Apres L'Ondee reformulated?

[WillC]

I can't find it right now, but earlier today I read a BN thread in which someone commented that Apres L'Ondee had been reformulated due to IFRA regulations against Heliotropin, which had also affected L'Heure Bleue. Does anyone know exactly when this would have happened? I've got a bottle of Apres L'Ondee which I bought new in about June last year - would this be from before or after this reformulation?

[Larimar]

I wondered the same thing... although the 'current' EdT is so thin and fleeting... how could this conflict with % restrictions imposed by IFRA?

[cacio]

In a recent thread, I cited the new Turin Sanchez book. TS say that it now smells of a plain iris, which is all Guerlain could have done. I have not smelled AO in recent years, and for the new book TS resmelled whatever they received in 2011. I think the regulation went into effect in 2010, so presumably the production changed at about this period. AO is not a big seller, so it is very possible that the stock last year was still the old one.

However, it should be easy to check what is what. Does it smell like a predominantly iris thing, or do you smell the powdery, mimosa-like, somewhat violet-like heliotropin?

cacio

[WillC]

Thanks for your response, cacio. My bottle doesn't smell like a plain iris to my nose. I'm not very familiar with the smell of heliotropin, but I think it probably is that - it does smell similar to violets, and also like some mimosa (Claus Porto) soap I had recently that mikeperez23 compared to the smell of Apres L'Ondee. Mine does wear quite lightly, and I can imagine an older bottle of the EDT having more presence, a bit like the parfum, which I have a small sample of. I would like to smell the current stuff to confirm mine is pre-reformulation, and also just out of curiosity.

[hednic]

Wouldn't surprise me. New regulations are constantly forcing manufactures to rethink their products.

[Dane]

Everytime I see a different batch number, I assume a different fragrance is contained therein....even if only minutely. It's impossible to have an identical fragrance with every batch...harvests are different, sometimes ingredients are sourced elsewhere...there are inumerable possibilities. Having said that, the people who manufacture perfume are experts at making things at least seem consistent in the end product.

As far as the IFRA restrictions go, yes, heliotropin was heavily restricted, so there is no doubt that Apres l'Ondee changed because of it. If I were you, I'd do my best not to get caught up in batches and reformulations as everyone else on BN does...it's almost impossible to know what you're getting, but for the most part, it will still smell like Apres l'Ondee.

[cacio]

Will:

if you can clearly detect heliotropin (mimosa, powder, soap are all good descriptors) then your bottle is pre-IFRA. Enjoy and keep well, as it won't be around in stores anymore. I have a vintage edt and it also westd light, so it's really a matter of EDT versus other concentrations, not of vintage. The parfum hasn't been in production for a long time, and I've never smelled it.

Dane is right not to get too caught up in batch numbers and the like. But in this case, it's likely a major change for the worse, not just a natural fluctuation in quality. So one has to be careful.

cacio