L'Instant de Guerlain (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain

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Les Légendaires

L'Instant de Guerlain Guerlain 2003 Eau de Parfum

7.8 / 10 568 Ratings

A popular perfume by Guerlain for women, released in 2003. 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

Oriental

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Mandarin orange

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Jasmine

Magnolia

Common elder Iris

Iris

Ylang-ylang

Base Notes

Honey

Musk

Vanilla

Benzoin

Amber

Perfumer

Maurice Roucel

Ratings

Scent

7.8568 Ratings

Longevity

8.2461 Ratings

Sillage

7.3429 Ratings

Bottle

8.0416 Ratings

Value for money

7.4102 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro · last update on 11/03/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the Les Légendaires collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

L'Instant de Guerlain Eau de Toilette

L'Instant de Guerlain Extrait

L'Instant de Guerlain L'Instant d'un Été

L'Instant de Guerlain Eau de Noël Iris Millésime

L'Instant de Guerlain Fleur de Mandarine

L'Instant de Guerlain Secret Touch Parfum Gel

Reviews

63 in-depth fragrance descriptions

07/29/2012

ArkangeL
157 Reviews

ArkangeL

Very helpful Review 7

Creamy L'instant de Guerlain

So sophisticated, sexy and sultry. Golden honey finely dripped over luscious fruits. Seductive, spicy ylang ylang complimented by iris. Then temptaton presents itself in the form of vanilla, musk and amber. L'instant in translation, means "The moment." I can imagine the kind of moment this fragrance represents. Though I cannot tell you how it begins, I will say that it ends in twisted sheets, clenched pillows and scattered clothes.

01/05/2012

6Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Sherapop
1240 Reviews

Sherapop

Very helpful Review 5

Down Comforter Confection

Whenever I think of FLOWER, I think also of Guerlain L'INSTANT. It's surely the vanilla baby powder connection, which lasts so much longer than the stages which mark the two perfumes as distinct that I cannot help but conjoin them in my mind. As this is a twenty-first-century creation of a once-glorious house (pre-Y2K), I never really expected much from L'INSTANT, and what I found was certainly nothing like classic Guerlain, although this perfume is not without its own cuddly appeal.

L'INSTANT edp is creamy and powdery and dreamy like a down comforter sprinkled with fairy dust. (Oh, isn't that the name of a perfume by Paris Hilton?) Anyway, this almond-honey-nougat-down-comforter confection reminds me of the suave and debonaire Morris Townsend [played by Montgomery Cliff] in The Heiress when he tries to woo Catherine Sloper [played by Olivia de Havilland] with this line: “You're everything I ever wanted in a woman.” And, no, he did not lie.

“You're everything I ever wanted in a [comfort scent],” L'INSTANT. Sweet, smooth, creamy, with a safe, dependable, vanilla baby powder drydown, the longevity of which is strictly determined by the wearer's own bathing schedule. Yes, since the dawning of the Century of Snark, the synthetic organic chemists have been working overtime chez Guerlain. But where have all the perfumers gone? Perhaps they, too, have become trapped in Twitter, frittering their lives away with the useless production of flankers and perfectly willing to settle for 140 characters of fame.

[Note on versions: My first bottle of L'INSTANT edp, from the original launch, contains a much darker liquid than the refill bottle which I recently purchased (before I became disenchanted with this house after their disastrous reformulation of MITSOUKO...). It could be a result of evaporation, but the first is definitely richer and more woody than the second, and it also appears to contain discernible flowers. (Not sure whether this is an issue of reformulation or not...) In a side-by-side comparison they definitely smell different enough to make me suspect that different reviewers may be encountering slightly different perfumes...]

06/13/2016

8Scent 6Longevity 6Sillage

Oriane
139 Reviews

Oriane

Very helpful Review 3

Lightly Sweet and Quietly Elegant

Top Notes: Bergamot, Mandarin Orange, Red Apple.

Heart Notes: Iris, Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang, Magnolia.

Base Notes: Musk, Amber, Benzoin, Vanilla, Honey.

