Reviews of Insolence (2006)
by Guerlain

I'm 53 years old and I really love it!!! I feel glad when I wear the sweet violets of Insolence

Someone said that Insolence is like Apres L'Ondee with nail polish remover. I can see that! Drying out though, the violet quickly disappears, and what I smell is raspberries, very ripe and realistic with even the tiny bitter seeds adding a distinct muskiness. This fragrance is sassy, but far too fruity to be considered sophisticated. I just can't take it seriously. Hours and hours later, I get a faint detection of Apres L'Ondee, like a distant moan saying "How could you doooo this to meeeee.....?". I shake my fist at Guerlain for making AL nearly impossible to find. If you really love Insolence, please just buy AL and wear a raspberry body lotion with it, so Guerlain will see that AL still has an audience!

I don't mind violets...it's true that Guerlain intended not to create a shrinking one at that with Insolence. I'm no fan of its opening. It gave me the impression of something medicinal, then of berries and violets splashed with chlorine. As the opening mellows, you catch Guerlain's classic notes of iris, vanilla, rose and orange blossom, like that of L'Heure Bleue weaving in and out of a now candied violet, hard and sweet with wisps of those chlorinated berries now in the background. That spiral drydown does seem to make the scent unfold strangely, not exactly linear, but its facets blooming in and out at different points of the scent's development. If one can endure the chlorinated and hardcandied parts of the scent in the first hour, you can surely enjoy this sugared scent with a Guerlain lining. You definitely gotta love violets. If you don't love it that much, go lightly in the spraying or stick with the well-mannered Classic Guerlains that are sans the candy glaze. I give a neutral rating because of its artistry, but honestly I do not find it an alluring scent at all--just pure mass-market Insolence!

It's very sweet and reminds me of children's sweeties. I appreciate the violet which is very pretty, but the overall impression is sickly sweet and it can't be used in big doses or it'll give you a headache. It's not the way to go if Guerlain want to reinvent themselves!

It's a strange name, unless it's supposed to be ironic, because it's not really something that would smell out of place on a governess. That's not a bad thing, being quite governessish myself. However all I can smell is violets from start to finish, but not the flowers, violet creams. It's a little too linear and outstays it's welcome as a result of not changing as it wears off. So if you love all types of violet, artificial or otherwise, get some. Impractical bottle, doesn't suit the perfume

A little strong. I can appreciate the violet but I did not like the drydown.

I have been waiting for this, and I was so exited. Now I am very disapointed. This is a love or hate parfum. I can smell quality, but I can not wear this. It's very sweet and it make me feel sick. The lasting power is very good, and after 10 hour I can almost like it. In some way it reminds me of Elisabeth Ardens Red Door, which I really hate.

Much too sugary sweet and simple for me to appreciate it – I think it's a bit of a disappointment considering I love Guerlain. I know they have tried to create a fragrance for young women, but on the 'lighter' side of Guerlain, Apres L'Ondée is so much more preferable and interesting to me.

Not sure at all what to make of this. During a day of fragrance shopping, this one stands out as different from all the rest. Sweet violets, but maybe something a little funky in there, too? An old friend used to buy some kind of gris-gris candles to burn for good luck, etc. There's something here that reminds me of that smell. Not completely awful, but not a slam dunk on first smell. I'd encourage anyone to try for themselves and see what happens.