L'Insoumis

I'm leaving this (too long) review in the hopes that someone new to enjoying men's fragrances might be encouraged in two ways (and in truth, perhaps that someone experienced might be reminded and encouraged as well): First, art is in the eye (or as here, the nose) of the beholder. The subjective taste of another is just as valid and no more than your own. What we bring to the moment is unique to us--which is the most wonderful part of the experience. And though we can share commonalities of experience (indeed there is surely beauty there as well), what we take away is as unique as we are ourselves. I share this here with you that you would be defended against pressures of conformation and subjugation in your fragrance journey. I would encourage you to appreciate the expressed experiences herein without allowing them as the word of God or authoritative in any way. True art to me is the appreciation itself, which you are in danger of being robbed of when giving too great deference to others' opinions... At least that's my opinion! Secondly, I absolutely love this fragrance! I would rank it as highly as any designer I've smelled in decades of appreciating fragrances. Given its relatively low price at US discounters I would say it is a "must buy". But more accurately stated, it's a "must buy" TO ME. Enjoy what you enjoy. Life truly passes us like a vapor. This is my favorite Lalique by a good measure. So I strongly suggest you try it yourselves! I will leave you with the less important more specifics... TO ME: I love and often wear both Aventus and Sauvage, as well as some of their clones and "inspired by's". I get absolutely no similarity to any of these here. I do get some similarly in the dry down to Straight to Heaven, however, which also occasionally wear on cold days. Though even at dry down the difference here is sufficient that I feel comfortable enjoying this one in warmer days. The bergamot is there early, the lavender late, and the most prominent and lasting are the basil/sage/rum/woods/vetiver/oak moss and patchouli... And they are absolutely stunning! That harmony is, to me, unique! Unlike the vast majority of fragrances I smell, here I can easily identify every note. True they are well blended and compliment one another in the harmony the fragrance is. But each note can also clearly be picked out from the orchestra here, at least by me, and that is rare and enjoyable, again, at least to me. Projection is moderate for the first 2-3 hours. Longevity is medium at 5-6 hours. Nevertheless to me this is a wonderful work of affordable art and a 10/10! Of course, I hope that you too will so enjoy this fragrance, that we might in a way enjoy something together. But whether you do or not is more than fine, it's wonderful! Be you! Enjoy what you enjoy! And don't let anything anyone else says ever rob you of a second of it!

When I blind bought it and sprayed on me for the first time I blown away! This thing opens like a vintage pine soaps or olive soaps from the past, green and soapy! Imagine Paco Rabanne PH but more tamed more modernized. Luckily the dry down is much more modern. It reminds me perfumed wet wipes from the past (Manex wet wipes from Greece). Imagine Sauvage dry down but with tons of basil and some coconuty sweetness! (minus the ambroxane) It stays close to the skin, very shy behavior, not screaming at all, so nobody will call you "cologne guy" wearing this. Nothing like the screamer Sauvage (especially 2015 formulation). Not a must buy, nothing special here, don't blind buy it. But if you are a die hard fougere fan and on a search for something suitable for office wear or for a warmer months you could pull the trigger. So, is it "Rebellious"? Yeah I can see the name in the opening (who wants to smell like 70s in 2022 right?) or we could say it for the contrast between opening and dry down. Because it's so mature at the beginning and so modern at the end. EDIT: After wearing it almost for two years, want to give an advice in case of reading anybody from the company. This fragrance is such a wasted opportunity to create something groundbreaking, with such an high quality ingredients BUT they've chosen the worst formulation/blending way could possibly they can choose! Probably they've tried to achieve many things at once. As a result of "semi gourmand" (base) and "semi fougere" (top and mid) type of confusing scent! Really, the Art Director who approved this formulation shouldn't touch any other fragrance project... That sweet "cookie" or "petit-beurre biscuit" smell of the drydown really annoyes me (the gourmand part), probably it comes from combination of coconut and some other sweet aromachemicals. Yes, the mentholy, foresty, piney (fougere) part is there, which I like, but only for the first twenty minutes/half an hour and the rest is "petit-beurre biscuit soaked in a coconut water" smell in the drydown and ruins all the composition! The best way to go was to create one straightforward foggy mossy damp forest fougere as Lalique advertising it (the original flacon), one gourmand type of winter flanker and one freshie for summer like the Encre Noire trilogy. Was that so difficult Lalique?

