David Beckham Instinct Cologne Review

David Beckham is a world famous former footballer who is also well known for his personal style. Along with his H&M clothing partnership, Beckham also has his own line of affordable fragrances for men. While these scents aren’t on the level of quality of something much more expensive, such as Creed, they do offer very pleasant colognes at an attractive pricing point. In this post, I want to take a closer look at Instinct from the David Beckham collection of fragrances, and see if this one is worth a purchase.

What does Instinct by David Beckham Smell Like?

Notes include: Amber, mandarin, orange, anise, bergamot, cardamom, patchouli, vetiver

Click here to try: David Beckham Instinct EDT Spray For Men, 2.5 Ounce

My Full Review

The opening of Instinct for me really highlights the citrus notes of this fragrance. I’m not always a fan of orange in colognes, particularly the bitter orange note in Terre D’Hermes.

However, in Instinct, I rather like its paring with the lemony bergamot and the underlying earthy notes which develop quite nicely later on. This scent does have a nice warm slightly spicy air to it that vaguely reminds me of L’Homme Libre (it must be the star anise and perhaps the patchouli/cardamom that gives off that vibe).

The opening citrus is very bright and clean, with a somewhat soapy cleanliness, thanks to the vetiver note, which will get stronger as it moves along. Also, this will start to get quite dry over time.

That’s not to say that the colognes smell alike, they don’t, just a similarity that I picked up on…Instinct is much less spice and more woodsy. Though, the anise and other spices, give it a slight kick.

The opening isn’t powerful, nor is the dry down. It is subtle and has a freshly washed, masculine aroma. The citrus notes that take precedent in the start, calm down and give way to the vetiver and amber notes.

I really enjoy the richness of this scent and how it smells so clean and refreshing while keeping it’s dry woodsy/spicy profile intact. The latter half of the wear, is still sweet with a great freshness of anise, and some light touches of cardamom.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Instinct is not a heavy fragrance nor one in which someone will be able to smell you across the room. I would put it on the lower end of moderate. It definitely becomes a ‘skin scent’ so to speak and one in which requires someone to get closer to you.

Longevity wise, Instinct does not impress me. That’s really the only major flaw in this cologne. I might get 3-4 hours of solid performance out of it before it dissipates almost completely.

I get that it’s available for less than $15, but this would be an amazing pickup if you could get a few more hours of wear from it.

Seasonally, this could pretty much work year round. It’s best in more mild to moderate temperatures, not really fantastic in the high heat and humidity.

It is also very versatile. It’s works well for daily wear at work or for class. Its subtlety is a selling point, as you could wear it casually, or even out for an evening. The aroma doesn’t feel too youthful or anything like that. Instinct is appropriate for any age range.

Overall Impression of Instinct

Overall, I really like this scent, especially at the price. I think that a guy could definitely add this to his collection and enjoy its use. Yes, it does have issues with longevity but if you can keep a bottle around for reapplication, I don’t see why you couldn’t have use for it.

There are definitely better options out there, but Instinct is a very good smelling fragrance in my opinion. The price is super cheap and versus other options in this range, Instinct smells better than almost anything.

This is still a useful scent, but if it had more staying power, it’d be an absolute classic cheapie. It’s worth a try, seeing as it costs so little.

Best Men's Colognes

Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.