ago it used to be much less iris prominent and more heliotrope prominent, but I cannot attest to that. I love the juice that's on the shelves now.

It's not very strong and most critics of this scent complain of the poor longevity which I can understand so I just apply a lot of it when I wear it.

I have smelled the parfum (which is discontinued and very expensive/rare) and while it was richer, sweeter and a tiny more complex, it wore too too close to my skin and I actually left wearing it falling more in love with the EdT.

I think L' Eau d'Hiver by Frederic Malle is very similar to this scent, but slightly different also. So is Guerlain's Quand Vient la Pluie, a gourmand version of the parfum.
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post #4 of 41
5/4/12 at 8:10am
Oh no, a reformulation? How sad!
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post #5 of 41
5/4/12 at 8:16am
The last time I owned Apres L'Ondee was 2009. It was ethereal , otherworldly and just so beautiful - like a watercolor painting in olfactory form to me. It didn't really suit me but I was in love with those fleeting moments of scent and sprayed continuously to get that 'hit' !
Cacio- it's been re-reformulated ? Wow - thanks for that info . The 2009 EDT version I had was very short lived and if they reformulated I hope they added some tenacity to the scent !
I have never had the good fortune of smelling the parfum extrait.
Mike- yes I agree L'eau d'Hiver is a good option . Not quite as short lived and has that wistfulness about it ,like Apres L'Ondee.
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post #6 of 41
5/4/12 at 8:27am
Thread Starter 
I would love to try L'eau d'hiver.... if only I could get a sample!
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post #7 of 41
5/4/12 at 8:48am
I heard it was an iris bomb. Luckily I got a 5ml decant in a swap. Maybe it has some iris but definitely not iris prominent.

Very feminine. Reminded me of Citta di Kyoto.
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post #8 of 41
5/4/12 at 8:50am
Re the reformulation, I am just reporting what Luca Turin said in his latest 100 perfumes book. Heliotropin is now restricted, so the balance must have shifted sometimes before the regulation came into effect in 2010, though old stocks probably still circulated. LT claims AO is now a (good) iris, but not what it was before.

The version I have is not iris prominent - more violet, heliotropin and herbs. L'Eau d'Hiver has similarities, but I think it is somewhat paler and more heliotropin oriented.

cacio
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post #9 of 41
5/4/12 at 8:53am
Cacio - Many extra thanks for the info on heliotropin. I agree with what you said re. L'eau d'Hiver- it is more almond powdery to me - I get a gentle hit of iris a bit later as it progresses and L'eau d'Hiver is paler than Apree L'Ondee. Still a wonderful 'snowy' kind of scent.
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post #10 of 41
5/4/12 at 9:22am
I am lucky to have the older edts(two bottles 100mls), for me Apres L'Ondee was all about the heliotrope, perhaps my skin grabs it more. I have never lifted to sniff the newer bottle.
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post #11 of 41
5/4/12 at 10:09am
I also have an older EDT. Probably 4 years old?

I wanted to mention; this time of year you can go to the garden center and smell heliotrope in the real. That is pretty much what ALO smells like.

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post #12 of 41
5/4/12 at 11:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mandyfin View Post

I would love to try L'eau d'hiver.... if only I could get a sample!

I see that Surrender to Chance has it:
http://surrendertochance.com/frederi...e-leau-dhiver/
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post #13 of 41
5/4/12 at 8:09pm
The reformulation still smells like heliotrope but is quite a bit more irisy and in my opinion a dead ringer for a "L'Heure Bleue Light."
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post #14 of 41
5/4/12 at 11:30pm
Funny lovingthealien, I have the parfum and it is indeed very similar to L'Heure Bleue in parfum.
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post #15 of 41
5/4/12 at 11:35pm
Well, I agree with Luca Turin. My bottle, although I bought it more than a year ago, must be the new one. It's a very lovely and pleasant rooty iris and hardly anything else. It does not last at all on me, no matter how silly I spritz myself with it. A local store here used to have an old black-bottled EdT tester. This ALO was quite a different animal with the heliotrope focus. It's gorgeous, but I can report that it did not last any longer on my skin. I also have a sample of the much-praised extrait version. I am with mike here, it did not do terribly much for me (it was more focused on iris than the vintage EdT, which was more floral). However much I could like ALO, if it lasted on me, it has always been L'Heure Bleue that really moves me. I don't think the current ALO bears much resemblance with L'Heure Bleue.
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post #16 of 41
5/4/12 at 11:39pm
My bottle, bought about two years ago, has the heliotrope and is very much like a more floral version of L'Heure Bleue.
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post #17 of 41
5/5/12 at 3:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovingthealien View Post

