L’Insolent by Charles Jourdan

Mine from the 20s. It left a trail and everyone asked about it; nobody else wore it. What a pity it was discontinued. It went unnoticed yet it drew attention, very pleasant. At the time, Loewe’s Aire was all the rage.

Much less insolent than its name suggests; it would have been better called ‘The Innocent’. Jourdan’s Insolente (from a shoemaker’s house) is almost a single-note peach scent. The opening was glorious; if it had stayed that way, it would have been more interesting. It smelled like fruit bubblegum or fruit shampoo, a sparkling shampoo, a macedonia in orange and pink tones with a body of light and lovely sparkles. Today, fruity or sweet scents have a different texture, more sticky and tedious. The fruity sweetness of Insolente isn’t natural but very well crafted to recall that kind of macedonia bubblegum that no longer exists because everything is now more acidic and tart. This bubblegum is wet, overflowing with pulp and foam; it’s very sweet but not distressing. If you add tuberose to that frantic fruity tone, it becomes a feast of gluttony. Unfortunately, that promising opening faded quickly to give way to a more boring perfume: a very realistic, young, smooth peach with a tiny fuzz, nothing like the sexual, liquor-filled peaches of Grosjman. This one was innocent, natural and youthful. That was the tone until its decline: refreshing peach with a hint of spice and wood. It wasn’t memorable but not bad either, perhaps a bit flat. PS: Edited to add that I hadn’t seen the previous review where this point was raised and I agree: it’s more innocent than insolent and has that shampoo tone. The bottle is a real gem.

Much less rebellious than its name suggests; it would have been better called ‘L’Innocente’. The Insolente by Jourdan (the shoe shop house) is an almost single-note peach fragrance. The opening was glorious; if it had stayed like that, it would have been more interesting. It smelled of bubblegum or fruity shampoo, a sparkling shampoo, a macedonia in orange and pink tones with a luminous body and very nice sparkles. Today, fruity or sweet scents have a different texture, more sticky and repetitive. The fruity sweetness of Insolente isn’t natural but very well crafted to recall that macedonia bubblegum that no longer exists because nowadays everything is more acidic and tart. This bubblegum is soaked, overflowing with pulp and foam; it’s extremely sweet but not distressing. If you add tuberose to that frantic fruity tone, it would have been a feast of gluttony. Unfortunately, that promising opening faded quickly to give way to a more boring perfume: a very realistic, young, smooth peach with its fuzz, nothing like the sexual and liquor-filled ones by Grosjman. This was innocent, natural and youthful. That was the tone until its decline: refreshing peach with something spiced and woody. It wasn’t memorable but not bad either, perhaps a bit flat. P.S.: Edited to add that I hadn’t seen the previous review where this point was raised and I agree: it’s more innocent than rebellious and has that shampoo tone. The bottle is a gem.

I absolutely love it; it brings back very pleasant memories of a trip to South America where I visited several countries. I bought it at the border of Paraguay. For me, it’s very pleasant and strong, yet the scent lasts throughout the day. Best regards.