Gucci Rush

I was sure I was not going to like this. Reading the very divisive reviews, along with comments mentioning “hairspray” “neon” “milk” “plastic” “fruitchouli”. My thoughts without smelling were like “what the f***?” But now that I have smelled it, yes. I get all of those comments. And for some this could be a nightmare to smell. But this is going to very quickly become a love, I can tell. I was born 1992 so although I didn’t wear fragrances in the 90s, I was surrounded by them. I definitely recognize this scent profile, just like I did when I smelled a vintage bottle (haven’t smelled a current formulation) of Eden by Cacharel. And although these actually do have some similarities, I couldn’t bear Eden for more than an experiment. I wore it maybe 3 times before it found a new home. But this, I sprayed a few hours ago, and I want to spray it again! Addictive! I haven’t looked at the batch code for mine yet. And I did just receive it in the mail from the grey market a few hours ago, so I’m not judging its performance just yet. It doesn’t seem as strong as I was imagining from the comments, but I still am getting lovely whiffs so perhaps to people around me this would be stronger. This is my first Gucci love, yeah I’m just gonna say I love it. I’ve only tried modern Gucci fragrances, besides the men’s version of Envy (reminds me too much of old school masculines - which I don’t like), and they all fell flat and generic to me. *One day I’ll find a way to try others released during Tom Ford’s reign.* This does not feel generic. It feels truly unique. And as a gay man, I now see why other gay men have loved wearing this. Aside from the substance reference lol. And fragrance knows no gender to me, you like what you like. Life is too short to try and live by others expectations. I also love the bottle. I’ve read through comments and many find it ugly. I find it charming. It reminds me of the red plastic boombox I had. Along with all the plastic I remember from being a kid. And I think it has a nice almost “retro mod/futuristic” look, if that makes sense. Btw, this gives me some kinda vibe that is similar to I think Chance by Chanel. Perhaps Chance (albeit spicier IMO) is the well behaved side of one’s personality, and maybe Rush is everything after dark. 😉 Neon peach rings. Late nights at a club. Dancing. Hairspray. Blue cocktails. MDMA. Being in another man’s bedroom only lit up by the neon light on the wall across from his bed. Song: I See You Baby (Fatboy Slim Remix) [feat Gram’Ma Funk] by Groove Armada 🥀 Update 10/15 - The more I wear this the more I realize it is not really me. I think it’s the gardenia. I do like having this in my collection and I would like to take a break from it and see if I like it on a winter’s night or something. I don’t hate it by any means, I just feel like an imposter or something. Could be that this feels young and sexy and sexy is just something I’ve never been so maybe it’s just not a match. Will give it some more time to see.

(EdT from 2000) I had a roommate back in college who was very slovenly. Their approach to cleaning was to just wait until the filth piled up so much that they could quite exactly trip over it, and it wasn’t until then that they would put in an effort to clean things up - often resulting in a very large, time consuming effort at that. I remember one time they left a bowl of very fruity cereal in milk on the kitchen counter. Curious to see how long it would take them to dispose of it rather than me following-up behind them as I so often did, I left it there as well. The milk went rancid, and I couldn’t take it sitting there anymore so out to the dumpster of our apartment complex it went. The smell was bizarre and off-putting to say the least: sweet from the sugars, strong candied berry notes from the flavored cereal and the decomposing dried fruit, and very sour from the spoiled milk. Deja vu. There is a spectrum of “trashiness” when it comes to perfume, fashion, or really any type of art form - the degree of vulgarity, lasciviousness, gaudy opulence, and/or gluttony. A line exists in the middle of the spectrum. Right over one side of the line is actual trashiness, where being close to the line means being inappropriate but probably acceptably trashy. Right over the other side of the line is appropriate but flirting with trashiness. Tom Ford is no stranger to this line, and whilst being the creative director of Gucci, YSL, and later at the helm of his eponymous brand, he frequently steered the brands’ offerings just over the line into trashiness. When doing so he was arguably - rather inarguably in my opinion - at his stylistic best. Gucci Rush is a prime example of this, and, supposedly, Ford loved Almairac’s final submission for the perfume as soon as he smelled it. The amount of damascones in Rush is enormous. Sour green apples, vividly saturated raspberries and artificial strawberry, and sour plums create the backbone of this perfume that pairs in the opening with a sour lactonic quality - spoiled milk trying to evoke (or cover up) a fatty, fleshy, animalic and musky gardenia note. The shockingly neon fruit continue into the heart to adulterate a citrusy green jasmine, and a puerile and sweet jammy rose. Fruity and rosey lip gloss of a disgusting sheen and unnecessarily pungent odor. A bright red lolipop sticky with sugar and neon food dyes. Cheap rose air fresheners, hot from hanging in the sunlight from the rearview mirror of a car, or an awful aerosol spray in a bathroom. The theme continues with a candied vanilla, peppery and dank green patchouli, and a rancid, salty, swampy, sour green vetiver at the dry down. Gloriously trashy. Juvenile energy rank with immaturity. Embarrassing yet addictively hilarious. Don’t wear this to work. Don’t wear it to dinner. Don’t wear it to a date. Don’t wear it to a wedding or a funeral. Don’t wear it anywhere you want to make a positive impression. It’s brilliant.

