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Guerlain

Insolence

Insolence is the eau de parfum that Guerlain drew in 2008 from the 2006 Insolence, signed by Maurice Roucel. The house builds it around an overdose of violet, paired with iris, orange blossom and red fruit notes, a first for Guerlain. Victoria Frolova hears in it an echo of L’Heure Bleue, Elena Vosnaki an outsized floral, close to Météorites.

Brand
Guerlain
Launch year
2006
Perfumers
Gender
Women
Olfactory family
Floral
Secondary family
Fruity
Concentration
Eau de Parfum
EAN
3346470143234 (75 ml)

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Insolence

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Insolence was born at Guerlain in 2006 as an eau de toilette, composed by Maurice Roucel with Sylvaine Delacourte; the eau de parfum followed in 2008. The house now places it among Les Légendaires, its collection of emblematic fragrances, and presents it as an impertinent, floral and fruity creation.

A violet overdose

Guerlain builds Insolence on an overdosed violet, the opposite of the discreet whisper usually given to this flower. Since violet yields no extract, its perfumers recreate the accord, floral and powdery, and pair it with an iris of timeless chic.

Red fruits at Guerlain

The house points out that Insolence marks the first time it used red fruit notes in a composition. It dedicates the fragrance to a surprising, free and daring femininity, and makes it a creation that dares everything without disowning its heritage.

Olfactory pyramid

  1. Top notesThe first minutes
  2. Heart notesThe heart of the perfume
  3. Base notesWhat lingers

What critics say

Critics hail an Insolence more faithful to Guerlain than it first appears. Victoria Frolova judges the eau de parfum more successful than the eau de toilette and likens it to L’Heure Bleue; Elena Vosnaki describes it as a big, sweet floral, close to Météorites, that a licorice flavor turns into science-fiction rococo.

Read what critics say

What the community says

LongevityModerate
Fleeting1 voteAll day
SillageModerate
Intimate1 voteOverpowering

Season

Summer100 %
1 vote

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The advertising

Hilary Swank, to Muse’s Hysteria

In 2006, Hilary Swank embodies Insolence in a film in which she spins, nude, against a dark background shot through with sparks, to Muse’s Hysteria.

For the 2006 launch, Guerlain chose the American actress Hilary Swank. The film shows her nude without revealing anything, floating and spinning against a dark background shot through with lights and sparks, to the track Hysteria by Muse, and closes on the bottle.

In September 2007, the actress presented at Selfridges in London the limited first-anniversary edition: a pink eau de toilette in a silver collector’s bottle, accompanied by a shimmering scented powder.

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