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First Instinct is a tropical sweet juicy fragrance.

Let’s take a look…

This opens with a juicy sweet melon note mixed with a gin & tonic vibe… Giving it a bright sparkling effect – which balances the sweetness out perfectly.

It’s super fresh, bright and uplifting.

…When it starts to settle, you get a sweet melon and leathery mix vibe.

And it smells GREAT.

Youthful

This performs best in the heat but can be used all year round.

First Instinct is a fun casual fragrance, best suited for the younger crowd… But any age could pull it off, as long as you are dressed casually. To be clear, this is not a suit and tie formal fragrance.

The good news…

Crowd Pleaser

This scent is a BIG crowd pleaser… so expect a lot of compliments. 🙂

To be honest, it’s not super long lasting… But it’s acceptable for this type of scent… and it gets the job done.

The best part?

This is super affordable and is a great bang-for-your-buck!

A Fruity Citrus Aquatic

Here’s the skinny:

Invictus Aqua is a summer version of the original Invictus.

This one is fresher and doesn’t have the intense bubble-gum vibe of the original. Oh… and it smells a LOT better. 🙂

Let me break it down for you…

Bright & Clean

This kicks off with a bright clean sparkling grapefruit citrus opening… with a nice pinch of sweetness.

To be clear, it still has a slight touch of the original Invictus DNA, but the grapefruit and marine notes give it a refreshing aqua marine vibe.

And it works GREAT.

Freshness

The freshness and the sweetness are perfectly balanced with a woody base to create this crowd-pleasing fragrance.

HUGE compliment getter. Nuff said. 🙂

Easy-Going

Perfect for spring and summer — day or night. This has a fun, easy-going vibe, so it’s more suited for casual, social gatherings, nights out, clubbing, dates.

Lasting power is also quite decent, with an average of about 6–7 hours.

Great. 🙂

Bright, Fresh & Clean

Unlike the cars… Ferrari fragrances are very affordable. 🙂

Now, needless to say:

This is obviously a neroli based fragrance. In case you don’t know… Neroli is an essential oil produced from the blossom of the bitter orange tree.

Neroli smells sweet, honeyed and somewhat metallic with green and spicy facets.

In a nutshell:

It gives off a clean, fresh soapy vibe. Let’s take a sniff…

Ferrari Bright Neroli opens with a blast of bright fresh citrus notes (mainly orange). And when it settles, the orange blossom and neroli come into play… joined with a light woody base.

The result?

It smells SUPER fresh and clean. Therefore, making it a beautiful fragrance for a hot summer day. Perfect.

Smells High Quality

This is a GREAT bang-for-your-buck.

Because listen to this…

In the fragrance community, this often gets compared to a much more expensive fragrance called: Tom Ford Neroli Portifino.

To be honest, they do NOT smell exactly the same… But they are very similar, and you get the same sort of vibe with Bright Neroli — but at a FRACTION of the price.

Can you say jackpot? 🙂

Subtle

Now, this is a unisex scent and best for summer and spring daytime use. Any age group and more suited for casual use.

Also note, this is quite a subtle scent, so you can even use this for the office/work. And the good news, it has decent lasting performance to keep you smelling clean and fresh — around 4–5 hours on skin (and even longer on clothes).

Two thumbs up.

Very Fresh!

Here’s the deal:

This is a newer, fresher (and better smelling 🙂) summer version of the original award winning Terre d’Hermes.

In fact, it was even created by same perfumer: Mr Jean-Claude Ellena — one of the greatest perfumers of modern times.

In case you don’t know… Tres Fraiche is French and translates to “Very Fresh.”  Does it deliver on its promise?

Let’s find out…

Zesty Citrus

This opens up with a blast of super fresh zesty citrus mixed with aquatic notes with a whisper of spices.

The orange and grapefruit citrus cocktail sparkles, it smells very authentic bright and juicy.

And hiding in the background, is the slightly earthy woody DNA of the original Terre d’Hermes with that flinty mineral vibe.

As it slowly transitions…

Cooling & Refreshing

You can detect the slight sweet woody notes — it smells creamy, cooling and refreshing. The citrus notes last the entire duration of the fragrance.

