Free Wave For Him

Fresh citrus opening, beautiful iris forward middle note, and appealing woody, powdery dry down akin to clean laundry or shower gel. I prefer this fragrance for cooler days in the spring and fall, it's a bit too sweet and deep for the middle of summer. I love the spotlight on the white iris note - I associate iris with wet wipes in Asia as that is a popular scent, so this fragrance reads as fresh and clean to me, especially combined with the powdery note. Additionally, the base note of ambergris adds some warmth and depth throughout all of the notes. Inoffensive scent, suitable for many settings, but not a head turner, average projection. Lasts 2 hours on skin, 4 hours on clothing with a couple of sprays, probably longer with more. This fragrance could honestly be unisex with the forward floral notes and subtle woody notes, definitely not a typical masculine scent like another reviewer mentioned, but mass appealing enough to pull off. I blind bought this because of the price and accord combination. I wasn't expecting the iris to stand out so prominently, but am so pleasantly surprised that it does. Super happy with the performance for the price. I think this fragrance has put me on the hunt for more iris fragrances to try.

Free Wave by Hollister review Off the top you get a nice blast of pepper with a little bit of pop from the ginger and lime that makes this one really mass appealing, about 5 minutes in you start to get the iris and oak moss, it smells slightly powdery to my nose, after about 20 minutes you start to get a woody smell that really balances this fragrance out. Doesn’t have a very “natural” smell but also doesn’t smell overly synthetic. As far as performance goes I think it depends on your skin chemistry. I myself have pretty oily skin and this thing projects and performs like a BEAST! I used to work retail as a greeter at a department store and one time a girl came in and said it smelled great, she was about 6 feet away. But in general I get about 2-5ft of projection and around 7 hours of longevity (lasts on my clothes all day). For $20 you could do a lot worse. This isn’t the most mature smelling fragrance but I could see a lot of different guys of all ages being able to pull this off. One of my favorites for summer.

First I love pink pepper, this was a blind buy at TJ’s. This is a scent that is similar to ADG or Dylan Blue, not in the scent but the path that it goes down. That being said it is one of those blue fragrances that are fresh but have some woodsy strength in the base. This makes it an all around all year Cologne. The opening is very nice not to alcohol sharp. And if you look at the bottle the % alcohol is 69% which really means about 31% oils. This is in Parfum territory even though it labeled EDT. To me this is an overlooked little gem. It does its own thing, it’s non linear, very versatile performance, is better than average on me, and the price is right!

Been wearing this off and on for about two weeks. Soft iris with some lime and a somewhat syrupy ginger feel to it. It smells like what a cloudy, overcast day at the beach would smell like. I surprisingly get really decent performance out it for what it is. I think this is slowly becoming a top 3 cheap fragrance for me. It has personality, decent staying power, and from a brand that brings me nostalgia.

The ginger here is dominant. It's almost or a clone to Bod Man Fresh Blue Musk. But a little long lasting power with 6 to 10 sprays. Got my at Ross for 10 dollars. For a one Oz. It's Spring in 2000s with this one. It cost a few dollars more. But worth it. You can wear this at the beach the mountains but any guy over 18 can pull this stuff off.

This cologne smells really good!! Fresh and spicy if that makes sense. Day and night all year round cologne. Not saying it smells like Azzoro Chrome Sport but reminds me of it in a way, like if you mix CK One with Azzoro Chrome Sport.

Absolutely Love this hidden Gem. Smells like a fresh clean summer breeze. Performance is good in high heat. Spray and go Gymscent. Or if you dont want to waste your Quality Fragrances at work. Got this for €15,-/100ML ex. shipping

I see a few clueless reviews here, don't let them push you away from this. It's a standout! Was able to snag a bottle on clearance for $11 from a Ross. I've never smelled much like it, straight up iris, lime, and algae as most have described, along with a pink pepper kick that isn't super prominent. This is definitely a spicy freshie! I would definitely call it a dumb reach if you're someone in a more oceanic and dry area, or just like preppy scents of the 2000s! This is a blast back to that time without any doubt it anyone's mind. The lime hugs clothes and spreads. Everything outs kind of lingers out in front of you. This is one of those fragrances that limits itself however. The stubborn choice of making lime so heavy in this fragrance limits it to only being a choice cologne for warmth and potentially some breezy days. Though I have a feeling this is a scent that would last a lot longer on hot ice cream or beach days. The other side of things being, if you're not someone who lives close to the beach or somewhere within a lot of water, I couldn't see this fragrance fitting in so much. Maybe people have different views. I think this is a fragrance that, while a cheap and solid buy, runs the chance of getting a stigma of being called 'extra' or 'overdone' if not worn in the right environments.

