GUERLAIN
HABIT ROUGE L’Instinct

2022

PERFUMER
Delphine Jelk

Bergamot
grapefruit
mate absolute
hemp
rose
leather
patchouli
vanilla

‘Habit Rouge, the first amber fragrance for men, pays homage to the art of horse riding, to human skill and animal strength. With Habit Rouge L’Instinct, the legendary men’s fragrance of Guerlain was reinvented and provided with a good dose of freedom and power. The spirit of an untamed horse whose strength inspired a new and intense eau de toilette. Habit Rouge L’Instinct reinterprets the iconic, distinctive and legendary fragrance, now with a touch of freedom: hemp enhances the scent of rose and puts an exciting spin on the iconic patchouli, vanilla and leather fragrance accord.’ – Guerlain

Honestly, I don’t know why I bought this fragrance. I sort of do; as much as I appreciate Habit Rouge, after trying multiple iterations (including the EDP, a vintage sample and a 10 year old bottle of the EDT)… it doesn’t work for me. The retro, cleaning-product lemon ruins every version that I’ve tried, but there’s magic underneath that I’ve been trying to capture.

Which brings me to L’Instict. Probably the most disliked version of Habit Rouge and certainly different. I figured, if I can’t get along with the regular DNA, maybe this unloved flanker will be just what it needed for me.

I was wrong. L’Instinct isn’t terrible (or is it?), but it has nothing to do with the Habit Rouge DNA as far as my nose is aware. It doesn’t have the cleaning product lemon, but it also lacks any of the magic. Generally, this smells very contemporary, but also quite shallow, cheaper and it doesn’t capture the feeling of Habit Rouge.

Instead, it gives you cannabis? According to some note breakdowns, although Guerlain’s site only refers to hemp. Quite surprising to find in this line to me, but it’s very subtle. It is a sharp, green, citrussy scent, but I don’t get any of the typical funkiness from those particular green leaves. Instead, it’s more of a cut grass, ‘mom yelling at you because your new pants are all green from playing football as a kid’ type of scent. I don’t really get much of the vanilla they speak of here.

Not unpleasant, but not great and not particularly Guerlain-like. I thought this flanker was a miss as far as being Habit Rouge, so I can see why people who actually adore the DNA have been less than kind towards L’Instinct.