Simply put: this is the perfect balance between citrus and woods. 🙂

By the way, if you love woody notes, be sure to check out our best sandalwood colognes out.

And on top of that…

Hermès Quality

The bottle is gorgeous, and the Hermes presentation is outstanding. This would make an amazing gift for a loved one (being such a safe fragrance).

Super Versatile

All ages. You can wear this dressed up, casual, dates, work, days, nights, you name it…

Perfect for the spring and summer – but you could use this all seasons as a signature scent.

And the good news…

This also has good lasting power …and will be sure to get you through the day. Also garners a LOT of compliments. 🙂

Update: Sadly, this has been discontinued and been replaced by a new version called: Terre d’Hermes Eau Givree. Admittedly, I have not got my nose on this new version yet, but as soon as we get a bottle we will be putting it through its paces.

That said, if you can still find a bottle of Terre d’Hermes Eau Tres Fraiche anywhere, I still highly recommend it. But please don’t pay any jacked-up prices for it, as I have seen bottles going for silly money due to its discontinuation.

Deliciously Refreshing

This works GREAT in the HIGH heat.

First off…

In case you don’t know, Fico di Amalfi is Italian and translates to “Fig of the Amalfi” (a coastal town in the Mediterranean). So no surprise here…

A Fig note is the star of this fragrance… and it smells so refreshing and natural — fig has a sweet and juicy quality.

If you’re unaware, Acqua di Parma are an Italian niche brand that create unique high-quality fragrances. You can check our best Acqua di Parma fragrances post to discover more blockbusters from the house. Anyway…

Let’s break Fico di Amalfi down…

Bright & Uplifting

Fico Di Amalfi opens up with a blast of beautiful uplifting zesty citruses… with grapefruit dominating the opening — it’s bright, sparkling and fizzy.

But here’s the beautiful part…

When it starts to settle, the juicy fig note joins the party …with a whisper of jasmine, woods, and a pinch of pink pepper — giving it a slightly sweet green creamy woody vibe. This is quality. 🙂

And hats off to Acqua di Parma… 

Authentic & Natural

It’s blended beautifully and smells SUPER authentic and natural. A very unique crowd-pleasing fragrance.

Best for spring and summer… but you could wear this all seasons (just moderate your sprays). So if you live somewhere hot and humid, this would make a GREAT all year signature scent.

Subtle

This is a subtle fragrance and so easy to wear… Dressed up, dressed down, shorts and a T-shirt, work, casual. Any age.

Now, to be perfectly clear:

If you’re looking for a super masculine type scent — this is not it. This is unisex… but the good news, you can share it with your partner. Bonus.

This is Eau de Toilette concentration and the lasting performance is decent for a citrus based scent, typically 5–6 hours.

Great. 🙂

Crowd Pleaser

I’ll make it super easy for you…

If you’re simply looking for a safe, clean, crowd-pleasing fragrance to wear in the warmer weather — for almost ANY situation:

Get this. 🙂

Coach for Men gets the job done… And it smells GREAT.

Let’s take a closer look…

Fresh Fruity Pear

Coach for Men opens up with a blast of sparkling fresh citruses mixed with a sweet fruity pair note and a dose of ambroxan. (Ambroxan is simply an aroma molecule that gives off a nice fresh slightly sweet vibe.)

And when it settles down… you get a spicy creamy woody vibe in the background. It smells very smooth and clean.

And there’s no doubt about it:

This one is a BIG compliment getter. Not complaining. 🙂

Anytime Anywhere

Any age… You can wear this dressed up, dressed down, day or night, for the office, dates, nights out — you name it. Talk about versatile!

Now, this is best for spring and summer …but you can wear this all year round (just adjust your sprays). So it would make a GREAT signature scent.

Inviting

Now to be clear, this is not a projection monster that will fill a room up. It’s subtle and inviting and also has good lasting power (4–6 plus hours).

Side note: the bottle looks gorgeous and has a handy twist locking mechanism on the sprayer. Nice touch.

A Luxurious Clean Fresh Summer Scent

First things first…

This is a newer, more affordable version of the amazing original Mandarino Di Amalfi from Tom Ford’s luxury Private Blend Collection — which made it into our top 10 best Tom Ford cologne list.

