Insolence Eau de Toilette

(Comparison of the EdP and the EdT) I might be alone in this opinion but Maurice Roucel and Guerlain strike me as the proverbial odd couple. His preferred compositional style and Guerlain’s pre-2000s aesthetic are a bit like oil and water: they’re not going to mix well or easily. But perhaps that was the intention. Roucel would lend his talents to three Guerlain releases, most notably during Guerlain’s upheaval period, when Jean-Paul was getting the boot and the house was being sold to LVMH, and Guerlain was going to get a new aesthetic either by choice or by force. Personally, I believe they made a grave mistake in not bringing-on Mathilde Laurent, who worked with Roucel (or rather after him) on Attrape Coeur. Something tells me that Roucel caught someone’s attention at Guerlain when he composed Musc Ravageur for Frederic Malle, a blatant update to Shalimar. So, though I say Roucel and Guerlain are like oil and water, Roucel does have a chameleonic ability when he wants to. Was Roucel ever in contention for the in-house perfumer position, or was he just pinch-hitting until someone else could be found? I don’t know. A lot is unknown about this period in Guerlain’s history, and there was quite a lot of drama and musical chairs being played. What I do know is that when I smell Insolence, I smell Roucel and not Guerlain. This isn’t a bad thing. The second thing worth noting is that the EdP was composed by Sylvaine Delacourte two years after Roucel did the EdT. I’ll still hold to my statement that Insolence - including the EdP - smells more like Roucel than Guerlain. Delacourte did a fine job of tweaking Roucel’s original composition for a slightly different creative brief; Roucel’s EdT DNA is still the majority of the EdP’s DNA. So let’s start there.... The EdP opens like the fresh pour of a Belgian framboise. It is quite boozy fruity, with plenty of raspberry being given a waxy and fermented-like quality. The EdT’s opening smells like some sort of berry soda I had as a kid - with florals! The rose and violet immediately make their presence known in the EdT’s fruity effervescent opening, whereas in the EdP after the top mostly dispenses it is violet and orange blossom forward. The violet is steered in a deeper and darker direction, and the orange blossom adds a creamy, citrusy sweetness, which has the effect of giving the EdP a much more serious and “adult” quality compared to the EdT. The EdT’s floral heart is playful; fizzy and fuzzy, fruity from the rose and puerile from a brighter violet note. The iris/orris in the EdP is quite unusual; it is not dry, starchy, powdery, or makeup-y, it is quite white floral and oily slick. The darker violet plus this slick orris note allow the EdP to live up to the name: it is insolent, and defiant in an adult way, a scowl on its face. The EdT, if it is insolent at all, is so by being immature and unserious when it probably shouldn’t be. The dry down of both is virtually the same, with the EdP being slightly richer and deeper with the muskiness of the orris and sandalwood base. I love both of these. They are like twins: they look identical, very obvious shared DNA, but the personalities are quite different. Men are probably going to have a tough time wearing either one because, curiously, Guerlain decided with Insolence that it was not going to bend in the slightest to the unisex bandwagon of the mid-to-late 2000s. It’s overtly fruity, overtly floral, and very obviously overtly geared towards women - but perhaps that's why a man should wear it. Insolence wants to be a contrarian, full stop. Perhaps its wearer should be too.

This is dreamy to me, but I have to be in the mood for a cool-toned powdery soapy scent. It always stays refreshing and dewy as it has an ozonic quality to it, without being overly cold thanks to the orange blossom which adds its warm solar effect in perfumes and it gives an ethereal white floral quality to this so it's not a pungent heady blue-toned violet scent. Violet is a hit or miss for me as it can be too heady and cool-toned with a medicinal effect, for instance I never wear BBW Candied Violet Sorbet and I sold my Lolita Lempicka which also has iris - violet. This one though is the only scent with iris and violet that I can wear. It is cool toned, but also fruity-sweet. Also the iris is not stale as in some cool-toned perfumes see DUA's Musky Marshmallow with the iris - lavender. Insolence EDT has a candy quality to it from the red berries, it's like a sugared youthful element in this so to me it's not a mature scent, just romantic and sophisticated, delicate and pure. The bluish element from the violet gives the impression of these vintage blue minty sweet candy that old people used to give me back in the 90s in Europe which is not a bad trait ,reminiscent of YSL Parisienne's candy-like element, but that one is too mature for me. It's not as minty, but I detect an almost menthol fresh element in this which I love. My mom also agreed that it's reminiscent of these blue candies. The iris also adds to the powdery sweet element being a doll-like sweet note often reminiscent of makeup, however this scent doesn't smell like old makeup or powder to me. It is more fresh than powdery. I recall the EDP being more powdery. It also has a soapy element to it which may give the impression of a clean bathroom at times, but the sugared berry sweetness helps it deviate from that to me. For others the bathroom smell impression is the most dominant so it depends on chemistry and the preferences/experiences of the wearer. Dua has a perfume Her Gaze with pear, lychee, raspberry, rose and vanilla powder added to the iris- violet - red berries note structure of Insolence EDT, minus the orange blossom. So I'm curious as to how it compares. Ppl report that it's similar but more powdery and also citrusy. Insolence EDT is full bottle worthy and I wouldn't resort to dupes for it. Too sad this bottle is discontinued. Edit - Okay so Her Gaze smells even more like Parisienne YSL due to the violet-rose common notes so more candy-like than Insolence but still has the soapy Insolence vein. It also feels sweeter and more fruity due to the additional notes. Both are nice, but I like Insolence more.

