5th Avenue After Five by Elizabeth Arden takes the polished femininity associated with the 5th Avenue collection and moves it into a more intimate evening setting. Released in 2005, this Eau de Parfum combines plum, honeysuckle, bergamot, coriander, jasmine, lotus, lily of the valley, saffron, birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean. The result is floral and fruity at first, softly spicy through the center, and increasingly woody and musky as it settles.
What makes After Five interesting is that it does not rely on heavy vanilla or syrupy sweetness to create an evening fragrance. Plum gives the opening a darker fruit character, saffron and coriander add subtle spice, and birch introduces a slightly smoky woody quality that gives the dry down more personality. It feels sophisticated without becoming formal and sensual without becoming excessively sweet. For fragrance lovers searching for an affordable floral woody perfume that transitions easily from late afternoon into evening, 5th Avenue After Five remains a compelling hidden gem.
What does 5th Avenue After Five by Elizabeth Arden smell like?
5th Avenue After Five smells floral, fruity, woody, softly spicy, musky, slightly powdery, and elegant.
The opening begins with honeysuckle and plum. Honeysuckle provides a soft floral sweetness while plum adds ripe fruitiness without making the fragrance smell sugary. Bergamot creates brightness, and coriander introduces an aromatic spicy quality that immediately separates After Five from a basic fruity floral.
As the fragrance develops, lily of the valley, Indian lotus, jasmine, and saffron become more prominent. Lily of the valley brings freshness, lotus gives the heart a slightly watery transparency, and jasmine adds traditional floral richness. Saffron contributes warmth and an understated exotic quality.
The dry down becomes noticeably woodier through birch and sandalwood. Birch introduces a slightly smoky, dry character while sandalwood provides smoothness. Musk creates softness around the skin and tonka bean adds restrained warmth and sweetness.
The overall effect is elegant and understated. After Five smells polished enough for dinner or an event, but it remains fresh enough that it does not feel restricted to nighttime.
What are the top, heart, and base notes in 5th Avenue After Five?
5th Avenue After Five by Elizabeth Arden was released in 2005.
Top Notes: Honeysuckle, plum, coriander, bergamot
Heart Notes: Lily of the valley, Indian lotus, jasmine, saffron
Base Notes: Birch, sandalwood, musk, tonka bean
The fragrance begins with floral fruit and aromatic spice, transitions into a fresh white floral heart, and settles into smooth woods, musk, and gentle tonka bean warmth.
That progression gives After Five more dimension than its relatively simple note pyramid initially suggests.
Is 5th Avenue After Five for men, women, or unisex?
5th Avenue After Five is marketed as a fragrance for women.
Honeysuckle, plum, lily of the valley, lotus, and jasmine create a traditionally feminine floral fruity character. However, coriander, saffron, birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean introduce enough spice and woodiness to make the fragrance less conventionally floral than the original 5th Avenue.
The birch note in particular gives the fragrance a slightly dry and smoky element that some modern wearers may perceive as relatively gender neutral.
It remains officially a women's fragrance, but anyone who enjoys floral woody musk compositions can wear it.
How long does 5th Avenue After Five last?
5th Avenue After Five generally provides approximately 6 to 8 hours of wear for many people, although performance varies according to skin chemistry, application, temperature, and environment.
Plum, honeysuckle, bergamot, and coriander are most noticeable during the opening. Jasmine, lotus, lily of the valley, and saffron form the middle of the fragrance before birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean become increasingly noticeable.
The woody musky dry down can remain on clothing longer than it remains prominent on skin.
Because this is an Eau de Parfum, it provides respectable everyday longevity without needing excessive application.
How strong is 5th Avenue After Five's projection?
5th Avenue After Five has moderate projection.
The plum, honeysuckle, coriander, and bergamot create a noticeable opening, followed by a softer scent cloud of jasmine, lily of the valley, lotus, and saffron.
Projection gradually becomes more intimate as birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean take over.
This balance makes After Five particularly versatile. It has enough presence for dinner, date night, or an evening event without usually becoming overwhelming in close environments.
It can also work in an office when applied conservatively.
What fragrance family is 5th Avenue After Five?
5th Avenue After Five belongs to the floral woody musk fragrance family.
Its personality includes fruity, white floral, woody, aromatic, softly spicy, musky, and slightly smoky elements.
Plum provides the primary fruit character. Honeysuckle, lily of the valley, lotus, and jasmine form the floral side of the fragrance. Coriander and saffron introduce spice, while birch and sandalwood create the woody foundation.
