Les Légendaires

Insolence Guerlain 2008 Eau de Parfum

Bottle Design:
Serge Mansau

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Ranked 95 in Women's Perfume

8.0 / 10 654 Ratings

A popular perfume by Guerlain for women, released in 2008. The scent is floral-powdery. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is being marketed by LVMH.
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Main accords

Floral

Powdery

Sweet

Fruity

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Red berries

Heart Notes

Violet

Iris

Orange blossom

Base Notes

Tonka bean

Sandalwood Woods

Woods

Perfumer

Maurice Roucel

Ratings

Scent

8.0654 Ratings

Longevity

8.5552 Ratings

Sillage

8.1553 Ratings

Bottle

8.2534 Ratings

Value for money

7.6206 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 07/21/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the "Les Légendaires" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Insolence Eau de Toilette

Insolence Extrait

Celeste

Love in Idleness

Iconic Eau de Parfum

Rendez-Vous

Reviews

29 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/25/2012

10
Bottle 10
Sillage 10
Longevity 9
Scent

FloraMilena
47 Reviews

FloraMilena

Very helpful Review 8

Insolence EDP

The nuclear bomb of violets has been dropped to earth and detonated. This unapologetically magnificent Queen-B of violets has swept in and decimated everything in her wake. The fantastic sillage leaves all the Poisons, Aliens, Opiums, Angels, and even Giorgio in the dust. The usual shy, shrinking violet has shown her true colors. And that color is a blinding neon-amethyst-supernova-implosion-plasma-PURPLE! Hurrah!!! The spiral construction of this scent really is amazing. This intriguing mix of fruits, florals, spices, and woods weaves in on itself over and over again so that the whole composition shines forth splendidly for the entire duration of its endless longevity. The top and middle notes maintain their fearless purple power even as the whole distinctly Guerlain base fully unfolds, resulting in a fascinatingly complex scent that is at once bewitchingly heady yet intriguingly deep. Tonka bean imparts just a tad more spicy complexity to the base and a less cloying sweetness than simple vanilla. Earthy iris and elegant sandalwood anchor the base with a regal depth.

I happen to adore violets, berries, iris, rose, orange blossom, and sandalwood. I cannot rejoice enough that there has finally been created a fresh, opulent, powerhouse woody-violet floral scent that is of low sweetness, but luxuriantly rich and complex, yet still with no need for animalics, patchouli, citrics, or vanilla.

It’s remarkable really. On my skin, this is a lushly shadowed grove of violets standing proudly in the damp evening earth, their petals dripping with the crystalline drops of a recent refreshing rain, amplifying the flowers’ scent in the early evening, wafting purple enchantment through the mossy ancient forest …..little animals and mysterious night creatures are starting to stir in the lingering mist. Dreamy, mesmerizing, takes me to another world. I just love this one. Standing ovation for Guerlain here. This IS a masterpiece.

04/13/2024

Yenn
34 Reviews

Yenn

Very helpful Review 2

The insolence of smelling beautiful

I can't believe I havent made a review to this one! Perhaps because I don't have much to say about it: it is straight forward parma violet sweets. It is linear, but this is the only perfume in the world where I dont mind it because the smell is gorgeous. It has good potency and duration.

It has this gothic feminine melancholic fairy princess thing that it makes it so versatil for me who I love gothic perfumes with a touch of mistery but not too much darkness that it is a safe reach for me because also it is clean, which is difficult in "gothic" perfumes.

"Purple" perfumes can be sad and dull but this one has a vivacity it makes it sexy and beautiful.
It used to be my signature and it is my most complimented perfume. During hot weather I couldent stand it though, it smells like a grey melted viscouse burned plastic. Ughh. And this winter I havent used it as much because for some reason it hasnt recovered totally yet for the summer phase... But yesterday, the first warm day after the cold of winter I wear it and I loved it. I discovered the powdery faccets I hadnt found yet in this perfume! It was powdery like expensive purple make up but I love that, so.. now I like this under warmer days? Perfumery is so misterious and alchemical to me xD!