Wow. This is stunning. Candied violets is a great descriptor, I can’t stop smelling myself! Absolutely gorgeous. The red berries and violet compliment each other perfectly. It smells sophisticated and playful at the same time. Anyone of any age or profession could pull this off. I don’t think it’s an “old” or “young” fragrance. It’s womanly and confident, even a little gentile. I don’t detect anything too powdery here, it’s a delicate balance between flowers and fruits with a dash of powder. I usually lean towards gourmands, so this was a little out of my comfort zone as a blind purchase. I must say insolence has a gourmand vibe to it which I’m so glad about. I took a chance on insolence EDT because of a review by Sally Marion on YouTube. She was so right, this fragrance is a stunner. I can smell delicate sweet tarts candy or pixie sticks, what I imagine a fairy in the spring to smell like. Don’t let that descriptor scare you away, it’s a unique and special fragrance.✨sparkly✨ if you will. I could see this working well as a signature fragrance or even a special occasion fragrance. The bottle is beautiful, I’m glad I purchased the ‘new’ packaging version because of the vintage elegance it has. The frosted bottle is so well crafted and designed with care. This is a stepping stone for me into different types of fragrances than what I’m used to. I’m impressed and I love this. I would definitely buy again. Long lasting and great sillage. Timeless beauty. Give it a try, I have a feeling you’ll love it too 💕

This is probably going to be one of the hardest perfumes to describe, and it really isn't that complex. But the feelings it evokes are massive. I bought this based on the reviews, I'm not a big fan of violet or iris so this was quite the risk, and I was oh so pleasantly surprised. Do you remember those violet candies that your grandmother always had in her home? I believe you can actually still buy them today. Well that scent is prominent here. It is like sugary violets, with a bit of iris I suppose though I don't find it to stand out much, and that heavenly orange blossom scent wafting through it. This scent is powdery and some might call it mature but I disagree. To me this scent is the transition from girlhood to womanhood, while you are still holding on to your youth but you are now the independent woman you've always dreamed of being. It is youthful and playful with it's sugary tips, and the powder is so delightful it's like the passing of the torch from your grandmother to you as you are now the new matriarch of the family and you must have something of the past. All the while you are holding onto that carefree wild spirit found with sucking on your favorite candies from your childhood. I don't know what I'm even saying anymore, but god do I love this fragrance. Every morning I smell the nozzle for the nostalgia and the unknowing feeling of the future this scent simultaneously evokes within me. It's absolutely beautiful.

Was checking and buying some fragrances with my friend at the mall, came across Guerlain fragrance counter. As a guy, I mainly checked on men fragrances. However, I had most of the ones I like already, the sale lady asked me to check on some female fragrances since they smell kinda unisex to her nose and some other customers. So I checked on them, and I am totally obsessed with these two, Insolence EDT and Mandarin Basilic. Especially with Insolence EDT, it is fresh, sweet and lightly powdery, and fruity; leaning more feminine but boy, I like it so much. It's giving a clean girl/boy aesthetics to me, it's giving the scent of freedom and effortlessness. I brought the test trip home, I kept on smelling it, it was like something new to me, should I wear it or not? It was so strong, only a few sprays on the test trip yet it filled my entire room for the whole evening. Then, I forgot about it. A week later, I came across my fragrance cabinet, I got a whiff of something creamy and powdery in the air. Immediately, I remembered Insolence, sniffed at the test trip again, the scent was still there, clean airy violet candy, so beautiful and addictive. I just ordered a bottle online before writing this review, can wait to wear it, I hope on a guy, the scent would smell a little bit more masculine, but whatever, I am flamboyant, the scent is definitely for me lol.