Upon initial application, I perceive a rather bright, sharp citrus note that must have been a combination of the mandarin orange and bergamot, but I was unable to pick out the apple note. L'Instant transitions to the heart notes pretty quickly. I highly anticipated the heart and base notes after reading other reviews of this fragrance, and once they arrived, I was not disappointed!

In the heart notes I perceive a quite green, fresh, strong magnolia note accompanied by a smidgen of jasmine, both of which seemed to float upon the most deliciously soft, lightly sweet honey note. I also detect a tiny bit of ylang-ylang which adds to the light sweetness of the honey note. The parfum really begins to blossom quite beautifully with the heart notes.

In the dry down, I am able to pick out a sensual amber, a slightly smokey vanilla, a rich, naturalistic honey, a tiny bit of musk, and still a remnant of the fresh, green magnolia. The base notes are warm and very nearly gourmand but not quite. Together the heart and base notes make L'Instant a true standout amongst fragrances that feature prominent magnolia and honey notes. This is the best, most naturalistic, warm and rich honey note I have encountered in a fragrace outside of Elie Saab's Le Parfum Intense EdP which is a gorgeous fragrance.

I truly love both the heart and base notes in this EdP. I do not understand how anyone could describe L'Instant as either cloyingly sweet or heavy in any way. I found it to be a quite LIGHT and inoffensive scent. It is quietly elegant and truly unobtrusive. Compared to some of my classic Guerlains such as L'Heure Bleue and Mitsouko, L'Instant is an extremely demure fragrance, and I cannot imagine it would offend anyone given how lightly and airily it wears on my skin. As for age appropriateness, I think any woman in her twenties and upward could easily wear this fragrance.

L'Instant is elegant, classy, and very FRENCH smelling. I like it very much, but I wish it were a tiny bit more assertive. Unless someone were standing within an arm's distance of the wearer, I do not think L'Instant could be detected.

Maurice Roucel has added a new "classic" to Guerlain's stable of classic fragrances. I think I would like to have the matching body lotion for this in order to give it a bit more oomph, though. This is so very feminine, soft, elegant, and ladylike. I think it would be suitable year round in virtually any setting.

Again, I would like to emphasise that it is NOT heavy, cloying, or overly sweet. The sweetness in it is very light and very naturalistic as opposed to synthetic. It does not have a sugary, candy sweetness to it at all. In short, it is simply gorgeous. I definitely recommend everyone give L'Instant EdP a test. It is back up bottle worthy and even signature worthy.

Fragrance: 8/10
Sillage: 6/10
Projection: 6/10
Longevity: 6/10

02/12/2012

10Scent

Awesomeness
247 Reviews

Awesomeness

Helpful Review 5

Not Guerlinade, but who cares? It's gorgeous!

You know that diner scene in the movie "When Harry met Sally," when the Meg Ryan character simulates the big O? L'Instant is kinda like that. ;)

The parfum gel is an outstanding skin scent. The EdP is good ... but just not Oh, Oh, Oh as the gel. The EdT is an easy-going go-to scent. I also love the body lotion which is strong enough to be worn alone and makes for a nice intimate scent. But where it's at - the parfum gel. ;)

It took me a long time to love this scent ... from moderate disdain, to like, to like-like, to love. There was something that keep pulling me back to L'Instant, trying it again. I am so glad that I never gave up because I doubt that I would ever be without a bottle or two (or three) again.

If you are a fan of Rochas Tocade, one of Roucel's earlier creations, you really must try L'Instant, which seems to be a more refined, better quality Tocade flanker that lacks the varnish & sheen of its predecessor.
13 Feb 2011

09/14/2016

Vibeke
4 Reviews

Vibeke

Helpful Review 3

Smells less intense than before

First of all I want to say- I really love this smell. I remember when it first came out in 2003 the lady behind the counter recommended me to give it a go. It almost made me emotional. It was something about the strange combination of spices and citrus that kicked up in my spirit.

When I, the other day, bought it again I was disappointed. The strong smell I remembered was gone. I dont know if it is refomulated, but please tell me if any of you have the same experience with this fragrance.

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