When I properly wore it for the first time, I thought I was anosmic to it because it took me a few minutes to get accustomed to my new scent. I appreciate that it is very "adjustable" depending on the amount of sprays you use. Two sprays give me a creamy, white floral, peachy, beautiful scent that is still decidedly feminine. It does smell like expensive hairspray at first but it is more accurate to say that the hairspray smells like this. Some fragrances have a certain unpleasant smell at first but when you let them sit on your skin and keep sniffing, you realise they are not as one-dimensional as you have imagined. "Rush" is a prime example for such perfume. Three sprays give me a dusty, earthy, slightly dirty scent that is also a little spicy and creamy. I have no idea what most of the notes smell like on their own therefore I judge based on the description of the notes and my own sense of smell. I believe the "dirty" scent is the patchouli. The white flowers make it more palatable and less coarse while the coriander gives it a masculine edge. The peach and the rose are also there, adding juicy sweetness to the scent. The pyramid seems so bizarre at first but the notes compliment one another and work really well. It is an extremely interesting perfume. It is very original and unique yet very comfortable to wear. It is well-balanced yet most of the notes stand out. None of them overpower the rest but they are clearly distinguishable. It can be a feminine scent but it can also be pretty unisex. Since my skin has its own "scent", it gives this fragrances a dark twist. I own some men's colognes that are less masculine than this. It is quite versatile. I love everything about "Rush". The name, the package, the juice, the ad campaign. The entire team that worked on this product was really creative. They did a fabulous job. The bottle is surprisingly easy to use. It is compact and lightweight but does not feel cheap despite being made of plastic. I love the idea. Tip: if you hold the bottle in front of a source of strong light (e.g. flashlight), you can see the amount of liquid you have left. The inside of the bottle looks identical to the "Rush 2" flanker which comes in a clear bottle. One of my best blind buys! Long-lasting, stunning, different, high-quality. You only need 2-3 sprays on each arm and 3 sprays on your neck and it will easily last until you wash it off in the evening. You do NOT overspray this. It will become repulsive. It is potent. It does NOT smell like plastic to me. I really do not get that. Song: La Oreja de Van Gogh - La Niña Que Llora en Tus Fiestas

I've got a bottle from 2000, and a bottle from 2015. They are both amazing, but they are different ladies dressed in a similar red dress. One wears lovely synthetic pearls with fashionable vinyl pumps, and her favorite statement piece of jewelry she's never seen anyone else wear. She's confident & sexy, interesting, charming, & beautiful. The other wears a long strand of vintage pearls she inherited from her favorite aunt. She loops the pearls twice around her neck. There's a subtle grace, edge, and seduction in each step of her suede heels. She's enigmatic. Mystery and intrigue, with enough sparkle to make her feel magnetic. 2015 bottle is like looking at an impressionist painting from far away. It's beautiful and balanced. Sillage & longevity are standard for a modern fragrance, nothing impressive but not poor for modern. Opens plastic but that settles quickly, then you get wafts of soft patchouli, and beautiful and balanced white florals which add a layer of sophistication to the sweet cream base. 2000 bottle is having the entire room to view the painting. You can get some distance so you can see the clear feel and idea of the painting, but in the 2000 bottle there's no roped off area you aren't allowed in. You can go right up to the painting, closely examine the details, run your fingers over the layers of paint so you can feel each brush stroke. 2000 opens differently. There's a specific white floral note that's absent in later versions. Then there's a warm peppery spice absent in later versions as well, unmistakeable coriander. The patchouli is slightly more pronounced, but still balanced and not over powering. Longevity and Sillage is a completely different beast in the original version. Modern formulations can only be described as watered down, but there is also a clear difference in the way individual notes smell. (Likely due to perfume regulation changes that required brands to use alternative compounds to create these notes.) The heart of Rush is still there, and I still love the modern versions. If you loved this before, and you can only get your hands on a newer bottle, I still suggest you do it. It will still transport you back to a time when things were simpler, but somehow richer. ✨ My absolute favorite.

[975] I have wanted to try Gucci Rush for a long time. An avant-garde composition that is the epitome of the futuristic Y2K aesthetic, its opaque red rectangular bottle was cutting edge - much like the scent housed within. It is also the polar opposite of the minimal L'Eau d'Isseys/CK Ones that summed up the 1990s - again, perhaps looking to the future. A bold fruitchouli with a heady white floral heart, it is an extroverted, polarising scent, made for nightclubbing. I found a tester (modern bottle obviously) in a pharmacy and I was surprised by how familiar it is - it resembles Cacharel Eden and perhaps others (but this is much better than Eden). Rush opens with sweet, juicy peach followed closely by the creamy white floral accord that defines this scent. There is a camphorous green undertone to the opening that amps up the volume while remaining cohesive. Some peppery spice follows. As it develops, jammy rose rears its head, joining the lush, sweet white florals. The modern chypre quality is unmistakable as the cloud of patchouli emerges, earthy and slightly muddy, making for a nice counterpoint to the bold floral sweetness. The vetiver complements it nicely, woody and dry. The peach persists, keeping things fruity throughout. A liberal dose of vanilla adds sweetness to the base, alongside a slightly salty amber accord. It is smooth and creamy, complementing and prolonging the florals. The earthiness remains, underscoring the second act of Rush. It fades to a sweet vanilla skin scent punctuated by earthy patchouli until final fade. Sillage is strong and longevity is long-lasting. It is a feminine autumn/winter evening scent. Intoxicating, lush and bold, Rush is also very well-composed and avoids being "kitchen-sink-y", which was what I expected. An edgy, brilliant time capsule that is still wearable today, Rush is to be worn with confidence. 4.5/5.