Guerlain’s strange and exquisite Après L’Ondée has a cool, primeval innocence, yet a wise, sage, intuition; as new as a just-blossomed flower, but as ancient as its knowing, tearful DNA. The soft diluvial transparency it breathes makes the perfume by far the most natural and air-kissed of the classical Jacques Guerlains, while the unusual bouquet garni of anise, cassie, rosemary, heliotrope, carnation and hawthorn contrasting emotionally, and perturbingly, with the vanillic-lined silken flower dust beauty of its powdered iris, violet, mimosa and musks make the scent quietly Arcadian: mythological, almost in its shy but steadfastly feminine beauty. A poignancy: rainsoothed; unfathomed.
The Black Narcissus 
Probably my favorite Guerlain. Appropriate for my stay in Taormina where there have been continual thunderstorms and downpours. Spending more time in the hotel room than anticipated and did not bring Apres L’Ondee with me unfortunately.
What will you wear as a substitute?
I miss these exchanges. I would LOVE to go there, though. Is it really beautiful?
It is extremely beautiful…you would love it and almost every Italian seems to wear perfume (can’t say that for some of the tourists)!
I will have to go. Haven’t been to Italy for twenty years!
Apres l’Ondee is one of the myths I will only sigh over, alas …
I met with mimosa on the tree for the first time in Sicily, where I stayed in one of those Death in Venice hotels in Taormina, ages ago;
and hawthorn is a favourite that I stack in my pockets and take out and smell and smell
I miss hawthorn. You can’t get it in Japan. And the mimosa here is unscented, would you believe.
One of my favorite Guerlain fragrances. It is such a truly delicate wonder, it just seems to be bathed in melancholy.
I have a huge bottle of the EDT, but have yet to find the extrait; well, at a reasonable price I should add.
I have heard though that the extrait is a rather fleeting pleasure, not much lasting power to it.
Do you find the extrait often, in the shops you frequent?
Never! haven’t found it even once in all my time living here. I can’t wear it, personally, either. It smells RIDICULOUSLY wrong on my skin – too much like a musky watercolour.
Oh sorry, I just commented but apparently on the original post from 2016… I don’t understand this. Do you repost older posts and the new posts are listed separately from the original? You can delete this after responding ;P Sorry
No – I like newer comments as well. It’s interesting.
Oh no, I meant that I wrote a comment just this weekend but somehow without noticing I left it under the old post, not here. But I understand now.
I am sure that you are more lucid than I am these days, at any rate!