07/20/2016

Omni
70 Reviews

Omni

Helpful Review 3

Brambles and Berries

I spent some time wearing Apres L'Ondee, L'Heure Bleu and Insolence to find that rainbow connection to LHB, but my system records the overall similarity to be most akin to Apres L'Ondee. I've even taken to wearing one single puff of Insolence EDP to the cleavage with Apres L'Ondee behind the ears, some sprayed into my hair, which acts as a good fixative, diffuser. Hawthorn comes through, the scent of the hedgerow, and you know that nobody within miles is wearing the same fragrance. Tomorrow, however, I won't have the fortitude to wear it again; these Guerlain fragrances are challenging, as many have noted. The fact that I can successfully layer Apres L'Ondee with Insolence EDP allows me to enjoy both fragrances a great deal more, toning down the strident Insolence and adding berries to the wistful wonderland that is Apres L O. If we stop to think about it, berries are a natural fit with the Ode to Spring, so thanks to Maurice Roucel, I have found another brambled path in which to enjoy a classic Guerlain

02/26/2015

10
Bottle 10
Sillage 10
Longevity 10
Scent

Briarthorn
91 Reviews

Briarthorn

Helpful Review 4

Not your "classic" violet scent

For me it opened with a cloud of "stuff" no one note coming through, then after a moment I got the smell of a "ripe" violet. Not candied and powdery but "ripe". I am assuming the berries behind it gave it that interesting dimension. The violet in this is warm, not cool like most violets. After wearing it awhile it warmed up with the sandalwood and the honeyed scent of Orange blossom behind the violet. This mellowed the violet a bit more, which kept the whole thing from feeling to linear. The dry down introduced the Tonka bean, giving yet another dimension to the violets. This stuff lasts all day.

This is definitely not a "classic violet" scent. It does not follow the traditional violet trajectory even though violet is consistently the main note throughout. The scent is continually evolving on the skin during the course of the day giving the violets different dimensions and preventing the linear trap many violets find themselves in. Lovely.

It's a bit too strong for me to wear everyday, without growing tired of it, but it is really an excellent addition to the rotation of a violet and gardenia lover like myself. It shakes things up a bit.

Oct
08
2013

01/16/2019

9
Bottle 9
Sillage 8
Longevity 8.5
Scent

Jazzy76
320 Reviews

Jazzy76

Helpful Review 3

The shy violet dares

Violets are the first spring flowers: they seems like shy, humble, they remind to a discrete and just suggested feminity, they appear in the classic eaux de cologne and in historical scentes like Viletta di Parma and similar. I could associate the violet to the famous painting of the lady with the parasol and to White and pastel lace clothes.
But the violet contained in this wonderful creation by Guerlain is another thing: yes, sir, the shy violet became unhibited and very sexy with a strong character and and intoxicating effect.
I must confess that just a few months ago I didn't like so much this fragrance, because I 'm not a great violet scent lover. But something has recently changed smelling again this eau de parfum.
First of all I perceived the red berries scent, round and fruity, making me think of the good season, but immediately the main actress arrives: a strong violet note , vibrant like a soprano solo, intense, provocative, almost "insolent" , just like the scent name suggests.
This flowery and intoxicating note is harmonized in a warmer accord made of Woods and a quite gourmand tonka bean, lasting on the skin for many hours and revealing more and more a quite velvety and vanilla drydown.
A hymn to feminity, perfect to wear in the spring nights or in those cold first days of early spring.
The new but historical decorated bottle with the bees (the bee , "l'abeille", is the symbol of the Maison Guerlain) is a glass art masterpiece and gives a more precious character to this great classic of the contemporary perfumery. The price is obviously high, but I think that this one is a must have in a perfumes collection.
So, if the violet dares....dare the violet!

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