Insensé 1993 Eau de Toilette

Insensé (Eau de Toilette) by Givenchy
Bottle Design:
Pierre Dinand
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.
8.4 / 10 207 Ratings
A popular perfume by Givenchy for men, released in 1993. The scent is floral-green. It was last marketed by LVMH.
Pronunciation
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Main accords

Floral
Green
Spicy
Fresh
Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Mandarin orangeMandarin orange BasilBasil BlackcurrantBlackcurrant
Heart Notes Heart Notes
Lily of the valleyLily of the valley MagnoliaMagnolia MasticMastic IrisIris
Base Notes Base Notes
Fir balsamFir balsam

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
8.4207 Ratings
Longevity
7.8176 Ratings
Sillage
7.2163 Ratings
Bottle
7.1161 Ratings
Value for money
8.032 Ratings
Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 04/22/2025.
Interesting Facts
The fragrance was re-released in 2007 as part of the collection "Les Parfums Mythiques".

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Insensé (After Shave) by Givenchy
Insensé After Shave
Nino Cerruti pour Homme (Eau de Toilette) by Cerruti
Nino Cerruti pour Homme Eau de Toilette
Niagara (Eau de Toilette) by Courrèges
Niagara Eau de Toilette
1988 by Floris
1988
Neutron (Eau de Parfum) by Ajmal
Neutron Eau de Parfum
Hysteria by Alexandria Fragrances
Hysteria

Reviews

18 in-depth fragrance descriptions
9
Scent
Ysbrand

84 Reviews
Ysbrand
Ysbrand
Very helpful Review 14  
Gives me butterflies!
Spring is definitely here to stay. It might rain again eventually, but at this point, it would only be a summery rain. Its just monday, i have a trillion things to do, there is not, indeed, any particular reason to be happy but still i cannot but smile to the sunny day and i feel light, flirty and silly. The Insensé season is officially open.

Insensé became part of my life when i was 15 years old and it has been a beloved spring/summer constant ever since. If i own a fragance that is crazy, fun, romantic and extravagant, it is Insensé, like something a maniac scientist would create by mistake.

Take a big fat bouquet of spring flowers: magnolia, sheer iris, a touch of hyacinth maybe and the more dominant muget, wrapped in the shinny cellophane of aldehydes. A spark of bright citrus amplifies the heady effect of aldehydes; the refreshing touch of cool basil rounds this exhilarating opening, and you feel like high on infatuation.

So far, this could have perfectly been a ladylike fresh-green floral, but then, the cornerstone of Insensé is an odd but comforting balsam fir, that veers the fragance into the realms of the mysterious and reassuring. Curiouser and curiouser. Insensé cannot be understood without this ingredient that is both sweet and fresh. So, lets say, that healthy dose of spring flowers and aromatic herbs, comes through the sweet/balsamic notes of conifers and lentiscus, reminiscent of the night stroll in the woods of Nuit Etoilée, creating daring unsmelled accords.Happy,insolent, masculine, glorious!
4 Comments
ColinM

516 Reviews
ColinM
ColinM
Very helpful Review 11  
Masterpiece!
Insensé is one of the many fragrances I shamefully underrated for a long time, I guess for my lack of experience and proper taste. I always misjudged this in the past, always trying it quickly from samples or decants, and always ending up in considering it only a really nice albeit a bit boring and kind of heavy sort of “overly feminine fougère”; I am really glad I grabbed a deal recently and got a small 30 ml bottle of this some days ago, so that I had the chance to wear this at its fullest and give it a proper chance. And I got, as they say, a true “epiphany” about this – from mild enthusiasm to sudden devoted worshipping. It is indeed the hyped masterpiece many rave about, and the hype is fully justified. Actually, no, it even gets way less hype than it should. For me, Insensé has now jumped straight on top of the – however limited – chart of the best floral fragrances for men ever made, because it is hands down one of the best, if not the best one ever. And easily among the best masculine offerings in general ever made. Luca Turin once mentioned two key features of this, which perfectly reflect what I also strongly felt while full wearing this the first time: “melancholy and mystery”. It is exactly how I also view Insensé: this a dramatically romantic, rich and slightly decadent scent which stunningly blends decades of masculine and feminine perfumery in an enigmatic, completely new, clever, breathtakingly creative and above all, irresistibly good unisex floral blend. Which indeed smells mysteriously “different” from anything else. Like a prism, it reflects echoes of perfumes ranging from Cristalle, to Diorella, to Caron’s 3rd Man.

