The smell of Apathy

I think perfume makers have finally reached the bottom of the barrel for names. Is it just me or does calling a perfume Insolence seem a little, well, odd to you? For all of those vocabulary lovers out there, the definition is:

in·so·lence
–noun
1. contemptuously rude or impertinent behavior or speech



I would think of smells like old cheese, body odor or teenagers as being insolent, not a pricey perfume from Guerlain.

It's described as: "In a break away from the traditional pyramid structure, Insolence is constructed around the first olfactive spiral. Rather than a slow progression from head to base, the notes spiral and continue to circulate so that your favourite notes remain prominent from flight to finish. The notes include violet, raspberry, red fruit pulp, rose, orange blossom, iris, tonka bean, musk and sandalwood.

Sound okay, but it was also described by a reviewer as "Après L’Ondée with nail polish remover". Sooooo, maybe not so okay.

I think when I have my perfume created, I'm going to name it "Apathy". Seriously, when did the Despair, Inc. posters become fashion inspiration? (By the way, I love Despair Inc. When I worked at my majorly huge perpetually cheerful-or-else former company, a few of us wanted to put these posters around to be subversive. Their delicious negativity makes me happy.)



And am I missing something here? Hillary Swank just doesn't do it for me as a perfume-hawker. And she's supposed to broaden the audience and appeal to a younger consumer for Guerlain. The price tag of $100+ doesn't seem to be available to a broad audience and do more "established" women want to go around responding to compliments by saying "Thank you. I'm wearing Insolence." Or maybe in keeping with the name they'll just ignore you.



The bottle's pretty, however, you have to give them that.

P.S. If you would like to by a limited (only 30 made) 1 liter collectible bottle of Insolence Eau de Toilette signed by Hillary Swank for £2500 you can visit the Guerlain counter at Selfridges or call: 020 7318 1358. Plus, you can meet Miss Insolence Swank herself at the Beauty Hall, Selfridges, Oxford Street, London on Thursday 27 September at 12.30pm.