Free Wave is a great gym cologne that opens strong with the ginger and cedar notes, giving a light spice, and closes with a long-lasting fresh moss scent. I would rank this as my favorite in the Wave Hollister line, as it has some real depth to it. On my skin, it will last about 4-6 hours, depending on intensity of task. Something about the fragrance just gives a cold feel, which I find refreshing in the warm months, but fitting during the latter half of the year. While the cologne doesn't project anywhere above average, you will likely find this fragrance at a Ross or Marshals for an exceptional price ($15-$20). A cheap well lasting scent, with a tad of identity, and definitely one of Hollister better fragrances overall. Longevity: 7/10 - Projection: 5/10 - Overall: 6/10

October 2025 and it's a humid day yet mild in temperature in NH. I was looking for something easy going and something I don't smell to often and I saw this on my shelf and was like let's try it. I remember not liking it's generic powdery opening when I first got it but now that it's been sitting I get a citrus blast with a spice of pepper or ginger. then I get more spice a dash powdery with sum musk and aquatic freshness in the dry down. Definitely worth the 15 bucks from TJ Maxx for the 100ml bottle. Hollister has great fragrances all around. They barely miss. Festival Night Jake and Free Wave are my top 3 of this brands frags.

This may be because it gets really hot during the summer where I am, but I found myself using this when it’s cooler outside. You could also blame global warming! It has a gnarly opening that I can describe as powdery and not in a natural way so best to apply at the start of your routine to get straight to the dry down. It does dry down into something interesting and nice but a lot of spice! 2-3 sprays per errand and you are okay. I would only do a spray at the neck when relaxing at home/gym but I prefer fresher scents to wear for those occasions. It has gotten me compliments so I can’t hate it.

I just bought a 50ml of this on clearance at Marshalls for only $10. Regular price was $15, but someone had taken it out of the box and it was just sitting out in the open so they marked it down. I tested it and I was surprised at how nice it smells. I don't have any cologne that smells like it. The bottle was so small that I had to double-check it was actually 50ml. It definitely leans more youthful, but I don't care. For only $10 it's a very nice scent for spring & summer.

Definitely a summertime dumb reach freshie, quite masculine. Crisp citrus, salty marine aquatic and subtle woods. You know what you're getting with this one at a $20 price point from your local rack store. Sprayer beware, this is synthetic and sharp. Even though it's a cheapie, this will stay on your clothes all day. I got slightly annoyed with it several hours later. Nevertheless, this youthful freshie will get some wear this summer.

This isn’t a bad fragrance at all for what it is, you can’t beat the 20 dollar price tag when it had a Luna Rosa vibe, but at the same time remind me but of Azzaro Chrome. Performance isn’t stellar but better than expected for sure. All in all this isn’t a bad fragrance. Nice for summer for when you are just out running errands, but not a bad summer signature either.

Boy do I have notes. It’s a solid scent. But I barely get the ginger, I get more peppercorn and lime at the top, but the base notes are solid, it’s earthy, woody, very fresh and clean. A slight powdery scent. I’d rock this. But I wouldn’t call it a full summer scent. I can see this getting overwhelming in the heat.

Surprised me, I wear fragrance on clothing not my skin so maybe makes a difference, but it has a softness to its character like a powdery fluffy cloud, plus a freshness like cool aquatic citrus and ozone, slightly masculine very nice laundry type of scent, weaker scent so using on my bed pillows to enjoy

The comment below is correct. Opens with a sweet shower gel type scent then dries down to something very familiar. I wore Prada Luna Rossa a week earlier and immediately remembered the similarity to this one. So similar, that all the thumbs down on the "reminds me of" Prada LR is laughable.

Ginger, lime and some wood - this is good! It's elegant and great value for money. Thats why this is my new signature fragrance. Longevity: two sprays last full workday. Sillage: moderate. Pros: wife likes it. Cons: only 30ml bottle in my local store.

Does anybody else think this smells like versace blue jeans on first spray?? Not a bad scent at all. A little boring and dated at first but once it has time to calm down a bit, it gets a little better. Fresh, floral and clean. Solid cheapie.

The ginger is apparent from the first spray but not overpowering. Fresh, marine scent perfect for hot and humid climates.