The smell is complex but seamlessly beautiful: there is a rich heart symphony of green herbs and flowers refreshed by a subtle fruit-pine breeze, contrasting a deeply dark, smoky base accord of woods and aldehydes which provide “weight” and baroque gloominess to flowers and herbs. The overall feel is soapy, smoky, lightly waxy, aldehydic to the bone, floating between a nostalgic green-chypre powderiness and a fresher, more austere balsamic-woody feel of many classic fougères. Not simply a juxtaposition of different styles, just a true rewriting using selected key notes and accords from all those inspirations. It may sound simple or boring, it’s definitely not: as I said it’s truly a sort of triumphant gathering of decades of perfumery blending together to compose this incredibly handsome, unique mosaic. Distinctive, bracing and sophisticated in a quite peculiar, decadent way to say the least, probably also quite “gothic” to a certain extent: surely “not for the faint of heart”. Totally worthy the high prices. Leave that shitty niche boutique and save your money for this.

10/10
0 Comments
7.5
Bottle
7.5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
9
Scent
GothicHeart

86 Reviews
GothicHeart
GothicHeart
Very helpful Review 9  
Freeze!...
There was a very famous bank robber in Greece during the '70s, who used to enter the robbed-to-be bank with a sawed-off unloaded shotgun hidden inside a posy of sword lillies. And yes, bank robbers can achieve rock star status, cause banks, directed by vampires in expensive suits, are not exactly the most popular establishments. He also used to give the flowers to the ladies working in the bank, before running away with the money.
He got caught, escaped prison, flew to another continent, got caught again, and during his deportation flight he gifted fragrances bought in the duty-free shop to every hostess on board, leaving them wondering whether he was a shipowner or an oilman. Or both.
He died at the age of 35, following the "live fast, die young" motto to a tee.
Every time I spray some of this short-lived quirky little gem on me, I feel like I'm ready to enter a bank along with him and run with the money.
And on a sunny, yet frigid January morning some years ago, vintage Insensé on a paper strip was one of the two best things I've ever smelled in my life.
Having the guts to do something just because you can, will always be a solid example of insolence yelled in the face of norms and poise. Insensé came and went unnoticed, scorned by the defenders of uber masculine fragrances, for it smelled like walking in a forest in early spring or late winter, while holding a bunch of blue flowers in one hand. The fact that a rifle was in the other didn't seem to be in its favour. All the more that it was not there for hunting.
A brave little soul, which left its gentle mark by the pen, in a world echoing with the clang of swords and the roar of faddish waves. And despite its failure to smoothly conquer it, it will always be acknowledged for its gallantry and whim.
For it did. And they didn't...
0 Comments
LovingTheAlien

9 Reviews
LovingTheAlien
LovingTheAlien
Very helpful Review 11  
Truly deserving of its praise.
When I first obtained my bottle of Insense, I was expecting a floral assault of a fragrance. What I got confounded me - a green oriental? A salty pine-pastry? Must De Cartier over Anais-Anais?

Well I can say I understand it now. I'm wearing it on a beautiful, cool, and dry day and it is enveloping me with its lovely aura. This is an aromatic fougere taken into abstract territory. Lily, galbanum, and a very intense Iris play nicely with the lavender and bouquet garni. This is a sunny miracle of fragrance. It's not so beloved because it is daring and pretentious - this is lovely because it is so carefree and beautiful. It's complex, but its beauty lies in the whole picture, not the details. This is the scent of masculine youth. Clean, innocent, and virile, in stark contrast to Kouros's unashamed sexuality.

