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.

Insolence is a trip down memory lane for me, my sister wore this in 2007, I can remember the gorgeous, whispy trail it left behind her. Its no great surprise that myself and my sister have similar tastes in fragrances and when I saw a 30ml bottle for a steal of a price, I snapped it up and prepared for a nostalgic trip. My bottle, however is the newer Bee bottle, not the gorgeous stacked rose bottle pictured above. Oh, My, God! on first spriz, this took me right back, Insolence is a wonderful, modern violet with a smidge of vintage flare thrown into the mix, the volets aren't sweet and sickly, nor does it smell matornly, its like someone took Paco Rabanne Ultraviolet,kept the fresh, modern violet and replaced all pepper, spices and the urban/digital/synthetic notes with mild fruits (raspberry, red berries) and added some extra depth with resins, vanilla and orange blossom. Insolence is velvety, inviting, powdery but still very fresh and modern feeling, it never feels cloying unless its sprayed with a very very heavy hand. Its young, modern and smells wonderful on anyone of any age or any gender (in my opinion!), I've managed to get a full 7 hours out of 4 light spritzes with a moderate silage, enough to get the scent noticed but not enough to cause offense, give me olfactive fatigue or give me or anyone else around me a headache. Even though it was my sisters scent years ago, Insolence still feels like its "mine", I love it so much!

A masterpiece of a fragrance. What an absolute beauty this is, it’s just divine in every sense of the word. An ex-girlfriend of mine used to wear this and I remember finding myself completely intoxicated by it, it envelopes the entire body and skin, it lets everyone around you know that you are here and they had better sit up and pay attention. Insolence, by definition means “rude and disrespectful behaviour” and let me tell you that’s exactly what this is. Do not wear this unless you carry yourself with absolute confidence and self regard, it takes a mighty strong person to wear something as potent as Insolence, When it opens you get a blast of iris, a blast of violet and a touch of fruit. It’s when it dries down that you get the beautiful powdery note that just stays and stays and stays and stays. Seriously the sillage and longevity of this is outta this world. The bottle that I have, which is stunningly designed I might add, is the sphere shaped bottle, I’m not sure what the newer bottles are like but the older bottles are definitely beasts. I see some people think this is a fragrance that could easily be abused because it announces itself so loudly and unapologetically, but those are the types I like, so for me, this is a magnum opus fragrance. Oh my goodness I just cannot get over how good it is. It smells like something a witch would wear.

I have the new EDT from the Legends line and a mini of the original version and those few extra notes make a difference to me. The citrus notes, rose, raspberry, and resins make a more rounded, full smelling ambient aroma that the newest edition lacks and for that, I'm probably going to end up buying a bottle of the original round flower bottle and hope that it was stored properly. The new EDT is definitely heavy in the iris and violets and it is very powdery and sweet smelling. My only qualm is that there is a plastic, rubber smell to it. It reminds me of the old, probably toxic plastics we had in the 80's. Or maybe is it crayons? I don't know for sure, all I know is that I layer my mini with the new one and to me, it makes this scent work. I actually really love it and it has become one of my favorites. It's almost addictive-I can't wait to reapply it throughout the day. I actually detest the smell of baby powder and luckily this powdery smell is refreshing and delightful. There is something cool feeling and aquatic about it. Too often florals read warm and so I like that this is a cool, light, floral. My other cool, light floral is Wild Bluebell from Jo Malone. Also because of this scent, I've been looking at more iris and violet based fragrances and it's opening up my fragrance profile.

Maurice Roucel set up to split the atom in the ionones of Apres L'Ondee and they hatched a mutant Blade Runner version of the Gibson Girl living in a cocotte's boudoir coloured in neon hues, edwardian chignons set with a radioactive strawberry hairspray and gobs of violet-scented papier poudre. Yum. The affected fragility of the purple flowers deluged by foggy dew of Apres L'Ondee are blow-dried upside down enough to be ballooned into eighties futurama with the airy, pastel pointillism impressions of spring gardens transformed into phosphorescent blue/pink/purple flecks in the dark skyscrapers of a neontopia. Aptly named, it deters from communicating anything overtly romantic showing the cultural generational gap between both eras even if twain fragrances revolve around a heightened sense of femininity and aspirational beauty, they represent it in two different languages, one binded by corsets and social decorums in Debussy's Paris and the other, colder, dissaffected and blunt, apt for something new-century urban and swapped by technology. The android updated version of the Gibson Girl for the social media era with violet flowers as her lockscreen theme. I almost forgot this was my signature for about two whole years, which must have been a new record.

