Rush (1999)
by Gucci

"Mm-mmh, who's wearing that heavenly scent??"

Somehow reminiscent of CK's Obsession for Women, this without a doubt is a scent that turns heads, especially men's. I wouldn't be surprised if Colonel Frank Slade himself goes "HOO-AH!" Everytime I catch a whiff of it, I've come to expect a sexy, confident young woman sashaying near me. I feel they are the sort who can really pull it off, certainly not the meek nor the shy, according to Tom Ford. Small wonder that it has become a wildly popular choice among the wannabes, most notably teensy female clubgoers, which is a pity really. Tacky plasticky bottle notwithstanding, Gucci Rush deserves a wider audience especially among stylish, sophisticated young women.

Read Luca Turin's positive review on this, and wondered if we smelled the same fragrance. I find Rush to be obnoxiously vile. I love a good powerhouse scent, but this thing is just a mess to my nose. C'est la vie...

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 says one thing, and it says it very loudly. Granted, the utterance in question is not profound, but it is 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 love this fragrance, but I do object to the packaging as I think I must have chucked it away with the trash - I can't find it anywhere and it is plastic.

Very silly review I know, but I would never throw out a nice bottle by accident.

This fragrance is big, bold and sexy BUT unlike everybody else seems to say it has no staying power on me. I have to keep topping up and I did check with my sisters and girl friends, I am not imagining it - they get nothing after two hours: Must be my chemistry.....

I can't find it in EDP, so maybe that is the problem.

Something of a personal defeat. As a concept it’s genius (although Opium did it first), the plastic block package is really clever…how could this go wrong? After the success of Envy I bought a gift set for my wife when this came out, just on faith. She wore it twice before succumbing to social pressure. Everybody hated it and told her so in no uncertain terms.
True to its concept, it is a chemical rush, but excessively sweet, as if Cherry Coke was used as a top note. And yet there is a type of woman that can pull this off (tall, lots of character, into dance music) if she knows her limits, this is one Rush you can easily overdose on.

I am not sure what to think...I just sprayed Rush and I smell something like old carpeting that has been "freshened" by sprinkling some kind of carpet deodorizer. Rose scented carpet deodorizer. More generally, I smell old and wet fiber, sour cherry candy and tart artificial rose. I think my sample is fine as it is fairly fresh from Sephora. And I think it is labeled correctly. I wonder if it is supposed to be slightly floral-tropical--this wet cardboard note reminds me of some tropical florals such as tuberose. Thankfully, the wet fiber note fades into the background, giving a bit of body to the composition without being completely perceptible.

Something about Rush reminds me of Dior Hypnotic Poison. Perhaps it is that they both have a kind of candied tropical floral feel to them at some point in their respective developments. Otherwise there is very little intersection between the two. Rush eventually moves into scented hair product territory and reminds me quite a bit of the latest shampoo fragrance trends of tart fruits and botanicals. It is soapy, with hints of blended florals, grapefruit, dry powder and mixed berries. I like Rush much more in the drydown, although I am not sure I need an EDP to make me smell like really good shampoo. Still, it is not so bad to have a soapy fragrance--it smells "just washed", in a way. However, I don't really understand the raves about Rush. It seems like it is well made but unremarkable.