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Les Légendaires

Insolence Guerlain 2006 Eau de Toilette

7.4 / 10 399 Ratings

A perfume by Guerlain for women, released in 2006. The scent is floral-powdery. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by LVMH.
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Main accords

Floral

Powdery

Sweet

Fruity

Fresh

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Raspberry

Red berries

Bergamot

Lemon

Heart Notes

Violet

Orange blossom Rose

Rose

Base Notes

Iris

Musk

Resins

Sandalwood

Tonka bean

Perfumers

Maurice Roucel, Sylvaine Delacourte

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

7.4399 Ratings

Longevity

8.3317 Ratings

Sillage

7.8280 Ratings

Bottle

8.2284 Ratings

Value for money

7.777 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 10/04/2025.

Interesting Facts

Hilary Swank is the face of the advertising campaign.

The fragrance is part of the Les Légendaires collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Insolence Eau de Parfum

Insolence Extrait

Mallow

Violet Heart

Misia Eau de Toilette

Love, Chloé

Reviews

33 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/25/2012

6Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Missk
1357 Reviews

Missk

Top Review 8

Candied violets with sweet raspberry

Insolence is not nearly as bad as what people make it out to be. It's unique, I'll give this fragrance credit for that. It's something you'll either love or hate.

I'll admit that I disliked the opening of this scent. The raspberry, bergamot, lemon and red berries were synthetically sweet and there was a strange medicinal type smell which reminded me of cough syrup. Not only that, but the scent was very strong and almost cloying.

However, an hour later Insolence softened into a beautiful, sweet and powdery violet and rose blend. The slightly medicinal scent remains, however in the heart it becomes bearable for me and adds a certain sense of uniqueness which I rather like.

Insolence is daring from beginning to end. I'm finding myself loving the strange sweetness and fabric softener type smell. It's odd yet somewhat sensual to my nose. With fantastic lasting power and sillage, I can't help admiring this fragrance.

I like it in the concentration that it is now. Although I haven't tested the Eau de Parfum version, I feel as if a stronger Insolence would be too much. If over applied, this fragrance could be a nightmare, but with a few small squirts, Insolence is enchanting.

05/27/2022

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Elysium
897 Reviews

Elysium

Helpful Review 4

Something I Was No Longer Used To

Even knowing how vast the world of Guerlain perfumes was, I never crossed over into the sphere of feminine ones, except for Shalimar Eau de Parfum, which I have always loved. I have always used the classic Vetiver Eau de Toilette, and the lesser-known Héritage Eau de Toilette. However, I ignored this masterpiece created in 2006. Although I fell in love with the first sniff, halfway between amazement and perplexity, I can understand that it is not a perfume that can please everyone. Everything revolves around the violet, the violet flower, which many consider a dated perfume or the perfume of our grandmothers. The perfumers made the violet very modern thanks to the addition of wild berries and other captivating, seductive and almost carnal notes. I’ve got the most recent “bee” bottle, and I don’t know about what the predecessors smell like, but in this one, powdery and fruity flowers act as a flashback to your childhood when you are caught sniffing Parma violet from grandma’s closet.

Insolence is very dark, with a slightly retro air. It is difficult to describe this perfume so full of contradictions, also because the wearer does not perceive the same notes and chords as those around him or perceive their wake. It’s a transfiguration, a discovery, a totally new and yet familiar flower that bursts forth from the start. Insolence is a spark in the eyes, an intrepid smile, a careless grace, an ironic elegance, an amused silence. There are scents, so sweet in the memory, that they awaken childhood memories. Colours are so special that they fill our souls with sweet thoughts. Flavours are so intense that they pass through the years unchanged and pass on to us incredible stories of a past time. The scent of violets used for Insolence is very reminiscent of that of Leone drops, something I was no longer used to. Candied violets with cosmetic and powdery nuances through and through.

This fruity-floral fragrance highlights an impertinent creation with an unprecedented powdery duo of violet and iris, given a modern edge by a dash of berries. Insolence also starts Guerlain’s first use of berries in a composition. On my skin, it announces itself with a powerful fresh note of dewy violet. It leaves no doubts about featuring the violet flower, accompanied by the sweeter and more fruity notes of wild berries. Besides an overdose of violet, I perceive the iris adding extra soapiness and dustiness to the perfume. Here I can smell the opening red berries, especially those of raspberry, in my perception, as well as the fresh scent of orange blossom. I'm surprised how strong the berry note is. For me, it is a bomb in the pulp of fresh and ripe raspberries. It is obnoxiously powdery but in a rewarding and lively way. The iris also stands out a little more as the scent grows, and this time it gives the accord a slight hint of lipstick-like vibes.

