WHAT I SMELL: Insolence (eau de parfum) opens with an ambered violet that quickly begins to turn creamy. It’s slightly thickened and very pretty without being soft and demure. Soon after, a more rounded vanilla and berry note comes forward and is added to the creamy concoction which feels like it would make for the perfect body lotion. After a short time, the vanilla helps to move the perfume to the sweetened side which is a combination of candied and floral sweetness. Here, the perfume really begins to radiate and grow in strength. The addition of a sandalwood note helps to bring the sweetness down to earth while creating a wrap of warmth around the florals. In the end, the perfume settles with a lightly sweet powdered vanilla’d violet resting on a subtle base of sandalwood. Insolence is a “nice” perfume.
From the Guerlain website:
This fruity floral fragrance highlights an unprecedented powdery duo of violet and iris, given a modern edge by a dash of berries.
The Eau de Parfum Insolence showcases an overdosed, high-voltage violet: 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 feminine iris.
Top note is Violet; middle notes are Wild Strawberry and Orange Blossom; base notes are iris, Vanilla, Tonka Bean and Sandalwood.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A perfume that “Pat” would wear in the 1970s. It’s not offensive, it’s lightly girlish, yet slightly mature and her husband thinks she smells “swell”.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE INSOLENCE: sweetened, effective, pleasant-enough
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT INSOLENCE: A Tea-Scented Library
BOTTOM LINE: Insolence is a pleasant enough of a perfume. But I’m not sure that it’s enough. To me, it’s an everyday perfume that doesn’t feel like something that I would want to wear every day. And that’s too bad because I love my Guerlain perfumes. As I said earlier, Insolence is a “nice” perfume.
- Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Fruity Floral
- Classification: Feminine
- Expense: $135 for 75ml eau de parfum.
WHAT I SMELL: Delina La Rosée opens with a bright and luscious combo of lychee and pear. The fruit is ripe and not overly sweet, but incredibly juicy as if it’s dripping all of its harvested goodness while being drenched in sparkling water. Bergamot begins to enter which leads the perfume down the pathway away from the fruit and to the floral. As the florals begin to enter the room, a soft and lightly sweetened peony makes the first impression followed by a dry and somewhat chalky rose. But as this transition takes place, the fruits of the opening begin to pop up as if they’re trying to take center stage again. Here the perfume bounces in a lilting manner between the fruit and flowers. The perfume is lightly sugared, pretty and nicely airy so that the sweetness doesn’t become anything but pleasant. At this point the perfume is just so wonderfully enticing as it dances lightly on the skin. At times the perfume glides into a pink bubblegum aura, but it’s just little puffs of candied goodness that grace the perfume from time to time. In the end, Delina La Rosée settles to a comforting combination of the fruity and floral while sitting on a bed of quiet wood and musk.
Top notes: Lychee, Pear, Bergamot Essence
The Scented Hound 