The good news…

This more affordable version smells very similar to the more expensive original version. Can you say jackpot? 🙂

In fact, this newer Acqua version is part of their more affordable Acqua Collection and is an Eau de Toilette concentration — the original being a stronger Eau de Parfum.

That said:

BOTH versions are GREAT. 🙂 Let’s take a closer look…

Super Fresh Juicy Orange

Now, just like the original version, this opens up with a blast of a SUPER fresh juicy orange and grapefruit… mixed with whispers of soft white florals and some spicy fresh herbs. Very nice.

To be honest…

The opening on this Acqua version is slightly more toned down compared to the original. But with this Acqua version, they have added a beautiful fresh minty note.

(By the way… don’t be put off by the light floral notes — this is extremely well blended and is totally unisex.)

Light & Refreshing

It’s bright and juicy, light and refreshing. You get a beach type vibe.

Now, I’ll be straight with you…

This only works well in the daytime heat. If you wear this in the cooler months, it will be transparent.

The beautiful part?

Super Versatile

This is super versatile: you can rock this dressed up, dressed down, anywhere — any age. This is a real crowd pleaser.

But here’s the bad news:

Just like the original version, this one is not super long lasting. We were getting about an average of 4–5 hours of longevity after an application.

The original version projects slightly more and lasts about the same.

Let’s be honest, though…

Citruses

Summer citrus and aquatic based scents are not super long lasting because citrus is very volatile on the skin. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution:

To make your citrus based scents last longer… simply give your clothes a quick spritz.

Sorted. 🙂

Side note: The frosted bottle looks gorgeous.

The Clean & The Fresh!

This is a sweet woody citrus fragrance. It’s unique and super safe. Note: this is also known as Lacoste L.12.12 White (blanc = white).

And in case you’re wondering…

This fragrance is named after the first polo shirt the French tennis player René Lacoste created back in 1927. Its code was L.12.12.

“L” stands for Lacoste, the number “1” symbolizes the “Petit Piqué” material used, “2” represents short sleeves and “12” is the number of prototypes made before the final product.

Anyway…

Grapefruit

This opens up SUPER fresh and SUPER clean with a spicy grapefruit citrus vibe with whispers of white floral notes.

To be perfectly clear:

The white floral notes do not smell feminine because the scent is balanced out with masculine wood notes — so it gives off a nice fresh clean creamy woody vibe.

And when you bag some nice compliments, I doubt you’ll complain. 🙂

Super Versatile

Lacoste Blanc is perfect for the spring and summer. More for casual use… but you can wear this anywhere, anytime — for any age. As there’s never a certain age or bad time to smell super clean, right?

This has decent lasting power for being a citrus based scent. Typically, 3-5 plus hours — your milage may vary.

Oh, and this goes GREAT with a white polo shirt.

Sorted.🙂

A Summer Superstar

First off…

Don’t underestimate this one. 🙂 This is not a typical fresh scent because it has a unique star fruit (Carambola) note — that smells amazing in HIGH heat.

And it came as no surprise… this also scored highly on our best smelling Versace colognes test. Let’s take a quick look…

Fruity Aquatic

Versace Man Eau Fraiche opens up with a burst of super fresh lemon and bergamot citrus …mixed with a fruity aquatic vibe — which comes from the star fruit.

When it settles, woody nuances appear in the background with whispers of spices — to give it an overall semi-sweet fruity tropical vibe.

It’s super clean, bright and uplifting. Huge, HUGE compliment getter.

All Ages

This has a youthful vibe to it, but can be worn by all ages. Great for casual use, shorts and a T-shirt, pool parties, trips to the beach.

But, I’ll be straight with you…

Performs in The Heat

This is for summer (spring) use only — in warm temperatures (or for indoors)… As it does NOT perform in cold temperatures — nobody will smell it on you. How long does it last?

Longevity was a bit iffy with this one; we got around 3–7 hours, depending on the temperature and user’s skin chemistry.

That said:

Don’t go bonkers with the sprayer, as this one can jump off your skin for the first few hours. So stick with 2–3 sprays…

…and you’re golden. 🙂

New! Modernized (& Improved!)

