After the Rain Arran Aromatics

This is my second fragrance from Arran Aromatics, Driftwood being my first acquisition, both reflecting the mission statement of the company:

"Your antidote to modern living. Apothecary draws on centuries of knowledge of essential oils and wellbeing; like lavender to bring a sense of island calm and aloe vera to heal, soothe and nourish."

An excerpt from the write up for After the Rain on the Arran Aromatics website is as follows:

 "... After the Rain was inspired by our founder Janet's desire to capture the unique, fresh scent of her Arran garden following a rain storm. An irresistibly fresh fragrance to make you feel awakened, cleansed and re-discovered, After the Rain contains essential oils of Lime, Lavandin, Mandarin, Juniper and Cardamom."

Fragrantica lists the notes as follows: Top notes are citruses and floral notes; middle notes are rose and jasmine, base notes are precious woods and musk.

So what does it smell like on me?

It smells cold. It reminds me of living in Ireland, of my weekends on the Atlantic coast with a bracing salty and icy wind clearing out my lungs and head. The grass and leaves are dark to emerald green, not the sun burnt yellow green we have here under a perennially scorching sun. The air there always smelt pure and invigorating, far away from the pollution of the big cities, with a sweetness I attributed to the nearby ocean and the flowers of the garden, flowers that can't survive in my tropical country, flowers of a thousand colours and smells. 

Irish coastline 

Where Apres l'Ondee smells of fragile dew drops balancing on delicate violet flowers, After the Rain smells robust, of trees and plants renewed after a big shower, their leaves all green and glistening with rain, the soil damp and brown, the heat rising from the earth, drawing a moist musky smell upwards, your wellies squishing in the mud as you take a deep inhale of the sweet wildflowers and watch the rays of the sun break through the grey skies above. 

The scent is linear and the notes are jumbled together but it doesn't come across as being discordant, it's refreshingly simple without being boring or common and it can't be dismissed as just another clean scent. I won't classify this as a floral scent as it is in Fragrantica, it is more of an aromatic woody scent and sits firmly in the unisex.

The sillage is good and the longevity is decent, it stays on me for about four to six hours. I highly recommend this for being unique, inexpensive and of good quality.