The reformulation still smells like heliotrope but is quite a bit more irisy and in my opinion a dead ringer for a "L'Heure Bleue Light."

I'll take this as a 'hope springs eternal' message. I have a couple of bottles of the older EDT but sooner or later will have to bite the bullet and buy the new one.

Interesting to hear the opinions about the Extrait. I love it - wish I could get more! Turin made a great comment about the heliotrope / mimosa driven Apres l'Ondee style along the lines of "Angels don't have sex" but I think the Extrait proves this wrong - it's terrific, full bodied, dense, a little nutty . . . the Guerlinade gourmand warmth really gives it a solid lift.

BTW, if you should decide it's worth springing for some of the 'Vintage Extrait' from Perfumed Court or the other one (whoever ended up with the stash) I would advise against it. I ordered some a couple of years ago and it was lolly water - my guess is diluted EDT. Look elsewhere would be my advice.
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post #18 of 41
5/5/12 at 4:43am
Okay, so wandered passed the Guerlain counter this morning in Debenhams. Decided to spray the new bottle of Apres. Ye gods!!!! Where is the heliotrope, show me the heliotrope!!!! Its a pretty fragrance with lots of soft iris but the body and soul have been removed. Takes ages for it morph into anything like vintage(I mean prior to the new bottle, so not that many years).

I get a good four/five hours out of mine edts.


Came home and had the urge to hug my old style bottles.
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post #19 of 41
5/5/12 at 5:04am
Another one gone, then.

I have backed up L'Eau d'Hiver as well. Turin mentioned that he was surprised how this one got past EU regulations for heliotrope in The Guide. There is a brief conversation in the Single Notes Forum curated by Asha (just search heliotrope) and altho it's unclear exactly what's going on if Apres has been destroyed then I wonder if Malle will have to make adjustments for Ellena's tribute to Apres as well?
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post #20 of 41
5/5/12 at 6:39am
Damn, heliotropin is restricted now?!!
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post #21 of 41
5/5/12 at 8:19am
I have a large L'Eau d'Hiver.

Heliotropin, my drug of choice.
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post #22 of 41
5/5/12 at 1:26pm
If I had to guess, it is probably expense, rather than restriction that has caused the changes.
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post #23 of 41
5/6/12 at 12:14am
You are right kumquat. LVMH are well known as cost cutters to the extreme. Make it cheap and sell it expensive and anything classic and wonderful destroy it at all costs.
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post #24 of 41
5/6/12 at 12:43am
Well, we will never know for sure

I have no love for LVMH but I do think Wasser and others at Guerlain want to make good perfumes and given that Guerlain own plantations and have various exclusive suppllier agreements in place with growers all over the planet you would THINK they would actually want to use the ingredients rather than flip them off for cheaper chemical substitutes, wouldn't you? Why invest in assets that give you a USP and then use what every one else is using?

Here is what Luca Turin wrote in the Little Book: I hope he doesn't mind me quoting and I will say for those of you who haven't read it that altho it's a slim volume it is a great update on many of the classics that have been reformulated and, by default, an indictment of IFRA for what they have allowed to occur.