Question for you:

What happens if you take the original best-seller Acqua Di Gio and enhance it… Making it: more refined, more modern, better smelling, and longer lasting?

Answer: You get the new Acqua Di Gio Profondo. 🙂

Modern

In a nutshell, this is a new modernized (improved) version of the original iconic Acqua di Gio — that smells about 70% similar.

In fact, it was even created by the very same award-winning perfumer, Alberto Morillas. So if you were a fan of the original, this is a no brainer.

Let’s take a sniff…

Bright, Fresh & Clean

Acqua di Gio Profondo opens up bright, fresh and clean with a blast of sweet fruity orangey citrus — mixed with a cool marine aquatic vibe.

As it settles, some herbal tones (cypress & rosemary) appear and give it a fresh green undertone.

Nice.

And as it dries down… a mineral accord joined with a hint of woods and musk sits buried underneath (to give it some depth).

It’s refreshingly bright and clean… with a nice hint of fruity sweetness. And (unsurprisingly) rakes in some nice compliments. And LOTS of them. 🙂

The beautiful part:

Anytime. Anywhere.

This is super versatile. All ages (suggest 20-up), all seasons, for just about ANY occasion:

Dressed up/dressed down. From a t-shirt and jeans… to a suit and tie —you name it. After all, it’s never a bad time to smell super fresh and clean, right? 🙂

That said:

This truly shines in the warmer weather for daytime use. Makes a GREAT daily go-to.

Inoffensive

Acqua Di Gio Profondo is an EDP (Eau de Parfum) concentration and doesn’t scream out for attention. So to be clear, if you’re looking for a room-filler type scent, this is not it.

It projects politely (under arm’s length) for about 1–2 hours, then becomes more subtle and sits closer to the skin — giving off nice gentle wafts (making it good choice for the workplace).

The good news…

Even though it sits close to the skin, lasting power was around 4–8 plus hours. Not too shabby for a fresh aquatic type scent.

What’s the bottom line?

If you loved the original Acqua Di Gio (who didn’t? 🙂) and you want a new improved, modernized, longer lasting version… I urge you to try this.

Here’s a mistake I see a LOT of guys make:

Rocking thick sweet cold weather fragrances, such as smoky oud colognes, in the high summer heat.

HUGE mistake. Here’s why:

This is the same as wearing a big thick winter jacket to the beach… on a red-hot summers day. Yikes, right?

Because here’s the thing…

The hotter it gets, the more sweeter the scent will get… and it will start to project like crazy and become sickly sweet (not good).

Rocking a thick winter fragrance in the high summer heat is the same as wearing a big thick winter jacket to the beach on a red-hot summers day.Click To Tweet

So to clarify:

If you wear heavy winter scents in the high heat, you will annoy everyone around you. Trust me, giving your co-workers a juicy headache won’t make you too popular. Don’t be that guy. 🙂

Bottom line:

Sweet vanilla perfumes and thick leather scents in warm temperatures are a big no no. Which means…

It’s time to bring out the Aquatics and Citruses. 🍊🍉🍇🍍

When the sun starts shining, it’s time to drop the heavy based scents and start using lighter fresh bright clean tropical scents. 🏝

But here’s the thing:

It’s very hard to be unique with summery citrus aquatic fragrances as most of them all have the same sort of vibe.

However, all of our picks above are on the unique side. So you will stand out from the crowd and will be sure to bag some nice compliments 🙂

But here’s the bad news:

Summer aquatic and citrus based scents are not as long lasting as their heavier, sweeter winter counterparts. As citrus is very volatile on the skin — so don’t expect miracles.

But here’s a tip that works great:

To make your citrus based scents last longer, just simply give your clothes a quick spritz. Sorted.

Now for the good news…

Women absolutely love fresh scents on men.

Need I say more? 🙂

We would love to hear from you:

What cologne will you be wearing this summer?

Or maybe you have a question.

Either way, please let us know by leaving a comment below right now.

Where to go from here?

I highly recommend checking out our A-list of the best men’s cologne in the world. and also our best Burberry cologne for some more awesome recommendations.

We hope you enjoyed our article and found this list useful.  If you did, we would love it if you would share it to your favourite social networks!