Among the heart notes, there is a discordant note, almost out of time, reminiscent of hair spray, but even more the smell of dolls. Perhaps this jarring nuance makes a violet scent insolent that would otherwise fall into a classic old-fashioned style. Yes, violet is still the indisputable star, and it’s still very sweet and powdery, but there’s more to the scent too, and the result is very, very pretty. A triumphant violet that registers at the opposite end of the spectrum from the shy whisper usually used to treat this flower in half-shades and shadows. This dazzling violet rubs shoulders with a timeless, chic and gentle iris. Insolence takes the classic anisic gourmand iris and gives it a modern twist. Orange blossoms contribute a heavy, soothing and creamy sweetness that briefly comes to the fore. But they can’t compete with the wild, original power of violets. Fortunately, I find it because I find the violets more interesting.

The base is a lovely, rather dusky blend of tonka and sandalwood, and once the top notes calm, Insolence is not overly sweet. After a short time, the tonka helps to move the perfume to the sweetened side, which is a combination of candied and floral sweetness. The addition of a sandalwood note helps to bring the sweetness down to earth while creating a wrap of warmth around the florals. The more the scent approaches the end, the more it settles with a lightly sweet powdered vanilla violet resting on a subtle base of sandalwood. And then there is a whisper of resins, perhaps the same used in Shalimar as I catch the same vibe. Towards the end, the fragrance becomes warmer due to the resin and wood notes. But a hint of violets remains until the very end - very delicate and gracefully sweet.

This perfume is gorgeous! It is of high quality and clean. On my clothes, it smells like violet candy, and on my skin, it turns into a cream with vanilla syrup and a sprinkle of violet. Sillage, projection, and longevity are outstanding. I would suggest applying this perfume with a delicate hand, to prevent the whole thing from becoming a stuffy and syrupy cloud to the point of annoying you and those who pass by. Lovely and cold scent. It has a dusty quality that feels luxurious. This is something you will want to wear to impress. For me, it is a typical spring fragrance: simple and adorable, but also lively, sometimes almost shrill. The violets here are not inconspicuous and modest, but unusually loud and wild, urban and cheeky. It’s hard to believe what you can get from a floral scent you thought you already knew everything about.

I base the review on a 30ml bottle I have owned since May 2022 (batch code 9G01, 2019-07)

-Elysium

06/14/2025

Akira1005
219 Reviews

Akira1005

Helpful Review 2

Truly "Insolence".

This is almost the same as the EDP of Insolence, and if you want it to last longer, I recommend the EDP. If you want a "faint” violet candy scent, the EDT version is the way to go.
I think Guerlain is probably not that popular in Japan. Because it doesn't suit the Japanese atmosphere. A woman who put a little bit of this fragrance on the back of her knees wrote a review saying, "Did my perfume offend someone else?" after hearing a high school boy on the same train tell his friend, "I'm not feeling well, so I'm going to get off halfway through."I'm glad he didn't "faint" .If you want to smell like violets in Japan, we recommend using this. Iris Eau de Toilette
I think it probably is. There are no Japanese people who smell this powdery, and it doesn't suit the climate.
Marie Antoinette liked the scent of violets, and is said to have worn a perfume made by her personal perfumer Jean-Louis Fargeon(sorry, I'm not sure about the spelling), which was a blend of violets and iris. Both are expensive fragrances.
Moreover, since this scent was only permitted for members of the royal family, her identity was discovered while she was on the run, and she ended up on the guillotine. I think it must have been a very noticeable scent. I don't know if Guerlain had Marie Antoinette in mind when they created this, though.

01/07/2019

7Scent 8Longevity 6Sillage

StellaDiverF
213 Reviews

StellaDiverF

1

Powdery Berry Candy

Insolence and its EDP version both share a very powdery texture. While the EDP focuses on the blue flowers, Insolence EDT has much more prominent raspberries' and red berries' sweet tartness. These red fruits are well mixed into violet and are difficult to discern one from another. However, their efforts for making the fragrance more playful are certainly easy to spot. Violet candy is an excellent comparison. However, it's certainly not a girly one who's begging for admiration, but one with extreme confidence and even a little bit of arrogance, whether it'll be appreciated or not.

I personally am more attracted by the EDP version as it's deeper. But with its moderate sillage and a longevity at least for 8h as well, I certainly would not mind adding it into my collection one day.

09/08/2017

8Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

DonJuanDeCat
2046 Reviews

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DonJuanDeCat

Top Review 18

What a Cheek!

