First Instinct

The primal instinct of fashion perfumes, A&F delights us with one of its best perfumes, and perhaps its best line overall, surpassing Authentic and Away, while going head-to-head with Fierce. Here we see a more experimental A&F than ever, with a tropical melon within a sea of tonic water and gin, a tropical yet ozonic, refreshing, aquatic scent. Then, Sichuan pepper with its citrusy and fresh nature combines with the bright musk in the background, attempting to transcend the typical fresh fragrance scent and transform it into an energizing and jovial summer drink. Without pretense and without notes, First smells like a cocktail, a gin and tonic with whole chunks of melon. While sipping something so refreshing, you can smell a beach bar, carpeted with the scent of clean skin, of people returning from surfing—a youthful, different, electric, and tropical scent. This demonstrates that clothing store perfume lines have a lot to offer. Here we see a composition that isn't inspired by anything in particular, but rather possesses a very fresh and vibrant attitude. This leads me to believe that this line is the spiritual successor to Fierce. If Fierce was the scent of young people in the '90s and 2000s, First aims to be the scent of young people in 2020. It lasts for 6 hours, with strong projection for at least 2 hours. After the third hour, it becomes somewhat subtle, and its evolution is rather slow. When the fruity notes fade, the luminous musk takes over. It's a distinctly casual, youthful scent, perfect for warm weather, with a remarkable performance in the summer. The heat gives the perfume more depth, and I think it can appeal to any type of man, regardless of age. 4/4, there's not much to say. This perfume, despite being in the "lower leagues," has nothing to envy in the workhorses of designer brands for warm weather. It could easily compete for an award against heavyweights like Versace's Pour Homme, for an affordable price and with a scent that's not so common these days (a melon gin and tonic). Its longevity is in line with what you'd expect from a fresh fragrance, its quality is outstanding for the price, and its concept is unique overall, far surpassing its siblings Extreme, Blue, and Together. For me, it's an essential in any collection—affordable, charming, and remarkable. Its only flaw is not being from a more prestigious brand.

This is the first "first instinct" in the line of 4 so far, and is the last one I bought to compete the collection. I bought a 100ml for roughly $30 which is excellent for the price, so I don't expect niche quality or Beastly performance. That being said, this has it's place in the lineup and is a great casual warm weather dumb reach. For the price, respray if needed throughout the day or switch up fragrances like I often do. Here's how I rank the First Instinct lineup: 4th - Blue: Blue is ok, not very interesting and perfomance is not good. I will wear it but definitely prefer my Dylan Blue or Salvatore Ferragamo Acqua Essenziale Blue over this one. Not horrible, just overly generic. 3rd - Instinct: Good not great. Nice warm weather dumb reach for casual occasions. Wonderful sweet fresh scent that has mass appeal. Performance also is lacking but is what it is for the price. 2nd - Extreme: Very good upgrade from the original. All season except high heat. Is interesting and probably the best overall quality of the bunch for sure. Has the mass appeal with some darker depth and character from the original. Longevity and projection are pretty good on this one. 1st - Together: Man this is really good. It's a steal at discounters! 1.7oz for $20 is amazing! Think invictus aqua with a twist. Decent performance, good quality, great price and a phenomenal smell. My only regret was not getting a 3.4oz bottle. All in all the First Instinct line is very good at discounted pricing for sure. You honestly can't go wrong if you just want to smell good for cheap, without smelling "cheap". These are a great pickup for sure.

Sleeper hit of 2016. ★★★★ (4 / 5 stars) Fantastic release. Great luxurious bottle and sprayer. Tropical, musky, YSL L'homme in the dry down with a Tommy Bahama type opening without being harsh. You will smell melons for hours and hours. Very uplifting. Safe and suitable for any environment, season or lifestyle. All that Abercrombie musk DNA but with a new tropical twist - the entire fragrance has an effervescence style to it, bubbly and fizzy. Dozens of extremely positive videos on YouTube about this release. Fragrantica reviewers might be a bit harsh towards this fragrance because of the similar notes it shares with other brands. But I challenge them to name one that combines all the qualities of this release while still being attractive to girls - reactions from college girls towards first instinct are very positive. 6-7 hours of staying power on cotton shirts with three sprays. Great value when purchased online. I have a feeling this won't achieve mass market success and few people know about it. And that's great, the fewer people wearing it the better. If you like it load up on cheap bottles now before it triples in price and stores no longer carry it.

I first encountered this fragrance when my dad was searching for a new signature perfume (his current was Hugo Boss - Hugo Man). He bought it pretty fast without any research or testing, and didn't really wear it a lot, mostly only for casual nights. It was 1 or 2 years later when I got this perfume for Christmas from him because I complemented him a lot of times when wearing it. I have to say this is not my primary scent at the moment, but it definitely has its moments to shine. I can imagine you wearing this at a smaller party, at work, school, probably a dinner date too. This is definitely a scent for teens. First when it hits your nose its a fruit bomb, its a little hard to find any particular one in it, but as time goes by melon is going to stand out. When the perfume is still freshly sprayed, it has a nice tropical vibe to it. I can imagine how many surfers use this in the Usa.. I think it can be a safe blind buy, its really hard to dislike the smell. The only negative factor is that the longevity could be better, I think it starts to lose its power after 3-4 hours and is gone around 7-8.

Pros Bottle design: The lid is heavy and has good weight which is quite satisfying. The bottle's eloquent and wave-like design along with the shiny metallic Abercrombie & Fitch panel make this feel like a premium product (which is excellent for the price range). Atomizer/spray: Powerful with wide spread. Scent: Very tropical and ozonic with hints of watermelon, while keeping a fresh and masculine tone. It smells serious and definitive with a small hint of alcohol while also expressing signs of playfulness and exuberance with aquatic and fruity notes. Some may say this fragrance smells juvenile but I prefer to describe it as responsibly mischievous. Longevity: It has average longevity, lasting for a solid 4-5 hours before the scent begins to fade. Sprays: For good sillage and maximum longevity without smelling overpowering, I prefer to use at least 4 sprays for this fragrance. Cons The fruity scent can be quite overpowering or intoxicating for some, and the initial opening may be quite strong. Overall Rating: 9/10