Unsurprisingly, Lalique is the best affordable perfume brand on the planet, especially if you purchase their perfumes at fragrance discounters. This is always my first thought when I discover something new from them, and I regret not buying it when it was launched. There is no competition here, and rarely can anyone, designer or niche, produce such high-quality and artistic bottles as they do. TOP NOTES For me, the opening is made around all the mentioned top notes, along with the reminder that Dior Sauvage is hanging somewhere in the background. Don’t get discouraged since the ambroxan is nowhere near as potent as in Dior’s much more popular fragrance. It is here from the start until the finish, but much more understated. Of the three, the slightly sweet coconutty and lactonic rum gives the opening a certain warmth with zesty bergamot and an herbal tinge of basil. HEART NOTES The transition is remarkably smooth, with aromatic lavender and clary sage emerging as the focal point. I don’t know why, but sage reminded me of the one found in Kouros Silver. Along with the aromatics, the classic aroma intensifies with the peppery structure underneath. All of this exudes a refined balance of softness and spice, and the part where I get reminded of the classic aftershave cream. BASE NOTES Thank God the base is not just the vetiver(Iso E Super version), the same one used in the Encre Noire line. There would be no chance of me saying this is a masterpiece if it were. Let’s be honest; in most cases, Clearwood is a fancier name for ambroxan. I don’t mind, and I also don’t care that the patchouli and oakmoss are cleaned-up editions of the old-school notes made so that the average wearer can wear something from the past while not noticing 100% what they are smelling. OVERALL This was not the first time I have been positively shocked by affordable fragrances that punch well above their price point this year. What can I say besides that with an open mind, you are definitely in for a treat and a signature-worthy fragrance you might cherish for your entire life. Read the full review at scentgrail (.) com

Modern, smooth, tranquil, masculine. Inoffensive. Fairly linear throughout. Reminds me of the drydowns of Drakkar Noir, Gucci by Gucci PH2, etc. The drydown and light yet smooth/masculine nature is what 'got' me to get this frag. Not groundbreaking or a must-buy but still very nice to have and wear when you just want to smell nice. Versatile for anywhere really. I feel earthy/fresh/freshspicy fragrances fare better in environments where people are close together but dont want to be bombarded with strong or exotic scents - perfect for the office and other casual or formal events. If you have wifi and can read this review (like I couldnt - forcing me to impulse buy this)- check prices and availability and get yourself a good deal. I spent over twice what you can buy this for online which is my only regret. UPDATE: So thiss is what Basil smells like.. I suppose. The scent is alluring at a normal spritz-level. When you spray more to really decipher what it is all about, you might pick up on something particularly unique (not bad or good, depends on your take on).. Basil! I notice that this is also in Calvin Klein's 'Truth' ..so apparently the note is at least somewhat alluring to me. I spent an equivalent $100USD on this bottle in the Gulf region but I would not pay more than half of that for a future bottle If I choose to do so. I do NOT regret buying this though, I still find myself spraying this on generously and enjoying it and am happy, in these hot periods of the year, that I am not blowing people out of the water with something overbearing.

In my initial testing of L'Insoumis I didn't get the barbershop vibe much and was very surprised to see other reviewers mention 90's fougeres style, which I couldn't get at all at that time, it was mostly cedarwood and dusty sage. Perhaps I did not wait for the middle notes and the heavenly dry down and my nose tricked by other scents. Well I still liked it evne then. Trusting Lalique and their amazing unique creations I got a full bottle, and what a good decision that was. I love it. To make things much better, this is indeed built on a woody shaving foam accord, coumarin-lavender-moss and sage bomb! The sage oil, which is a musty, slightly herbal-dirty oil, gives a distinct musty feeling at first. A slight tinge of lactonic, coconut, rum gives warmth. This effect might be achieved by an overdose of Coumarin or variation of it too. I get a lot of creamy, Virginia/Texas cedarwood note overall. It's like something you might get by layering Drakkar Noir by Azzaro Visit with a finishing touch of CdG Wonderwood. There could be nutmeg here along with sandalwood and vetiver, pepper...all making this very masculine and a bit more mature. It's a unique take on the 90's sandalwood-moss heavy barbershop scents, modernized. Perfect for office and daily use. Also it can work in all seasons, except very hot summer days but even then it wouldn't choke you. For the price point this is an excellent blend, talk about value for money.