L'Instant de Guerlain Guerlain (2003) Eau de Parfum

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

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

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7.9 / 10 376 Ratings

L'Instant de Guerlain (Eau de Parfum) is a popular perfume by Guerlain for women and was released in 2003. The scent is floral-powdery. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by LVMH.

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Perfumer

Maurice Roucel

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Bergamot, Mandarin
Heart Notes	Iris, Jasmine, Magnolia, Black elder, Ylang-ylang
Base Notes	Amber, Benzoin, Honey, Musk, Vanilla

Ratings

Scent

7.9 (376 Ratings)

Longevity

8.4 (285 Ratings)

Sillage

7.3 (263 Ratings)

Bottle

8.0 (263 Ratings)

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 22.01.2019

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Reviews

01/21/2019

9.0/10

8.0/10

9.0/10

8.5/10

SolisOccasum

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SolisOccasum

Paradise garden

It's become muggy The little butterfly smoothes its antennae. He's been out all day, busy. These wonderful flowers wanted and had to be visited and kissed individually.
At first he had floated past a small iron garden table and sat on a small wooden bowl with mandarins. But these did not really interest him since too citric. Soon he stretched out his wings and began his day's work.
The wonderfully fragrant jasmine bush simply had to be visited. How convenient that he was lying in the middle of a small island, surrounded by the proudest iris he had ever tasted. Here it flew from blossom to blossom and when a summer breeze called to dance, it flew among the floating calyxes and rejoiced in the warm powdered air.
And as the wind moved on, the little butterfly paused at a birdbath and greedily sucked in the vanilla honey scent mixed with milk, which had suddenly crept into the garden.
If only he could describe how paradisiacal this garden was. Delicate yet full, alive yet patient. Adult and still childlike dreamy.
How could he explain the hours of tender stay to someone without leaving a false impression?
Thoughtfully, he smoothed his feelers. As... yeah, exactly.... that's how he'd do it.
The little butterfly rose into the summer air. He would invite anybody to come to his personal paradise garden, who wanted to know what the garden was like now. Because only then you would understand it yourself.

4 Replies

09/20/2018

9.0/10

4.0/10

5.0/10

4.0/10

Clarabella

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Clarabella

Vacuum cleaning

I'm missing something here, the freshness, the fruitiness.
From the start, except for the rest dull powderiness, sweetness and - that's it!
I was so looking forward to the black elderberry, so rare and individual in perfumes - Pustekuchen, nothing!
Strawflower/Heunote I do not smell out here either, but for me also emotionally a past, a past and unfortunately not a here and now attractive perfume, but a pale perfume, also not antique, retro and beautiful, but so old boring, oll.
Vacuuming also makes such an impression on me before airing.
Well, I find all the ingredients appealing, I know all of them, but the mix is not, at least not on my skin.
Pity

5 Replies

09/07/2018

4.0/10

8.0/10

Gelis

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Gelis

Very helpful Review 9

S u b t i l

So, I've made up my mind. I like him, don't I? But that wasn't easy.

In her beautiful comment, Mrs. Lohse writes, among other things, that "L'Instant de Guerlain" is "... a breath that blows through curtains of organs,..." I can fully agree with that. Also the statement that it is nevertheless tightly woven. But here my own experiences:

At the beginning the tangerine blows into my nose, somewhat contained but clearly. Then L'IdG is gone again. ... A little while later, albeit discreetly, a sour powdery breeze follows. I don't think he's pretty. But it doesn't last too long, because: L'IdG will be gone for a while. So as not to keep repeating myself: L'IdG plays this game with me all the way. From now on, the fragrance will always be powdery when it appears. PUDRIG capitalized, to make it really clear:

powdery-flowery
powdery-sweet
powdery-floral-lightly tart
powdery, flowery, slightly tart and yet somehow sweet

Okay, in the base then the powder is as good as gone, and it remains - with the nose on the wrist - an amber-vanilla-sweet cuddly breeze.

Sillage:
I think it's meagre. I got into a bad mood once and nobody said anything. Could just have been courtesy, of course. But for my nose there had hardly changed

Shelf life:
There was my first assessment so at 6 - 7 hours. However: When I sniffed the cuddly base on my wrist yesterday noon, I was surprised, because I hadn't sprayed my wrists in the morning, it had to be from the evening before. So in a very subtle and subtle way "L'Instant de Guerlain" is a very long-lasting fragrance.

Conclusion:
At first I was deterred by this sour powdery note. Kindly, my nose has almost completely skipped this aspect of fragrance. The sweetness is never really too much, but to my taste always just before. I think this and the constant back and forth in my perception annoyed me a little. But today, on the 4th carrying day, L'idG convinced me after all. Yeah, I like wearing it, and I like to sniff after it.

Thank you Clarabella for the nice deal.

7 Replies

08/27/2018

8.0/10

10.0/10

6.0/10

10.0/10

Centifolias

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Centifolias

Helpful Review 15

My guardian angel ...

...he'd smell like L'instant.
Many know the feeling of having had a guardian angel in certain moments of life.
And then there are those phases when you feel abandoned and alone. Where you can hardly rest from worry.
And wondering, where's my guardian angel?
It's always there, even if you can't feel it.

When I spray L'Instant, I feel safety, security, protection.
It envelops me and acts as a shield against all the outside attacks. He calms me down. He's an angel.

I owe the new purchase to my daughter. He appeared at her birth and at her baptism my mother gave him to me.
I used it for four years, then we lost each other. And I forgot him.
The other day, when a perfumery saleswoman went to look for something in the store for me and took forever, I had a lot of time to look around.
Then I saw a pink bottle of bees from Guerlain. Not suspecting that this was the new edition of L'istant, I sprayed.
It was right there.
A feeling of security, warmth and confidence.
I remembered and looked at the name, there it was: L'istant.