Musk and tonka bean soften the dry down.
The easiest way to understand After Five is as an elegant floral woody fragrance with plum, soft spice, white flowers, musk, and warm woods.
What seasons is 5th Avenue After Five best for?
5th Avenue After Five performs particularly well during fall and spring.
Fall allows plum, coriander, saffron, birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean to show their warmer qualities, while spring emphasizes honeysuckle, lily of the valley, jasmine, lotus, and bergamot.
It can also work during winter, particularly indoors or in milder climates.
Despite its evening inspired name, After Five is fresh enough to work on cooler summer evenings as well.
Best seasons: Fall and spring
Also excellent: Mild winter weather
Summer: Best during evenings or with lighter application
Its balance between freshness and warmth makes it more versatile than many traditional cold weather perfumes.
Is 5th Avenue After Five better for daytime or nighttime?
5th Avenue After Five was clearly designed with evening wear in mind, but it works surprisingly well during the daytime.
The opening has enough bergamot, honeysuckle, lotus, and lily of the valley to feel fresh and polished during the afternoon. As the fragrance develops, plum, saffron, birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean create a warmer personality that feels increasingly appropriate after sunset.
Best overall: Late afternoon and evening
Daytime: Good for work, lunch, professional events, and cooler weather
Nighttime: Excellent for dates, dinners, social events, theater, and evenings out
The fragrance is particularly useful for someone who wants one perfume that can transition directly from work into evening plans.
What occasions should 5th Avenue After Five be worn for?
5th Avenue After Five works well for situations where you want fragrance to feel polished, feminine, and slightly sophisticated without becoming overly formal.
It is particularly well suited for date nights, dinner, cocktails, theater, professional functions, evening gatherings, holiday events, work, business dinners, weddings, celebrations, travel, social occasions, and elegant casual evenings.
It can also be worn as an everyday fragrance by someone who prefers floral woody scents over bright citrus or sweet gourmand perfumes.
Its moderate projection makes it adaptable to both intimate and social settings.
What age range is 5th Avenue After Five best suited for?
5th Avenue After Five works across a broad adult age range.
Women in their 20s and 30s may appreciate its plum, lotus, saffron, woods, and restrained sweetness because it feels sophisticated without becoming overly traditional.
Women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond may appreciate its polished floral structure, sandalwood, musk, birch, and connection to the Elizabeth Arden 5th Avenue fragrance family.
It does not feel particularly youthful or mature.
Personal taste matters considerably more than age. After Five is best suited for someone who enjoys elegant fruity florals with spice and woods rather than extremely sweet or playful perfumes.
Is 5th Avenue After Five office appropriate?
Yes. 5th Avenue After Five can be very office appropriate when applied moderately.
Despite its evening positioning, the fragrance is not overwhelmingly dark or seductive. Bergamot, honeysuckle, lily of the valley, lotus, and jasmine create enough freshness for professional environments.
Two to three sprays should generally be sufficient for an office.
The birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean dry down also feels polished rather than loud.
Is it good for dates? Yes. Date night is one of the fragrance's strongest uses. Plum, jasmine, saffron, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean create warmth and femininity without relying on excessive sweetness. It works especially well for dinner, cocktails, movies, theater, or an evening when you want something elegant but understated.
Is it a safe blind buy? Moderately safe for someone who already enjoys floral woody perfumes. Plum, jasmine, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean are approachable, but the combination of coriander, saffron, and birch gives After Five a slightly unusual edge. Someone who prefers extremely sweet gourmands or very fresh citrus perfumes may want to sample it first.
What fragrances smell similar to 5th Avenue After Five?
5th Avenue After Five has a distinctive combination of plum, white flowers, spice, birch, sandalwood, and musk, but several fragrances in the South Beach Perfumes catalog explore similar floral woody territory.
Noa by Cacharel
Noa by Cacharel is one of the strongest comparisons for someone who enjoys the soft floral and woody character of 5th Avenue After Five.
Both fragrances include plum, lily of the valley, jasmine, sandalwood, coriander, musk, and tonka bean.
Noa feels softer, creamier, more powdery, and more intimate through peony, freesia, vanilla, coffee, and incense.
After Five feels slightly sharper and more evening oriented because of bergamot, saffron, birch, honeysuckle, and its darker plum character.
Choose Noa if you enjoy After Five but want something softer and more delicate for everyday wear.