2011: "The joke built into the original was the dressing-up of cheap heliotropin with wildly expensive iris. Now that one is banned and the other is cheaper, the fragrance smells deliciously of iris. Some of the sweet nostalgia of the original is gone, but it is still very good in a suitably anemic way. In fairness, Guerlain could not have done better." LT

I'll add one more quote from an excellent interview persolaise conducted with Demachy at Dior / LVMH with a highlight - sometimes it helps to read between the lines . . . these guys can't actually come right out and say it before the event but if ever there was an inside tip then this has to it:

"After the public presentation, I managed to have a brief chat with Monsieur Demachy, during which he informed me that Guerlains in-house nose, Thierry Wasser with whom he works in the same LVMH lab is still pursuing his campaign to obtain some sort of special status for 'heritage perfumes' such as LHeure Bleue and Mitsouko which would make them exempt from certain fragrance regulations. Monsieur Demachy stated that increasingly tight restrictions on certain materials were the direct cause of the decision to discontinue the extrait of Apres LOndee; it was felt that it would be better not to have an extrait at all rather than sell an inferior formulation. When I asked him if the eau de toilette is safe for the foreseeable future, he raised his eyebrows and said, It is here now but be careful.

The full article can be read here:

http://www.basenotes.net/content/741...w-Perfume-Hall
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post #25 of 41
5/6/12 at 8:09am
Thread Starter 
I found FM Eau d'hiver yesterday! It smelled like pepper to my nose...
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post #26 of 41
5/6/12 at 11:36am
No way. Its honey and heliotrope
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post #27 of 41
6/7/12 at 1:45pm
Hi everyone!
I just wanted to let you know that you can purchase Apres L'Ondee 100 ml from this great UK web shop www.beauty-enhancement.com

I just got my bottle, and I am very, very pleased with their service. It arrived very quickly (about 8 or 9 days, East Coast). A free gift was also included. There are also some promotional coupons which you can find on the internet.

Apres L'Ondee is the best fragrance I have ever smelled.
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post #28 of 41
6/7/12 at 2:18pm
Does anyone know why heliotropin is a problem and is therefore restricted?
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post #29 of 41
6/7/12 at 2:34pm
I don't know this particular case, but IFRA restricts stuff because of skin reactions, so presumably one person out of 10,000 developed a temporary mild redness upon spraying pure helitropin.

All of a sudden, I have a desire to dab Jarling when I go back home.

cacio
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post #30 of 41
6/7/12 at 4:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mondamin View Post

Hi everyone!
I just wanted to let you know that you can purchase Apres L'Ondee 100 ml from this great UK web shop www.beauty-enhancement.com

I just got my bottle, and I am very, very pleased with their service. It arrived very quickly (about 8 or 9 days, East Coast). A free gift was also included. There are also some promotional coupons which you can find on the internet.

Apres L'Ondee is the best fragrance I have ever smelled.

Why would you buy it all the way from there? You should have just purchased it direct from one of the Guerlain Boutiques. I think it's right around 100 bucks with free expedited shipping and no tax. Also, they give the most generous samples I've ever seen in my life.
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post #31 of 41
6/8/12 at 7:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovingthealien View Post

Why would you buy it all the way from there? You should have just purchased it direct from one of the Guerlain Boutiques. I think it's right around 100 bucks with free expedited shipping and no tax. Also, they give the most generous samples I've ever seen in my life.

Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately, Guerlain's boutiques do not sell it online. Besides, I do not have time for shopping around, and the nearest Guerlain shop is not around the corner. It was around 100 bucks anyway.
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post #32 of 41
6/8/12 at 8:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mondamin View Post

Thank you for your advice. Unfortunately, Guerlain's boutiques do not sell it online. Besides, I do not have time for shopping around, and the nearest Guerlain shop is not around the corner. It was around 100 bucks anyway.

You order by phone, which is so much more fun!

Also, I just found out that Apres l'Ondee is 120 Canadian dollars.
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post #33 of 41
6/8/12 at 9:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovingthealien View Post

You order by phone, which is so much more fun!

Also, I just found out that Apres l'Ondee is 120 Canadian dollars.

Oh, by phone? No, thanks! I HATE ordering by phone. Thank you anyway.
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post #34 of 41
6/8/12 at 6:12pm
I've tried Apres l'Ondee a couple of times now in the course of 18 months. Each time I have not been able to come to terms with its unusual character. Both bottles were disposed of - the first given away, the second sold at a considerable loss on Evilbay.

What struck me both times was the disturbing effect it had on my psyche. Nothing short of depression was what it caused with me. Now I'm a recovering depressive, so I really couldn't afford to indulge myself in anything that damaged my well being. So, I was left wondering what on earth was in the ingredients that affected mood so dramatically with me.

