Instinct

Instinct opens with a rich, complex orange, supported with heady cedar wood, with undertones of subtle incense. I can definitely recognize the cardamom immediately, with perhaps some star anise in there somewhere, too. There’s something in it that’s almost reminiscent of the olfactory overload that your nose gets when you eat wonderful Indian food – that blast of a variety of spices whose cumulative accord is intoxicating, but that you have difficulty individually separating. Into the dry down, the citrus begins to disappear and the cedar very much comes to the forefront - smelling your skin ten minutes in is like opening your grandmother’s cedar chest with her moth-eaten wedding dress and old family photographs. If I’m not mistaken, there’s also a most subtle herbaceousness, that of a freshly mown lawn, that lingers like a haunting refrain. It’s not listed in the notes, so I’m guessing this accord might be the result of the patchouli flirtatiously mixing with something else. I don’t get a lot of complexity in the dry down, except that the dwindling of the smell reminds me a bit of a sophisticated, older man’s aftershave: dry, somewhat soapy and powdery, citrusy, and full of earth. Of course, considering 2.5 ounces can be yours for less than $20 at a Ross or Marshall’s, it’s bound to have its problems. I have skin that notoriously “drinks” whatever I put on it, so I always have to apply more than most people would recommend. However, even after 8-10 sprays of this (two to my neck, two to my wrists, and a few on my shirt), the sillage is almost nonexistent and longevity is perhaps two hours at most, at which points it’s hovering about an inch off of my skin. This isn’t a “beast,” as the guys like to say. But I find it pleasant, warm, bright, refreshing, and inviting. At this price point, it’s difficult fragrance to criticize. I would most certainly buy this again.

IAfter reading the reviews I decided to blind buy this one. Especially when I read that this was citrus heavy. I have to disagree. This is a vetiver heavy scent that is a borderline barbershop smell, at least in the opening. The good news is that the amber, star anise, and pimento start to cut in fairly quickly. I was ready to write this one off as I’m not a huge vetiver fan. Probably because I grew up with a lot of old school scents that were moss, and vetiver heavy. Something beautiful starts to take place in the mid though, really beautiful. The vetiver starts to cool down and then you’re left with a beautiful bergamot and amber combo, with the sharpness of the vetiver just lounging around faded in the background. I’m probably going to take some shit from our community for saying this but I’m giving this one a solid 7/10. I’d give this a 9 if I got more than 2 hours from this. Considering I paid under 20$ bucks for a 75ml bottle, I’d consider this a great buy. This would be a great starter or beginner bottle for a young buck looking to break into the fragrance genre, and especially if he’s looking to get a smell of a vetiver scent that doesn’t smell too old mannish, but just enough to understand how it’s used in scents. In my experience Vetiver is a tricky note. It can be used in either two ways, it’s either soapy and clean, or dirty/earthy smelling, this is a clean soapy version of vetiver.

The first few times I wore this I thought it was fairly boring. Then my nose keyed in on the vetiver that is presented in this frag. Since then, I've found myself compelled to wear it. For the price its a bargain. You can find it at discounters from time to time. The performance I get is wildly different each time I wear it. Most of the notes seem to drop out off for me but the vetiver and anise keep motoring and I think that's what I find attractive about Instinct. Chopshop rating: 9.6/10 Update 11/13/15: Born of the hands that crafted L'Instant de Guerlain pour Homme Eau Extreme, this stuff is good by proxy alone. This is my favorite Beckham fragrance now. I think that this is a wonderful work scent. It is sophisticated. It adds to ones own self confidence. This is well blended, it feels very right wearing with any attire. I find that this is very versatile being dry as hell (which I love) and slightly spice. The version of vetiver used here is clean, damp, and rich. I just bought a backup bottle for 12.99 at Ross. Lovely frag. Update 12/22/15: I now have a total of three backup bottles of this stuff. One of them I keep at my office. Majorly underrated frag.

David Beckham man's frags can usually be summed up in one sentence. Instinct means "Always presentable". As any other Beckham, there are some high quality ingredients, diluted to budget of course. The bottle is well done too. Instinct is star anise with some citrus on top and a distant woody base for me. I find it well blended and balanced. Longevity is reasonable but sillage is a whisper. Instinct does not layer, it smothers any other smell if applied in quantity. This is actually the main feature that makes it great for travel: after using a cheap hotel soap, my partner's shampoo and who knows what deodorant, applying Instinct supresses and replaces the cacophony of smells. When I was travelling and used up my allocation to bring perfume as present, Instinct was the juice I was missing most. The other application is to mask the scrubbers after scrubbing. This is the frag I wear when I wear nothing. 10 /10 for doing what it is supposed to do 9.5/10 for composition 0 /10 for bragging rights Great value too.

I don't know what it is about this fragrance but I can't get enough of it. I keep smelling my arm to get another whiff of it. It has a certain note I wish I could identify. It is a bit of a peppery/aromatic warm spicy note to my novice nose. Someone help me out here. Would that be the vetiver or perhaps the anise? I bought my first bottle of this perhaps 3 or 4 years ago and finally ran out. I was pleased to see I could get a 75ml for under $20 at the local Ross/Marshalls. Sillage and longevity are moderate and I have received many compliments when wearing it. This is definitely the best of the Beckham frags for men that I have smelled. Not bad from a sweaty soccer player celeb who married a Spice Girl. Who'd have thunk!?