You know, I’m sure that some people at various fragrance stores, where I often stop by, think it’s quite cheeky of me to keep coming back, testing a few scents, and then leaving without buying anything…. :(

So I usually try a trick that has somewhat worked so far. I engage the sales assistant in conversation (if I dare… :D), let my charm play out more or less, and then I’m out of there in a flash when she has to laugh… without her getting the chance to ask if she can wrap it up (the scent) :D

Eventually, though, this trick will be figured out… and what will I do then? Probably sigh even more… *sigh*
Because then I’ll probably have to actually buy every women’s fragrance I want to test for my “supposed” girlfriend (or sometimes for a change, my mother, sister, cousin, aunt… umm… what other female “beings” are there?? :DD) too,…

Just so that the women’s fragrances can gather dust on the shelf afterwards… but in the end, after a few years, when I’ve accumulated about 40-50 women’s fragrances, I could raffle them all off here! … Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, you’re looking forward to that already, aren’t you? Tsss,… forget it, he he he! :D

The Scent:

The scent starts with sweet berries and a large “portion” of iris. The fruity notes don’t last too long and soon fade into the background, as you can soon only smell iris and sweet violets, which give the scent a rather powdery character. The powdery note also makes the scent feel quite clean and fresh, but not soapy.
A little later, roses come into play, which, well, smell like roses, as you know :D
However, the roses are not very strong; I think I can still clearly smell the iris and violets later on, now mixed with some resinous scents and musk.
Even later, the sweetness of the scent mainly comes from the musk, as the violets fade away at some point. The iris remains and makes the scent softly powdery and, as mentioned, clean.

The Sillage and Longevity:

The sillage is initially good; the scent can be detected from a distance. The wearer of this fragrance will certainly leave a pleasant scent trail behind. After a few hours, the scent is not as strong anymore, but still detectable.
The longevity is also quite good. Even if the sillage decreases over time, the scent can still be faintly perceived on the skin after ten hours.

The Bottle:

The original bottle (original because most Guerlain fragrances now come in bee bottles) looked like a sphere that was cut horizontally in the middle. There was no label; instead, the name of the fragrance was printed on the surface of the bottle at the outermost edge. The cap looked like a miniature version of the bottle and consisted of two half-sphere-like shapes. Viewed from the side, the bottle somewhat resembled a fountain.
Even though I find the new bee bottles quite wonderful, I also think it’s a shame that the fragrance-specific bottles from Guerlain are increasingly being phased out and replaced with similarly looking bottles. Nevertheless, both bottle variants are beautifully designed.

Insolence has become a very lovely scent that smells slightly floral-sweet as well as powdery and later has notes of musk and light resinous scents. The fragrance is soft and gentle and feels very clean and fresh, but as described in the scent description, it doesn’t smell soapy. I mention this specifically because some people here don’t like soapy fragrances… so even the dirty ones among you can take a look here :D

I find the scent especially wearable in spring and late summer/fall. It can be used both daily (in lower doses) or for going out (spray it on heavily! :D).

I must also say that this was the first Insolence fragrance, and I don’t know all the other flankers yet, but I might test them over time if I dare to continue venturing into fragrance houses… :DD

More reviews

Statements

66 short views on the fragrance

LouBe

3 years ago

6

Opens with a sickening violet, which mellows to a lovely berries&violet scent. For undaunted hard-core violet lovers.

Cumulnimbus

4 years ago

7Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

4

Powdery bomb of sweet fruity violets. It is pretty but can be really suffocating, I can wear it on cold months with a single spray. Inmense.

Coffeecat283

11 months ago

4Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

2

Very artificially sweet and powdery. Very similar to the EDP, except with tartness from the berries.

Elysium

3 years ago

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

1

This fruity-floral is a daring blend of brilliant red fruit and a beautiful, luminous iris that reveals surprising notes of violet. Stunning

Puderperle

5 years ago

10Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

18

3

Pink dress, curling rollers, powder puff, and sweet raspberry pink lipstick. Beautifully feminine. Reminds me of Gloria Vanderbilt's Swan.

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Fran

10 years ago

9Scent 10Longevity 7.5Sillage

17

1

Not for days when you want to be subtly scented. This violet is bold. Loud and vibrant. Ultra feminine with powder and berries.

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Annabraucht

5 years ago

16

2

I dare say: my husband wears this scent! For years. Hard to believe, but yes! And it suits him perfectly. Dear men, feel free to give it a try.

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Rieke2021

3 years ago

7.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

14

8

Sassy violets suck on raspberry candies. Soft powder gently falls. O-flower brings good vibes. Bright, cheerful, clean, soft + sweet. For tough girls.

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