Crystal Noir by Versace
Crystal Noir is an excellent alternative for someone who enjoys the spicy floral woods of After Five but wants something more sensual.
Crystal Noir combines ginger, pepper, peony, gardenia, orange flower, sandalwood, amber, musk, and precious woods.
Both fragrances balance spice, flowers, sandalwood, musk, and woods while maintaining an elegant feminine personality.
Crystal Noir feels warmer, creamier, spicier, and more seductive.
After Five feels fruitier, fresher, and slightly more transparent because of plum, bergamot, honeysuckle, lotus, and lily of the valley.
Choose Crystal Noir if you want a richer nighttime interpretation of the same general floral woody mood.
Euphoria by Calvin Klein
Euphoria by Calvin Klein is another excellent choice for someone who likes the evening personality of After Five.
Both fragrances were released in 2005 and combine fruit, lotus, florals, and woods into feminine Eau de Parfum compositions designed to move beyond traditional floral perfume.
Euphoria uses pomegranate, persimmon, lotus, black orchid, champaca, mahogany, amber, black violet, and creamy accords.
Euphoria is darker, richer, sweeter, and more sensual.
After Five is fresher and more restrained through bergamot, honeysuckle, lily of the valley, coriander, saffron, birch, sandalwood, and musk.
Choose Euphoria if you enjoy After Five but want greater projection, depth, and evening drama.
What is the difference between available 5th Avenue After Five concentrations?
5th Avenue After Five was released primarily as an Eau de Parfum.
South Beach Perfumes carries the classic 4.2 oz Eau de Parfum spray.
Historical product presentations also included related scented formats such as fragrance gels and shimmering sprays, but these should not be confused with separate perfume concentrations.
The Eau de Parfum is the primary fragrance version associated with the 2005 release.
It is also important not to confuse 5th Avenue After Five with other fragrances within the larger 5th Avenue collection. The original 5th Avenue, 5th Avenue NYC Love, 5th Avenue Dream, and other historical flankers are separate compositions rather than stronger or weaker concentrations of After Five.
If you want the plum, honeysuckle, saffron, lotus, birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean fragrance discussed here, look specifically for 5th Avenue After Five Eau de Parfum by Elizabeth Arden.
Learn more about fragrance concentrations
Is 5th Avenue After Five discontinued?
5th Avenue After Five appears to have been discontinued from Elizabeth Arden's current fragrance lineup.
Elizabeth Arden's current 5th Avenue collection includes the original 5th Avenue Eau de Parfum along with newer fragrances such as 5th Avenue NYC Love and 5th Avenue Dream. After Five is not currently included in the brand's direct fragrance collection.
Fragrance reference databases also identify production of After Five as apparently discontinued.
Authentic bottles can still remain available through established fragrance retailers and distributors, including South Beach Perfumes. This is common with discontinued designer fragrances because retail and distributor inventory can remain in circulation long after a brand stops actively producing or promoting a scent.
Because availability may become increasingly unpredictable, longtime fans may want to purchase After Five while authentic inventory can still be found.
When was 5th Avenue After Five released?
5th Avenue After Five by Elizabeth Arden was released in 2005.
The fragrance was designed as an evening inspired addition to the 5th Avenue collection.
Where the original 5th Avenue emphasizes an expansive floral bouquet and classic daytime elegance, After Five moves toward plum, spice, lotus, saffron, birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean.
The concept reflects the transition of New York City's Fifth Avenue from the energy of the workday into dinner, entertainment, nightlife, and evening sophistication.
Its 2005 release also places After Five within an important period when women's designer fragrances were increasingly incorporating fruit, exotic florals, darker woods, and sensual musks.
Who created 5th Avenue After Five?
5th Avenue After Five was created by perfumer Olivier Gillotin.
Gillotin built the fragrance around an interesting contrast between freshness and warmth.
Bergamot and honeysuckle provide brightness, while plum adds deeper fruit. Coriander introduces aromatic spice before lily of the valley, lotus, jasmine, and saffron develop through the heart.
Birch is especially important because it creates a dry, slightly smoky woody quality that gives the fragrance more character than a typical floral fruity perfume.
Sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean soften that dryness and create a smoother finish.
The composition is relatively concise, but each stage feels distinct.
How many sprays of 5th Avenue After Five should be used?
5th Avenue After Five has moderate projection and does not require heavy application.
Office or professional setting: 2 to 3 sprays
Everyday wear: 3 to 4 sprays
Date night: 3 to 5 sprays
Evening event: 4 to 5 sprays
Good application points include the sides of the neck, upper chest, wrists, and behind the ears.
