Après l’Ondée by Guerlain: The Impressionist Watercolor

Alas, Après l’Ondée no longer exists as an extract, because of IFRA standards, and if we had made it compliant with current standards, it would have been truly disfigured. However, and fortunately, we still have it in its eau de toilette version.

I see Après l’Ondée as a watercolor and L’Heure Bleue as a work “with texture,” with depth, with a rich and dense base, both mossier and more oriental. L’Heure Bleue possesses, unlike Après l’Ondée, a “marshmallow” accord, an alliance of orange blossom and vanilla, as well as the sketch of the famous Guerlinade.

History and Inspiration

One spring day, a storm breaks. It pours its waters on nature still warm. The rain wets every flower petal, every blade of grass, the bark of trees. And when the end of the storm comes, the sky clears, a few still-shy rays of sun appear, and nature is refreshed, sublimating its scents.

Après l’Ondée tells the story of this moment when the noise of the rain fades away, leaving room for a soft light filtered by the leaves of the trees. And the warm smells of the earth, of leaves and flowers exalted, to deliver us its softest fragrances.

Après l’Ondée is a poetic perfume; Jacques Guerlain was walking in the countryside when a storm broke. Impressed by the smell released by nature, he composed this ode to flowers, wet with dew.

It is a perfume full of nuances, of delicacy, in communion with the elements of the earth, a perfume that celebrates fine weather after rain, a perfume that makes you want to walk barefoot in the grass.

Olfactory Description

The floral accord develops citrus notes in the top notes accompanied by aniseed notes. In the heart, a rich bouquet of orange blossom, violets, and carnations, hawthorn gives way to a powdery base (emanating from iris roots; here, iris butter or concrete is put directly into the formula), heliotrope, and vanilla. Après l’Ondée is an iris wet with pearls of dew.

The common point between Après l’Ondée and L’Heure Bleue is the l’Origan accord, created by Coty, an accord composed of orange blossom, violet, spicy notes: clove and vanilla. It was one of the first, if not the first, to have used anisic aldehyde created in 1887, as well as heliotropin created in 1889, as well as ionones.

Olfactory Pyramid

• Top Notes: Lemon, Bergamot, Neroli.
• Heart Notes: Carnation, Violet, Mimosa (cassie).
• Base Notes: Vanilla, Benzoin, Iris Roots, Heliotrope, Santal.

Family: Powdery Floral.

Heritage and Bottle

Quand vient la pluie, a perfume we developed for the exclusives with Thierry Wasser, when he was not yet the House perfumer; we then wanted to work on this theme: treat Après l’Ondée in a more contemporary way with a more present and addictive base. All nestled in the sculpture bottle designed by Serge Mansau.

The original bottle: The bottle, called the Louis XVI bottle, evokes a wicker basket, which would have belonged to Marie-Antoinette, who was crazy about the countryside. The stopper takes up the design of the clover flower, symbol of field flowers. But now it is in the spray bottle of the Imperial Eau de Cologne.

Like a caress.
Rises the spring rain,
Up to the Sun!

Après l’Ondée a single beautiful ray of sunshine.
Spreads over nature a serene joy.
Suddenly, in the fields, with a glorious awakening,
Spring blazes.
An ineffable perfume scents the warmed air.
And the flowers, opening, seem to want to smile.
With me, dear love, do you want to pick them, say?
– I desire it.
Now this bouquet embellishes the house.
These roses on the bed brightening our ideas.
Darling, let’s pluck their petals: it’s a seasonal game…