I got this as a Valentine's Day gift from my sweetheart. <3 I have coveted this perfume for ages now, as a huge fan of violets, I knew I had to try it! The scent itself is challenging for me to put into words. In the opening it's bright and radiant, the raspberry and citrus explode from the first spray. While, I'm not a huge fan of citrus fragrances this one really surprised me! My favorite part about this fragrance is the heart. I can clearly detect the violets, orange blossom, pulverized fruit, and a slight powdery note. Insolence to me is chic, bold, and completely carefree. I love this perfume dearly, not only for the sentimental value it holds in my heart, but also because it makes me feel empowered and confident, while still being very girly and fun. I would love to try the EDP version, and I get the feeling I will love it unconditionally. Though, I'm not sure I will ever be fully able to express it. Insolence is the scent of my blooming romance, I will cherish it forever. Longevity: 5-6 hours on my skin before fading into a subtle whisper of powdery violets and tonka bean. Sillage: Moderate to heavy - go easy on the trigger! Overall rating: 9/10 - It's not a creamy, smooth fragrance at all. This is when i'm in the mood to be daring. <3

Violets, raspberry candies and powdery vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. Its like the old Guerlain Meteorites face powder with fairy cakes and vintage lipstick. I don't usually like sweet fragrances but I love this one and its heady intensity. Amazing value, one spray and you get cosy reminders all day. Sprayed on a scarf it lasts a couple of days. The only odd note to me is Hilary Swank as the model. This fragrance seems playful, self indulgent and unbridled to me. Swank seems docile, humourless, old and...scared. Like a zoned out compliant trophy wife complete with a vacant stare and a fake spray tan? The arm candy that men take to a child cancer fund raiser, to prove they've made it, who then goes home and takes care of the boring shit he doesn't want to. The ad looks like its selling performative feminity as a lot of boring effort, like a soul-sucking unpaid job. This bombastic vintage fairy juice is borderless magic that doesn't comply with others demands or timeframes so 🤹🤸 Even though I love it and want to pay the $$$ Guerlain tax to get it. They reformulated the scent and changed the package into that generic bee bottle with a cheap cloudy plastic cap. That bottle reads clearance sale at a discount mens barber shop to me 😅

this is a sweet (but dry) grape candy powder puff. unmistakably guerlain, but unapologetically synthetic, and it works here. it's like a woman putting on too much makeup and perfume, her vision of beauty derived from man made artifice. something of a callback to l'heure bleue, although the EDP is even more similar to LHB. if you love powdery notes, you must try this, definitely has a makeup powder vibe. gorgeous. i am from the US, so i have no idea what parma violets smell like, but insolence definitely smells like "candied perfume" to me, very vintage candy that is not necessarily the most appealing flavor or texture (candy hearts would be a good USA approximation) but you like them anyway because of nostalgia. i like it a little better than the EDP, which is also lovely. they are extremely similar on my skin to the point where if you have one i don't really think you necessarily need the other. however, they smell amazing layered together. and for those who think the name is "stupid" or whatever the name insolence is clearly perfect for this fragrance. it's a guerlain for sure, but it's a bratty, INSOLENT, teenage guerlain chewing bubblegum and rolling her eyes at you

I bought 2 bottle testers of this blindy.One from 2017 and the other,2016. From the comments I've read mostly on potent this EDT is,I'm a little bit disappointed with the sillage of this.It doesn't have a good projection really.Maybe for the pre-formulated ones it is.But on me,it's not.The Longevity is around 5 hours max.7 if I'm lucky and a day or two on clothes.What can I do to make this project well?I love this scent and it has grew on me?Perhaps,the EDP? To review the scent,It's a really really nice violet scent.I feel like it's more of a luxurious cream than powder on me.After awhile of it sitting on my skin,I can detect the berry note in this one.It's a really unique scent.I wish I bought the EDP earlier last year back in Libya but it made me retract because it was so damn potent.But now that I'm preffering more of the strong sillage perfumes with great projection,this disappoints me on that part plus the longevity on skin.I have a tendency to dislike to retouch perfumes throughout the day. I'll try the EDP sometime this year if I'm lucky enough to find and get ahold of a bottle of it here.

Well, true to its name for sure, cause this can get from beautiful to insolent in no time. Might be my skin, but never mind how little (according to normal standards) of this fragrance I would be wearing, it'd still be too much. Violet and Iris have taken up the stage here and, while they do smell great at first, as they unfold they get overwhelmingly powdery and sweet especially since the sweet fruits join forces (bergamot and lemon are nowhere to be smelled as per my experience) - unless you've dabbed the fragrance VERY sparingly (and by that I mean 1 microdroplet). In that case it'll stay lovely for the day/night. Not for the day after, when it all will smell sweat+cheap deodorant and you'll just want to scrub the insolence away. It's worse on clothing/lingerie. Obviously not advisable for blind buys. Edit after having read @Lalouve<3's review, which I suggest you to read too: I have NEVER thought of wearing Insolence in the warmer seasons, least of all in summer, but now I resolve to wait summer again, so to conquer Insolence by means of Sun darts.

