Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
02/23/2016
jtd
484 Reviews
jtd
Top Review
9
insolence, the sequel
Do you remember how much people kvetched about Insolence when it was released? It was The Death of Guerlain. There had been similar raining-cats-and-dogs wailing about a few other post-LVMH Guerlains: Champs Elysées, l’Instant, the entire Aqua Allegoria line. (Guerlain has in fact survived long enough to hear similar complaints about Idylle, Shalimar Parfum Initial and La Petite Robe Noire.) Guerlain responded by creating two flankers to serve as concession speeches to the Insolence campaign. The two took completely different tacks.
My Insolence came first. It acquiesced. It apologized for Insolence’s garishness. It tacitly confessed and asked forgiveness. Edges were smoothed. The fruit got sweeter. The nail polish note was restrained. The tonka/vanillic base was warmer and more comfortable.
Insolence Eau de Parfum was the defiant, ‘you haven’t seen the last of me!’ version. It kept the hairspray, exaggerated the candied violet, grew monstrously large. It called the critics out for being dainty.
My heart is with Insolence Eau de Parfum for its fuck-you tone, but My Insolence isn’t bad. It might have been built for the buyer who thought Insolence required too much effort, but it was also an alternative for the Britney Spears Fantasy wearer who was looking to get classy with some brand affiliation.
Guerlain aimed for greater accessibility. My Insolence is less sharp than the original. There’s less hairspray, less violet, more berry. It’s fluffier, lighter in every sense. A sweet gourmand lemon note levels out the pitchiness of the original. Think lemon mousse or limoncello instead of Aquanet and you’ll catch the difference between the topnotes of Insolence and My Insolence.
Insolence was intended to be a big seller as the Calvin Klein style name indicates. My Insolence pursued the same goal, in this case by aiming to be more of a crowd pleaser. Just as my expectations of a wide-release action movie are different than what I hope for in a ‘serious’ documentary, my expectation for My Insolence isn’t stratospheric. The fruity-floral is the perfume equivalent of the romantic comedy and My Insolence is a solid if programatic offering within a compromised genre.
My Insolence came first. It acquiesced. It apologized for Insolence’s garishness. It tacitly confessed and asked forgiveness. Edges were smoothed. The fruit got sweeter. The nail polish note was restrained. The tonka/vanillic base was warmer and more comfortable.
Insolence Eau de Parfum was the defiant, ‘you haven’t seen the last of me!’ version. It kept the hairspray, exaggerated the candied violet, grew monstrously large. It called the critics out for being dainty.
My heart is with Insolence Eau de Parfum for its fuck-you tone, but My Insolence isn’t bad. It might have been built for the buyer who thought Insolence required too much effort, but it was also an alternative for the Britney Spears Fantasy wearer who was looking to get classy with some brand affiliation.
Guerlain aimed for greater accessibility. My Insolence is less sharp than the original. There’s less hairspray, less violet, more berry. It’s fluffier, lighter in every sense. A sweet gourmand lemon note levels out the pitchiness of the original. Think lemon mousse or limoncello instead of Aquanet and you’ll catch the difference between the topnotes of Insolence and My Insolence.
Insolence was intended to be a big seller as the Calvin Klein style name indicates. My Insolence pursued the same goal, in this case by aiming to be more of a crowd pleaser. Just as my expectations of a wide-release action movie are different than what I hope for in a ‘serious’ documentary, my expectation for My Insolence isn’t stratospheric. The fruity-floral is the perfume equivalent of the romantic comedy and My Insolence is a solid if programatic offering within a compromised genre.
FabienneV
LauraBella