I could detect the ethereal magic that people are so fond of and found it quite addictive but it was perhaps the first perfume I would say, for me, was categorically too much of another time to want to wear it often.
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post #35 of 41
6/9/12 at 3:16am
sorry for OT, but talking about the restriction of heliotropine - do you thing Guerlain's Cuir Beluga might be in danger? The heliotropin adds something special to that scent - without it, it would be just another vanilla...
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post #36 of 41
6/9/12 at 8:02am
LiliB sorry to here of your health difficulties. It's likely that it's the iris note. I've often read threads on here and in other reviews that iris notes (orris) literally induced "the blues". Which it seems to bring back to you. I hope it's comforting knowing you are not alone in this reaction to it

Quote:
Originally Posted by LiliB View Post

I've tried Apres l'Ondee a couple of times now in the course of 18 months. Each time I have not been able to come to terms with its unusual character. Both bottles were disposed of - the first given away, the second sold at a considerable loss on Evilbay.

What struck me both times was the disturbing effect it had on my psyche. Nothing short of depression was what it caused with me. Now I'm a recovering depressive, so I really couldn't afford to indulge myself in anything that damaged my well being. So, I was left wondering what on earth was in the ingredients that affected mood so dramatically with me.

I could detect the ethereal magic that people are so fond of and found it quite addictive but it was perhaps the first perfume I would say, for me, was categorically too much of another time to want to wear it often.
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post #37 of 41
6/9/12 at 8:19am
LiliB - lots of hugs . I understand completely the depressive factor . It's part of the character of Apres L'Ondee for me in a way. It's sort of bittersweet and heartbreaking . I'm sorry it didn't work out for you .
Memoir Woman by Amouage ( though a totally different scent ) had the same brooding and depressive effect on me . I also disposed of my bottle at an outrageous loss .
I also won't wear scents that depress me which is also why I don't wear L'Heure Bleue ( even though I do have it - Mom wears it for me.....) though it is beautiful .
Heartbreakingly beautiful and poignant .
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post #38 of 41
6/9/12 at 9:30am
Lili:

your feel for AO corresponds exactly to perfume critic Luca Turin's (stellar) review of vintage AO: helitropin + iris, both sad materials, and you have a funeral, though AO adds a bouquet of herbs de Provence to add a smile through the tears. Still, this is one of the ophelias of the perfume world.

DieNase: I have not smelled Cuir Beluga recently, so I don't know. Helitropin is restricted, not banned altogether, so it depends on how much heliotropin was in the original. Still, the two past masterpieces based on heliotropin, AO and HB, have been ruined (HB also because of eugenol), so I wouldn't keep my hopes high.

cacio
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post #39 of 41
6/15/12 at 11:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cacio View Post

Lili:

your feel for AO corresponds exactly to perfume critic Luca Turin's (stellar) review of vintage AO: helitropin + iris, both sad materials, and you have a funeral, though AO adds a bouquet of herbs de Provence to add a smile through the tears. Still, this is one of the ophelias of the perfume world.

DieNase: I have not smelled Cuir Beluga recently, so I don't know. Helitropin is restricted, not banned altogether, so it depends on how much heliotropin was in the original. Still, the two past masterpieces based on heliotropin, AO and HB, have been ruined (HB also because of eugenol), so I wouldn't keep my hopes high.

cacio

cacio, I bought my l'heure bleue EdT last summer. And I suppose that it had not been stored a long time (was an official Guerlain counter - so should have been fresh juice). So you think I own the ruined version? I haven't smelled older versions, but I love my EdT and very much prefer it to the EdP.
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post #40 of 41
6/15/12 at 11:52pm
I love Apres L'Ondee when my L'Heure Bleue EDP is too much. The Apres L'Ondee is much for herbal to my nose.
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post #41 of 41
6/16/12 at 2:34am
Dienase:

I don't know exactly when the new version of HB was distributed. The restriction started in 2010, but old stocks likely stayed over for a long time. HB is not a big seller, so it takes time to exhaust old stock. If you like it a lot, that should be a sign though.

cacio
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