Insolence

[100] As an eleven-year-old at an Italian airport, I discovered Insolence and thus began my obsession with the house of Guerlain. It was likely a combination of Hilary Swank's beguiling cheekbones-and-hair advertisement and the deep purple flying saucer-esque bottle that caught my attention initially. The Parma violet opening hooked me, and so it was Insolence that I sprayed for years at department store counters. According to a BBC documentary that I watched years later simply entitled "Perfume", Insolence was the typical first perfume for French teenagers of my vintage upon being brought to the Guerlain counter. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my eleven-year-old self was beginning her olfactory journey in the "right" way, at least according to the French! Only recently I finally bought an original (flying saucer) bottle of Insolence EDP to add to my collection, and it is still a love for me. As scent tends to do, it evokes memories of my pre-teen and teenage years, and is still a perfectly acceptable scent choice for a twentysomething. I have always loved violets, and Insolence, a violet-dominated scent, manages to make violets youthful. This is refreshing in a scent context, as violet scents are often considered old-fashioned and/or tend to be associated with grandmothers. Insolence was masterfully composed by Maurice Roucel, a perfumer I have greatly admired since smelling his Frédéric Malle creations. He is also the nose behind groundbreaking scents such as Gucci Envy, Hermès 24 Faubourg and Rochas Tocade. Insolence opens with the blast of the Parma violets that I remember, with fruity berry notes rounding it out. The opening is sweet with a fleeting hint of freshness provided by the citrus notes. There is a slight creaminess to the opening too, complementing the sweetness perfectly. The opening alone is surprisingly complex, a far cry from the violet soliflore as it appears to be on first whiff. Insolence becomes dry and very powdery as it develops, still violet-heavy, but the violet notes soften and rose creeps in. The violets give way to powdery iris after a little while, and the juxtaposition of these two dominant floral notes is intriguing and addictive. Insolence's floral heart is delicious - the notes complement each other beautifully, and I repeatedly find myself smelling my wrist. Insolence's woody-amber accord emerges as it begins to dry down, rounding out the scent, and musky notes creep in as it dries down further. It eventually fades to a softly sweet, powdery, musky skin scent. Sillage is moderate to strong, and it is quite long-lasting. Best worn during autumn/winter, and can be worn day-to-night. It smells expensive and unusual, youthful yet sophisticated enough to be confidently worn by adult women. However, it is not for everyone and is definitely not blind-buy safe. Powdery violets for the 21st century. A personal favourite. 5/5.

I recently found an original bottle of EdT I received for my birthday in 2006 that was still in cellophane. At the time, Sephora would let you do gift registry lists and based solely on the description and the Guerlain name, I asked for a bottle and received two. When I opened the first box, I discovered that I am not crazy about violets, used some of the bottle, and gave the partial bottle away. The second box got stored during a move, lost track of during various moves, and found only recently. I toyed with selling it or trading it to someone who would truly love it, but as it is a small 30 ml EdT, it's not worth much. Curiosity won out and I opened the box. It is far more rich and beautiful than I remember, even more violet forward, but I still find violets a bit strong for my taste. I sniff it, but don't wear it. Yesterday was a stressful day so to calm down, I sprayed myself with the 2015 Sarah Horowitz Perfect Veil, which is just a perfect lemon, vanilla, and soft musks cashmere sweater fragrance. After a couple of hours, just the vanilla and soft musks remained, and I felt thirsty to add another layer before going to bed. Having been reading about plum scents in the forum posts, I wanted something purple and decided to spray Insolence and see what happened. And oh my word, what happened was absolute magic! I normally find Insolence a little dry in spite of the fruits, but just a touch of good vanilla transformed the violet bouquet into a dewy fresh swoon-inducing cloud fed by succulent almost overripe raspberries. I know there are other flowers in there, but absolutely nothing could compete with the beauty of the violets, which reminded me of the clusters of violets Victorian ladies would bury their noses in to counteract offensive street aromas left by horses and poverty. Insolence already has a soft musk, but amplifying it with SH's gentle master blend of musks created an ultra luxe fairy tale gauze of sweet, exquisite musks that seems created by elves and unicorns. I am foremost an undersprayer and all this happened with literally ONE spray of Insolence. For a seventeen year old somewhat dusty violet scent to be transformed into a just-plucked cluster of dewy sweet violets grown in a fairy glade is serious alchemy. I literally swooned. The Insolence is still detectable over twelve hours later and I'm not tired of it at all. So yes, ABSOLUTELY hunt down first vintage saucer bottles! They age magnificently and are a true bargain. And also experiment with layering, adding a touch of vanilla or amplifying the existing notes because there is infinite magic in this little bottle! Upgrading my like to a love.