If you love the scent of the Guerlain Meteorites pearl powders, THIS is it. Actually this is BY FAR the most POWDERY fragrance I've ever tried, ESPECIALLY the Insolence eau de parfum. A delicious powdery blend of sweet purple flowers signature to Guerlain: iris & violet. From first spray the only notes that attack my nose are: Violet, Iris, Musk. In the eau de toilette you get more fruity notes, while the eau de parfum is much heavier on the violet & musk. The dry down is still STRONG in violet, iris and musk but the woodsy notes slightly peak through... No citrus comes to me. Both the eau de toilette & parfum have very strong sillage and lasting power. Impressive actually. It can easily fill a room. I must admit that insolence is my guilty pleasure. I KNOW it's not sexy. I KNOW it's not fruity enough & just a sweet purple-floral powder scent. But I CAN'T HELP BUT LOVE IT! My personal preference: Don't wear this on first dates. Can wear it in the office as it's mature enough for work. Final verdict: Try before you buy folks

I managed to snap up one of these old bottles. The bee bottles are nice but these original bottles are quite unique and special. I don’t get any powder in this. Nor do I really know the violets scent. I live in Australia so violets aren’t very abundant here.. what I do get is sour raspberry and red berries. It’s a slightly synthetic scent - kind of like red frogs lollies - but in a good way. First time I tried it I didn’t really like but this scent is really addictive and it’s turned into a LOVE for me. There’s nothing really similar to this that I’ve tried. La Petite Robe Noir is the only similar perfume I can think of as it has a very similar mood and feel. I actually think this perfume is quite versatile for both day and night. Probably not the office however :) EDIT: After wearing this numerous times, I now get the powdery reference. I wouldn’t say this smells exactly like powder as such but it has a powdery aspect to it - so altogether I would call this a blend of sour, sweet and powdery combined in one.

Original bottle version: Love the edp version, so I decided to try the edt hoping for it to be a summer option. Wow! I love this version even more! The berries pop as much as the violet does in this version. Not as sweet or dark as the edp. The main difference on my skin is that the edp remains fairly linear, and this edt evolves. This one starts out with an initial violet blast, then the fresh berry scent takes over. After a few hours, it morphs into a warm and cozy bubblegum-incense scent...with the violet still gently present. What age can wear this? If you enjoy it, you are the perfect age! Everyone of all ages should wear whatever they wish. Life is too short to worry about age or other's age hangups! Skin chemistry is what it comes down to with this scent. I do get all the childhood references. It is a happy scent. A childhood summer day of candy, bubblegum, and playing with make-up and fancy bath sets "borrowed" from mom's bathroom. It is "mature" as in elegant and of fine quality.

A dear Fragrantica friend encouraged me to give this a try, positive that I would love it. I already own and adore the EDP, and didn't think I could possibly find the EDT more appealing. I was wrong. This is exquisite. They are almost exactly alike in my opinion, but there is something in the EDT - perhaps the raspberry - that elevates this version just enough to make it more delicious, especially now in the "dog days" of summer. It is very linear, but that is okay for me, as it is intoxicating from the very first spray. I consider both versions quite singular in that I have yet to encounter anything too similar. It smells like Insolence, greater than the sum of its parts. Longevity and silage are fabulous, as others have noted. I couldn't possibly love it more, though I can see how it could be very polarizing. Either you love it or you hate it. There is little room for shades of gray. Mine is the classic bottle, not the bee bottle. I am going to need backup bottles for sure.

It took me six months, at least, to get used to this beauty. I liked it straight off, but OMG it's LOUD. In autumn I thought it needed ice cold weather to calm it down. Really enjoyed it over winter, and now in summer I'm finding it so sparkly bright and perfect for those muggy days when the air is so close and unmoving. (Also Florabotanica) I don't find it powdery at all in summer. It's clear like a brook reflecting light as it gurgles along. This is what I see the serpent sin of envy Lady Diane wearing. She might be 30 feet tall but she knows she's cute. Insolence EDT is happy and playful, and big and bold. The lasting power is of the charts. It doesn't get fazed by the heat at all. It lasts all day no matter how hot it is. At first I preferred the EDP because it's calmer, but I can't get enough of this now. And now I think it's great year round, while the EDP is always powdery and dense and suited to the cold. I have the old style bottle, for reference.

I have the original round bottle and the bee bottle. Both EDT. Sprayed one on each arm for comparison. The original smells sweet, feminine and pretty. The bee bottle version is fairly close but has a sharp chemical smell at the opening the round bottle doesn't have. Twenty minutes in the bee bottle version mellows out a little into something that is closer to the original but not identical. 45 minutes into wearing it the original is more powdery and the bee bottle scent is more fruity but they are very close scent-wise. Over an hour into it and the bee bottle scent is more powdery now, too. My husband says it still has the tiniest bit of chemical smell to it but I've gone somewhat noseblind to both. He still thinks it's a pretty smell though. Just not quite as good as the original. I got the original 2 years ago from Beauty Encounter (online) and the bee version last year from Marshall's (in store). Not sure if that matters but thought I'd mention it.