This is truly a singular study in perfumery. Nothing else even comes close. Everyone should try this before it's all gone.
2 Comments
jtd

484 Reviews
jtd
jtd
Very helpful Review 7  
A kitchen-sink perfume that works. Green, ambery, sharp, tropical, chilly at any given moment.
I lucked onto this one. I’d read Luca Turin’s thoughts on Givenchy’s Insensé and was intrigued though I’d never tried it. While visiting San Francisco I found it in a tiny kiosk-sized perfume shop.

Smitten. This is my favorite perfume.

One slice of Insensé’s beauty is that I can smell the constituent parts even as I take in the whole picture with a clarity unlike any other fragrance. It’s floral, aldeydic, ambery, woody, herbal. I can smell its fougère shape. I can put together the bergamot, amber and moss and see the chypre. I can isolate the cedar. It’s not the new-style cedar that was about to become the Lutens signature. It smells like cedar essential oil, a high-pitched timber along with a sharp oiliness that reminds me of the sound of an oboe. The layering in Insensé is spectacular. High to low: galbanum & aldehyde, lily of the valley and basil, amber and cedar.

But forget the bad attempt at description. The perfume you love sweeps you up, captivates you. This one grabbed me by the balls. Not my sole barometer of fragrance quality, but certainly telling.

Here's my hypothesis about Insensé. Yes, a masculine floral is doomed to failure. But it would never have existed at all as a feminine release. It would have been less handsome. Odd notes like an oily cedar and a bracing basil would never have been included. The reach of the florals would have been curtailed. Maybe it didn’t fail because it was a floral for men, but because it was the best of classical perfumery (disparate elements, focused complexity, beauty greater than one-note prettiness) launched at the point in men’s fragrance where cool met sport.

A note on reformulation. I believe there have been at least two versions. The first, in the Amarige bottle, is everything I’ve just described. Flawless. The second, in the rounded rectangular bottle, is lovely as well, but they clearly tried to butch it up a bit. Less aldehyde, less muguet, more amber. Still spectacular.
1 Comment
More reviews

Statements

3 short views on the fragrance
HugoMontezHugoMontez 1 year ago
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
10
Scent
Don't know why i'm only commenting this masterpiece after 4 years of owning it. Super complex, creamy florals with fir balsam.
0 Comments
Charilaos77Charilaos77 2 years ago
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Masculine florals is not my favourite DNA, but this frag is so beautiful and comforting! Clean soapy floral green vibe..
0 Comments
MatuxMatux 4 years ago
4
Bottle
10
Sillage
6
Longevity
10
Scent
A perfectly executed floral blend for men - full bodied and complex.
0 Comments

Charts

This is how the community classifies the fragrance.
Pie Chart Radar Chart

Images

28 fragrance photos of the community
More images

Popular by Givenchy

Gentleman Givenchy Réserve Privée by Givenchy Gentleman Givenchy (Eau de Parfum) by Givenchy L'Interdit (Eau de Parfum Rouge) by Givenchy Pi (Eau de Toilette) by Givenchy L'Interdit (2018) (Eau de Parfum) by Givenchy Givenchy Gentleman (Eau de Toilette) by Givenchy Gentleman Givenchy (Eau de Parfum Boisée) by Givenchy L'Interdit (Eau de Parfum Intense) by Givenchy Gentleman Givenchy (Eau de Toilette Intense) by Givenchy Organza (Eau de Parfum) by Givenchy Ange ou Démon (Eau de Parfum) by Givenchy Gentleman Society (Eau de Parfum) by Givenchy Amarige (Eau de Toilette) by Givenchy Ysatis (Eau de Toilette) by Givenchy Gentlemen Only Absolute by Givenchy Play Intense (Eau de Toilette) by Givenchy Irrésistible Givenchy (Eau de Parfum) by Givenchy L'Interdit (Eau de Parfum Rouge Ultime) by Givenchy Xeryus Rouge (Eau de Toilette) by Givenchy Gentleman Society (Eau de Parfum Extrême) by Givenchy