Hmmm...how do I start this review...first since I had made an extremely negative review on guerlain insolence (newer bottle) which I have just found and deleted to make this new one, I shall apologize to Guerlain. I have bought both my insolence bottles this one the edt in the beautiful round bottle, and the newest edp (house shaped bottle) about a year ago as blind buys. And I tried them in autumn and winter, and I was appalled. When I first put them on, they seemed strong,unbalanced, a big mess, extremely strong and in your face and not in a good way... hence the extremely negative review I had posted. And let me tell you right away,that this perfume was rated from hate to love as soon as I let them breathe for quite a few months and tried them on warm spring and summer weather... and oh my God, but these are divine!It is as if I had tried completely different perfumes then and now. Now what I pick up is powdered almonds, so beautiful and airy and amazing and I am awed, just a tad of sugar in this almond powder that makes the perfumes perfect, not too sweet but enough not to be bitter... Both perfumes have amazing sillage, but it is kind of a soft airy fairy sillage like a perfumes cloud around you... an enchanting aura that swirls playfully in a big enough vicinity... My advice, let the perfume breathe after first spraying it a few times, and let it sit for a few months.Also try it in warm or hot weather, the dryer the better!And if it is a bit windy it will enchant everyone around you in a 100m distance! So so much different that the screechy monstrosity I was first slapped with... it is so weird, it is almost comical when I think about it. Funnily enough this edt which is in this original cute bottle is as strong as the new edp, and this one lasts longer and is richer in aroma.However the new edp is very close, you won’t really get big differences, except the opening which on the edp was some kind of fruitiness, whereas this old edt one goes straight on Violet heaven. I have managed to find another old version of this locally and I am snatching it as a backup.Enough said, this is a love love love! Edit: it all its almondy-mahlab powderyglory, it reminds me of the Prada infusion d Iris absolu (the one with the golden cap and the golden metallic label in the middle of the bottle)!Both of them are similar and equally divine, however the Prada one is also wearable in winter, although I don’t prefer to wear it much in humid cold weather, as it becomes a bit too sharp to enjoy it 100%

I forgot how much I love this. The edt (original bottle) is my favorite version. I remember buying a 1oz of the edt many springs ago and finishing that bottle right before the end of the summer. Quite a feat considering the silage and longevity of this perfume, where 2 sprays last and project more than 12 hours. At that time, I put off buying another bottle because fall was on the horizon and my perfume wardrobe was going to change to heavier fare anyway, so I figured I would buy another bottle the following spring. Somehow, I never got around to it. Honestly, I really do not know how I could have let over 10 years go by without buying another bottle. Revisiting this again, I find I still love it as much as I used to. I love the raspberry and violet combination. I'm not even a fan of heavy violet use in perfume, or a violet soliflore, often finding it reminds me of a candy I disliked as a kid, but in this fragrance the berries and tart citrus juxtaposed against the violets keep them from going into Parma violet territory. I do not find it as sweet as some here do. It feels as refreshing and light as a fruit ade, though the silage is big and longevity incredible. I always found that refreshing quality perfect for spring and summer. I still think it is, though I'm sure it would be beautiful in cooler weather too. Nor do I necessarily think it is a young fragrance. There is a certain sophistication, contributed by the Iris, Rose, and Sandalwood, that stops it from being immature, though it does have a youthful, vibrant feel. I certainly feel more youthful and vibrant just wearing it. I really love every facet of this fragrance. From the tart and sweet opening, to the beautiful florals, and the lightly powdery, velvety soft finish that seems to go on forever. For me, it’s a perfect composition that has it all. I absolutely, unequivocally adore it, and am bound and determined to never be without it again.

I'm using the version that is the EDP from the fountain bottle. I discovered this fragrance after fragrantica recommended it as a "similar smell" to an early formative fragrance of mine, Harajuku Lover's: Baby EDP from Gwen Stafani, and it was such a great recommend. Baby is where my love of powdery fragrances began. This is currently my favorite bedtime fragrance. It's very easy to wear and so indulgently relaxing. The sweet and creamy berry-like (borderline gourmand) smell hits in the same way that Hanae Mori EDP would be if that fragrance from the 90's had a strong violet note added in. However, the sweetness in Insolence doesn't cross the territory into the sticky-feeling-sugar fragrances of body fantasies or Bath and Body Works. It really does just feel like a more mature version of a decent perfume that I adored in my teen years. It has such a delicious powdery drydown, and despite liberally spraying myself and my bedsheets with this, it hasn't yet triggered a migraine. Despite the name which implies rebellion, I could also see this being a very sweet but inoffensive office fragrance (maybe as an equally sophisticated but less aldehydic alternative to Coco Madomoiselle), more for a casual day in the office or lunch. It's not a bold head-turning signature fragrance, but I think there is a subtle streak of insolence in daring to be a bit basic and unapologetically enjoying life's simple pleasures in spite of an opinionated culture of fragrance-elitists who find such scents boring and unoriginal. Insolence does one thing and it does it well, and I like to think of that as the inspiration for the name.