Because After Five is an Eau de Parfum, allow it several minutes to develop before deciding whether additional application is necessary.
The opening feels brighter than the dry down, so overspraying immediately can create more fragrance than intended once the woods, musk, and tonka bean fully emerge.
Is 5th Avenue After Five authentic?
Yes. South Beach Perfumes guarantees that the designer fragrances it sells are 100% authentic, original brand name products.
5th Avenue After Five purchased from South Beach Perfumes is an authentic Elizabeth Arden fragrance rather than an imitation, replica, or inspired version.
Authenticity can be an especially important question with older or discontinued fragrances because bottles may come from different production years, distribution markets, packaging runs, or batches.
Boxes, labels, bottle details, and manufacturing information can therefore vary without indicating that a fragrance is counterfeit.
South Beach Perfumes sources its fragrances through established distribution channels and sells original designer fragrances.
Learn more about our product guarantee policy
Who should buy 5th Avenue After Five?
5th Avenue After Five is particularly well suited for women who enjoy floral woody perfumes, plum fragrances, white florals, jasmine, lotus, saffron, sandalwood, musk, tonka bean, softly spicy perfumes, date night fragrances, evening perfumes, understated sensual fragrances, discontinued designer perfumes, and affordable fragrance hidden gems.
It is especially useful for someone who wants an evening fragrance without excessive vanilla or gourmand sweetness.
After Five also makes sense for someone who needs a fragrance that can move from work into dinner without feeling inappropriate in either environment.
Collectors of discontinued Elizabeth Arden fragrances may also appreciate its place within the larger 5th Avenue history.
Who may not like 5th Avenue After Five?
5th Avenue After Five may not appeal to someone who wants an extremely sweet perfume.
Plum and tonka bean provide sweetness, but the fragrance is balanced by coriander, saffron, bergamot, birch, sandalwood, and musk.
Someone expecting a syrupy fruit or vanilla gourmand may find it too dry.
The birch note can also introduce a slightly smoky or leathery impression to some noses. Anyone who strongly dislikes dry woods may want to sample it first.
People who want enormous projection may also find After Five more understated than expected.
Despite the nighttime name, this is not an aggressive club fragrance.
It is elegant, softly sensual, and relatively controlled.
That makes it appealing for someone who values sophistication, but less appropriate for someone searching for maximum sweetness or room filling performance.
Final South Beach Perfumes Expert Review
5th Avenue After Five by Elizabeth Arden is an interesting example of an evening fragrance that does not rely on excess.
The opening sets the tone immediately. Plum gives the perfume a ripe, slightly darker fruit character while honeysuckle softens it with floral sweetness. Bergamot adds freshness and coriander introduces just enough spice to signal that After Five will not develop like a typical fruity floral.
The heart becomes increasingly elegant through lily of the valley, lotus, jasmine, and saffron. Lotus gives the composition transparency while jasmine adds richness. Saffron provides warmth without becoming overwhelmingly spicy.
The dry down is where After Five becomes most distinctive.
Birch introduces a dry woody quality that contrasts with smooth sandalwood, while musk softens the fragrance around the skin. Tonka bean adds warmth and subtle sweetness without turning the scent into a gourmand.
This progression makes After Five more versatile than its name suggests.
It can be worn to work in the afternoon, remain appropriate through dinner, and continue naturally into an evening event without ever feeling out of place.
Its greatest strength is this balance. After Five is feminine but not sugary, woody without feeling masculine, spicy without becoming heavy, and sensual without becoming obvious.
Its greatest limitation is that someone expecting an intensely rich nighttime fragrance may find it too restrained.
For the right wearer, that restraint is exactly the appeal.
With its 2005 release, Olivier Gillotin composition, discontinued status, and distinctive combination of plum, lotus, saffron, birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean, 5th Avenue After Five deserves more attention than it typically receives.
South Beach Perfumes Expert Verdict: An underrated floral woody Eau de Parfum that blends plum, honeysuckle, coriander, bergamot, jasmine, lotus, saffron, birch, sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean into an elegant fragrance with excellent day to evening versatility. It is particularly well suited for fall, spring, date nights, dinners, professional events, and fragrance lovers searching for a discontinued designer scent with sophistication rather than excessive sweetness.
Still deciding which fragrance style best represents you? Explore our Ultimate Guide to Finding Your Signature Scent.
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