The saleswoman returned unsuccessfully from her search and asked me how I would like the scent she had sprayed on my right arm before. It was the new scent (Joy) from Dior. He'd turn out so wonderfully soft on me.
I explained to her that what she smelled of me was my left arm with L'istant.
She was quite surprised, she had classified this rather old-fashioned/oldbacken (she was very young) how wonderfully it developed nevertheless.
Unfortunately I already had so much in my shopping basket that I could not quite overcome myself to add my recovered L'istant.
"When it's autumn/winter, I'll buy it. I still have enough" (you know all these desperate attempts to talk your way out of buying a perfume under rational aspects, these always fail)
But I stood firm, didn't take it and went to the cash register (full of pride to have won the fight, but with my nose on my arm)
At the cash register, my daughter joined me.
She embraced me spontaneously (very rarely within the puberty) and shouted enthusiastically: "You smell like mum!
Of course, this fragrance accompanied her for the first 4 years of her life.
Again she said, "oh, you smell sooo good, what's that?"
My fight was lost. I left the checkout line, went to the shelf, grabbed a 50 ml bottle, and started again.
"Good decision, this is Mama",
said my daughter and hugged me again.
Yes, a good decision.
This scent is my guardian angel.

7 Replies

07/31/2017

Germanblonde

From trash to treasure

This is a love-hate relationship for me. It smells awful on my skin, just awful. Like a flowerbed next to a garbage can. But in my hair it is an absolute stunner. I sprayed it on my skin and in my hair today, and when the wind picked my hair up, I got such a gorgeous whiff, when I smelled my wrist I was repulsed. But I think this is still a keeper, even though it doesn't agree with my skin at all. I will try it next time just on my hair and clothes, and see what the results will be.

Update: I sprayed myself last night with this perfume on the wrist, because I wanted to give it a chance. Went to bed, and in the middle of the night I woke up from the most lovely smell - on my wrist! I cannot believe it. And it is still strong and lovely this morning. It seems at least on me it needs a long time to develop into this beauty, I am talking about HOURS. From now on, if I want to enjoy it, I have to spray it on my skin at least a couple of hours before I leave the house, so it has the time to unfold its beauty. It is the strangest thing.

2nd update: The more I try it, the more I like it. It still doesn't smell the best initially, but it comes around beautifully enough that I will keep it in my collection for sure. It will never turn into big love, but I do like it more and more, the more I give it a chance.

3rd update: You know fragrances that you have to give a few tries to fall in love with? Well, L'Instant is one of them. I would never have thought a few months ago that I enjoy it now as much as I do. It is not a fragrance for everybody, and it might take a while until you can open your heart to her (I needed quite a lot of time), but I wear it this morning and think to myself: My oh my - I am so happy that I didn't give up on this little gem.

09/14/2016

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.

2 Replies

06/13/2016

7.0/10

6.0/10

8.0/10

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

1 Replies

07/29/2012

ArkangeL

Very helpful Review 5

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.

07/15/2012

jtd

jtd

Helpful Review 2

Fruity Musky that feels like a melting ice cream cone

As the name implies, tutti frutti refers to a dessert of a mix of fruits. A compote, an ice cream or the like made of various fruits where the fruit flavors enhance each other. Tutti frutti in the language of commercial flavor production has also come to mean one particular flavor: bubblegum. L'Instant, while well-composed and well-behaved is a tutti flori in the manner of the latter tutti frutti. L'Instant isn't exactly bland, just indistinct. It's a blur of the sultry floral set: lily, magnolia, ylang-ylang and others, forming a sort of pan-tropical note that flattens out when bolstered by a matter of course vanilla and musk.

Less an idealized abstract floral, or a well-matched bouquet; more an actually loud, but conceptually hazy floral flavor. Lack of evolution over time only exacerbates the problem.

03/28/2012

5.0/10

7.5/10

6.0/10

Missk

Smooth ambery floral

I'm a little undecided as to how I feel regarding this particular fragrance. L'Instant de Guerlain fascinates me, yet also leaves me dissatisfied.

First off, it strikes me as being very modern and elegant. To my nose, I tend to get a lot of powdery and musky iris and amber, (this is a review for the EDP by the way).

I read somewhere that this is a rather popular choice for brides on their wedding day, and I can see why. L'Instant de Guerlain is polite, pretty and classy, evidently formal in its approach, but nothing too bold.

It's clean, musky powderiness is what bothers me slightly. I often refrain from using the term 'old lady', yet for once I'll say that I feel this fragrance is too old for a young twenty year old, such as myself. It's a scent for tea parties and reading a book in bed, not something to match my somewhat wild, energetic and partying lifestyle.

In all honesty, L'Instant de Guerlain strikes me as a more modern and a less heavier version of the classic Shalimar and L'Heure Bleue. I noted this similarity when I first smelt it, however it wasn't until now that it occured to me that they are all from the same house.

When it comes down to it, I much prefer L'Instant de Guerlain over and above Insolence EDT and Idylle which leave much to be desired, however my appreciation for Guerlain still lies with their classics, especially those produced before the year 2000.

02/12/2012

10.0/10

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

01/31/2012

5.0/10

3.0/10

Lola82

Helpful Review 2

Cabbages

The opening is nice,
powdery but not overwhelming like Kenzo's
Flower a softer more diluted powdery opening but
i disagree with the drying
down it does not smell elegant on me it
smells like rotting cabbage mixed with
powder i just think my skin chemistry doesn't
balance this scent very well
which is sad because it's from the most
prestigious perfume houses in perfumery

01/05/2012

7.5/10

6.0/10

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...]

2 Replies