David Beckham Instinct (2005)
by Beckham

It was two years ago. My aunt from Germany called me on the phone and said to me:” I’m going to visit you next week… oh, and I bought you a scent.” A scent? For me? That’s nice. I was joyous and curios. More curios than joyous. Which scent did she buy…? I was inpatient to see. When she finally arrived and gave me the scent I thought:” David Beckham?! Instinct?! Is this some kind of joke?!” However, I said:” Thank you, it was a good choice”, and I smiled with the most polite smile I was able to make (it is a terrific example for the hypocrisy, isn’t it?).
Only to show my gratitude I decided to wear that scent next day to work. I applied it at 6 am. Hmmm… a very citrus-y (bergamot) opening, I thought. I said to my aunt:” Today I am wearing the scent you gave to me.” She was quite pleased.
In the taxi, on my way to work, I felt, but only for the moment, the notes of pimento and anis.
My working day started at 7 am and until 10 am I got at least 4 or 5 compliments on my scent from the female colleagues. A-HA!!! The women like this one, I made a conclusion.
About 11 am one of my female associates came into my office. She said:” I knew it, I just knew it!!!” She was pretty euphoric so I thought “Oh no, they finally found out about my secret love affair with a female colleague from the finance department” (who’s married, btw). So I felt the relief when she said:” I felt a terrific smell in the corridor and I just knew that the epicenter of that good smell is here”.
At about 4 pm I was at home. I still was able to feel the notes of vetiver and amber on my neck.
I know that a lot of people say that Instinct doesn’t have a decent strength and a good longevity but my experience is different.
So many times I wanted to give this citrus sweet scent to some teenage boy but it is still in my wardrobe. I guess that the only reason why I didn’t do that is because I don’t like to give to the other people the things I got as a gift. Although Instinct has been in my wardrobe for two years, I have worn it 5 or 6 times till now.
When someone asks me what do I think about Instinct by David Beckham, I usually answer – it is not as bad as it sounds.

I cannot believe the negatives from this.It does not smell unpleasent.I had my doubts when my wife turned up with a bottle..."Well you like David Beckham ...don't you?"...was off putting enough,even for a Manchester United fan.I judge a bottle of EDT buy how I find the smell,and how others react.It seems to last quite long on me,I think a light spray on clothes and hair helps,and I have NEVER had a bad remark,just raised eyebrows when I said what it was...followed by it smells gorgeous...by females...and that counts...I am on my third bottle now!!

Bought one of these and received a mini as a gift shortly thereafter. Too bad I didn't wait until I received the mini first.

Pleasant enough, but basically unremarkable. I've opted to wear it to work until it runs out.

An OK oriental with a decent mixture of spice and sweet. Very light on the skin and doesn't last. Quite ordinary.

It's so good when you don't expect anything from a fragrance and then you get surprised!!! I expected another generic fresh scent, full of melon and what do I get? A tamed version of Guerlain Vetiver! Yeah, a nice vetivery fragrance without that rancid tobacco note. There's something in it that also reminded me of Faberge Brut, maybe the star anise... It's indeed a modern take on these formulas!
I liked very much its versatility: it's distinct yet fresh, so you don't need to be ashamed of wearing it at night! Thumbs up!!

I was surprised how light it is. My skin eats up florals and citrus, but even so, it is a light fragrance – even the opening. The opening is bergamot … a quite obviously synthetic version of bergamot; I guess there are other citrus notes in there, but the bergamot really dominates. The middle accord gives me a continuance of the bergamot from the top. The middle notes shown on the pyramid as spices – star anise, cardamom, and red pepper – are quite reticent ...I have to work too hard to smell them. The dry down is actually pleasant in a demurely synthetic way, but it really needs more potency. David Beckham Instinct is a generic scent – and not a very good one, but I don’t find it that much different many of the other celebrity offerings. It lacks longevity but at least it’s subtle enough not to broadcast its flaws to everyone in the room.