Habit Rouge L'Instinct

My first impression is it's nice. The opening is pretty good. The top and heart last a good hour or two then I get an underwhelming base that is nice but is coming off a bit like shower gel blue generic. The rose sneaks in somewhere, it kind of plays hide and seek with the cannabis note that isn't realistic but there is some nice vegetal intrigue. The vegetal accord and whispers of red roses is very nice. I'm gonna have to give this some more wears. Woke up and reapplied a couple sprays. The Habit Rouge dna is coming through more. It's like a nude Habit Rouge with the vegetal green kicked up and an animalistic marine accord that does have some shower gel blue character. It has that type of animalistic smell which is pretty good. This score will likely creep up some. I'm happy this is under appreciated so I could get it from the bargain bin. I scored on this one. Guerlain standard quality. There are a few Guerlain summer frags I like more, this one does it's own thing. It's classic enough for us older heads. Modern and contemporary enough for the newer users. The vegetal animalistic leather marine and hint of rose can sometimes smell like a hint of bug or insect on the dry down. Somebody said I made it smell like tomato soup after I walked in and someone else agreed. But they are known to be sensitive, and sometimes more than others if you know what I mean. It's has rounded out and developed It's character. Maybe it's my nose just developing to the scent or the bottle blooming after some use. I think it's a bit of both. It has a distinguished smell. The marine like musk blends with the leather accord so well. It comes off as the best smelling horse skin after galloping through the morning fields. The dew, greens, flowers... building up on the horse. Because of this unique art effect I'm giving it a much more respectable score of 8.4/10. Pretty good. I'm wearing it often. Keeps getting better. I'm really feeling the horse vibe on this. It will be in the top of my rotation until empty.

There is NO WAY this is a 3.37 compared to fragrances like afnan supremacy collection edition being 4.50, are you kidding me? Now granted I was never a huge fan of the original Habit Rouge (any concentration other than spirit), so I get that people would be upset considering this fragrance should have had it's own name (there's a TINY bit of the OG in it). Same thing happened with Dior homme 2020, which on itself a fantastic fragrance but because it had the homme name which was iris focused (and fabulous) it was a 180 from that profile. Not sure why companies do that, sure you will get buys from name recognition, but eventually the backlash will come and people will not be happy. Not sure if the rep hit is worth the profit. Aside from that, this is a good fragrance, I don't get the BDC comparisons as they do not smell alike, but it is a blue like fragrance, just refined and mature. More than BDC, it reminds me of versace pour homme but more complex and not as screechy. If you like Versace pour homme you will like this. It has that guerlain quality and subtleness that the brand is known for; versatile, unique in it's own way, and masculine. The rose is slight but present and mixes well with the base leather and patchouli. Very versatile and office safe. The opening has citruses that's mixed with green accords, and doesn't smell sharp or too fresh. There is rose but it's more of a compliment and doesn't overwhelm the fragrance like that note has a tendency to do with other fragrances. This isn't your typical freshie, it has depth and character. I'm actually mad because I got 50 ml instead of 100 ml because I saw the 3.37 rating and without decanting I didn't want to take a chance blind buying. But being that Guerlain is easily one of my favorite houses, I should have had more confidence. This is an easy love for me and I will be putting wears. Let it stay underrated, it means no one else will use this but me :-).

In their hurry to review a fragrance, many people spray on paper, read the notes and write their “expert” conclusions. Armchair perfumers run to dismiss this flanker as not being Habit Rouge, never giving it a chance. They often do not spray on skin or even wear it for any length of time. Perfumes have a life cycle that is meant for skin and its temperature. This Habit Rouge flanker opens up very different from the classic. It smells very modern and agreeable. As it dries down has herbal and aquatic nuances. Further drying down you will begin to smell the Habit Rouge DNA, very much toned down, but definitely there... very much modernized. In the deep dry down, it doesn’t smell like L’Homme Ideal or Vetiver... it is Habit Rouge.... Including the famous Guerlain vanilla, leather and citrus. Do yourself a favor, give it a full wear.... Spray it.... Try it.... Let it develop..... you’ll like it, I’m sure.

I don't get why people don't like it. It's such a great scent, although I prefer the other HR perfumes, this one is nice too. It's also a lot cheaper, and you can wear it all year round. The scent is 8.5/10; the longevity and sillage are average. I think those who are downvoting this fragrance are looking at it the wrong way. Give it a try and wear it for a full day, not just spray it on a paper strip. Also, approach it as a different type of fragrance rather than another flanker in the HR line. They probably should have given it a different name, because right now everyone has different expectations than what it actually is.

I don't understand why people dislike it so much. I've seen reviews on yt trashing it and the same thing here but personally, I love the scent. The smell of the green and citrusy notes combined with the leathery base is amazing. That being said, I'm disappointed by the longevity. I'm not sure if I got a bad batch or it has something to do with the cold weather but after 3-4 hours I'm not getting anything. Might leave it to sit for a few months and see if it improves.