Well, well Hollister Free Wave you are a bit of a weirdo to me...First of all I wanna make it clear that Hollister Wave is just superb and one of the biggest surprise to me this year hence I was quite curious about its flankers; Wave2 from 2017 and this latest version from 2018. Living on a seaside I am a collector of blue/summer fragrances and I could not wait to try this one out. I loved the notes breakdown and the accords saying it is a marine, aquatic fresh summer sent. Well, it is NOT at all (at least not to me) The warm spicy accord is so very strong here which makes it simply impossible to be an aquatic scent. After the first spray it reminded me another perfume and it took me half a day to realise what it was. I had a perfume - I almost totally had forgotten - from Ted Baker called Extraordinary man (I guess it is a discontinued frag as I haven't seen it for a decade ) and It is kinda identical to Free Wave. It has warm spicy accord on top and it is full of pepper just like our Hollister Free Wave. Then being testing Free Wave for a day another perfume came to my mind which is not as close as the Ted Baker one but again I feel similarity to Zadig & Voltaire This is him. I owe this one as well and - It didn't surprise me at all - This is Him has a warm spicy accord on top and again contains quite a lot of pepper. So those two 'little brothers' are being considered as winter/fall scent then how comes that Free Wave is labeled as a summer scent. No, it simply cannot be! So if you I ask me if I was happy with my purchase I would say no, definitely no because I did not expect this at all however If I try to look at Hollister Free Wave as not a summer scent then I would say even though it has almost nothing from the original Wave DNA It is still more enjoyable than the other 2 scents I mentioned above. If I recommend this one? No, I wouldn't! I would rather suggest to pick up another original Hollister Wave bottle instead.

Free Wave is your typical young, fresh fragrance. While it is not a bad fragrance by any means, it just doesn't give me another memorable about it. It does have that fresh, shower gel feel to it with a tiny kick of spice, however it just is not a mature fragrance by any means. If you had $20 to spend at a discounter, I personally would look for other options that might stand out a bit more, however, if you do decide to go with this one it won't be a waste of money.

This one just isn't it for me. I bought this a few years back as a blind buy "just because" at the beach and remember not being a huge fan of the opening, then liking the transition between opening and dry down, then not liking the dry down either. It gives me a headache that lasts longer than the scent does unfortunately. If you get headaches from synthetic smells this one isn't for you. At the price you can't really be mad at it though, and I can see how this scent would hold memories for some!

Shower gel bod spray vibe. Bordering on toilet bowl cleaner in the opening, but dry down is better. I gave it to my cousin.

1st Bogey, 1st time fragrantica led me astray. Bought this after comparing reviews between free wave and ANF first instinct blue....went with free wave cause it was claimed to me more masculine/male scent over the first instinct blue. Dead wrong for me. Awaiting a review for first instinct blue...until then Ill reupdate this. Smells like candy/floral, with talc powdery and the base or so called claimed bases are no where to be found. Some claim its the ginger that is strong? Smells lime, crisp, spicy at the atomizer, I let it dry down and its still a bogey. I had to change out of my shirt I sprayed it on and put on a clean one after spraying free wave on it. Smells like its trying to be masculine but the floral/sweetness just overwhelms the whole scent. The "woodyness" is like a 1-2 out of 10 at best , the powdery smell is like a 5-6/10... whilst the sweet and floral is a 8-9 out of 10 overall with this scent. Almost something id expect to smell on a woman at a gym or something. Def not too masculine at all in my opinion. Could just be me but id pass on it even at $12, which I paid for a small bottle. I like their wave 2 and Festival Nite, but this is a no go for me.

I get the iris immediately, though it's attached to a bit of laundry musk (as is also true of FUBU Plush for Him). There's also clearly lime, but I don't get the spice. The wood seems to just be a slightly dry texture that eventually shows up, and there's a touch of sweetness. Many will say it's powdery, and there seems to be a hint of vanilla. I don't get moss or ambergris, but I do get algae if I smell it up close. It's pleasant and the strength is at least reasonably good. In terms of my preferences, I would rather go for FUBU Plush or Givenchy Gentleman Parfum, but this one may work out well as a change of pace or for warmer weather. I thought it might be an Invictus "clone," but it's got it's own character and would certainly be fine in casual settings. I was hoping it would be more "challenging" and/or unique, but it's certainly not bad; however, if I was going to buy it at retail I'd rather use that money for something that is more of a personal enjoyment fragrance.

Tester card, cool weather. I agree with the first three accords listed Fresh spicey Woody I guess citrus but I cant really tell. It's kinda fresh, it reminds me if otherscentswould have to do a skin test to comment furrherwoule

Don't let the reviews fool you! This is a generic, cry-mild, office-safe watery joke. Inter parfums really do Dasani-up their lines. Won't be fooled again...like lime tap water. Boo.

not a bad frag for the price however I wouldn't say I like the opening that much. it tends to get better as it dries down and becomes more floral but a great budget option for summer

Really like this. If you remember Givenchy Play this is a very similar fragrance: warm spicy with a smooth iris and warm woody vibe. Very easy wear.

Man the note breakdown on theses holister fragrances look so appealing!! I l really wanna try this and wave