Rush (1999)
by Gucci

The first whiff of Rush when it comes out of the bottle is a chemical siren that has accurately been described as “hairspray,” and it manages to shock even a decade after its debut. The genius of Rush is that this hairspray note recedes but never disappears, and its presence in the background works like an electric current to animate the fruity floral accord at the scent’s heart. Complex development is not Rush’s strong suit. It plays one tune, and plays it very loudly. The melody is not profound, but I’ll grant that it’s amusing.

When, after a few hours, Rush finally quiets down, what remains is a soft vanilla drydown with a hint of rose and wood. I think of Rush as good, goofy fun, but it has a habit of getting into people’s faces, which means it should be worn with caution and in circumstances where its gaudy hilarity will not offend.

I heard some good things about this scent here and there and forgot what it was all about so I ordered a sample and whew. . . now I remember.

This smells like the restroom of a gay bar in the late 90s - Maybe that's what everyone was wearing and that's why I have such a vivid flashback when I smell this. It's like an over-ripe cologney flower ooze with a spritz of hairspray on top. It's a powerhouse of queeziness this one.

I just can't get enough of the cardboard box top note. It smells like a newly constructed small, thinly walled, light brown cardboard box fresh off of the cardboard box assembly line. MMmmmmm.....it's heavenly!

Gucci 'Rush' smells exactly like a 'Singapore Sling'...

Here's the recipe:

1/2 oz grenadine syrup
1 oz gin
sweet and sour mix
club soda
1/2 oz cherry brandy

Pour grenadine into the bottom of a 'Collins glass', and fill with ice. Add gin, and almost-fill with equal parts of sweet and sour and chilled soda. Top with cherry brandy, and serve unstirred, garnished with a cherry.

I get it: the 'been-to-the-bar' suggestion of 'loosened' mores; the unequivocal allusion to 'nightlife' -- a raucous, slightly seedy, and sickly sweet drink. Racy. Bombastic.

It isn't something I would ever care to smell of, personally.

Ostensibly, though...it's Tom Waites' favorite drink, the 'Singapore Sling'... if that makes the prospect of smelling like one any more appealing to anybody.

Well, I shall certainly have to pay more attention to the topnotes then! I live in South Africa, LOVE freesias... didn't get them at all here! Didn't get much of any striking topnotes, so obviously I was zoning out, testing lots of scents. The drydown is very pleasant, light and vanillic (hit with the boyfriend), but really very blah. Smelled THAT before, even the boyfriend acknowledged though he loves it it's very generic.

It is red, it is loud, it is affective, and ultimately it makes sense.

Rush is wonderful. Unique, long-lasting... both the scent and the impression it leaves.

It was not love at first sight -or sniff, in this case- yet I have built up my love, little by little over time for this great scent. It is medicinal in the opening, sensual yet metallic through its progression and all of sudden, it betrays its opening by a very sensual and almost creamy base heavy with vanilla and vetiver and patchouli.

I am perhaps the only person in the world who thinks this is a gender-neutral scent. Yes it comes off as feminine at the beginning, but I see a man pulling this off as well because of its unusual progression. That said, even though I own this, I can never be brave enough to wear this outside, because I don't think anybody else thinks this is a scent a man can wear. It is so sad. (Maybe I will layer it with something woodsy one day and be a little more experimental to wear it outside)

Big thumbs up from me even though I know that this is a very specific scent that not everyone will fall in love instantly.



PS: I love the bottle, but I wish it were a little heavier in my hand, and had one transparent point to see how much there is left in the bottle. I, for one, absolutely hate completely opaque fragrance bottles.




UPDATE:
Started layering it with Givenchy Gentleman. The combination smells like a wet fall garden. Cannot get over its beauty.