Banana Rush

I am in love with this fragrance. I suspect there's a strong element of skin chemistry (and nose chemistry) at play because the reviews seem to be all over the place. On me, the description on the back of the box is 100% accurate: "Opens with a delicious blend of ripe banana and maple syrup, leading into a lush tropical heart of creamy coconut and frangipani flower. The base is smooth and addictive, with rich vanilla and velvety sandalwood unfolding into a warm, sensual, and playful trail." My only quibble is that the banana note in the opening evaporates more quickly than the maple syrup, which lingers through the coconut-frangipani heart stage. That's a minor complaint, though, because the overall development is such a sweet, smooth, comforting cloud on me (and for my nose) at every stage. I only have the travel size at the moment, but I suspect a full bottle will be in my future despite the million and one fragrances I already own. I will say that someone remarked this perfume is "older" than I am. While I personally don't believe scent has an age attached to it, some people clearly do, so feel free to interpret that as you will. I'm taking it as a sign that (in the mid/dry down at least), it has sophistication. For reference, I am in my 40s, so I really don't understand the comment. I do love a good banana fragrance, and Profumi del Forte Vittoria Apuana has been my signature scent since it was released.

I believe I'm in the minority here, but I think this is genius. I've written before about how Frederic Malle is a theoretician commenting on perfume forms, in the way that Mies van der Rohe or Le Corbusier comment on architectural forms. And just like modernism had its response in postmodern architecture, so we see that some contemporary perfumes are built on a deep sense of irony. Juliette has a Gun has tried irony before, without success in my view ("Miami Shake"--a crude pun and a banal scent concept, a bit like "Lost Cherry", something that would have sounded "cool"...maybe in the '90s?). But Banana Rush is different. It has that crude pun thing going on with the cocaine reference, but it manages to be both playful and smart. When that brash, addictive gourmand banana opening fades, you're left with a real perfume. It manages to replicate the cultural effect of Angel, updated for the era of social media. Irony hasn't smelled so good in years.

I wouldn't say I need people to tell me I smell good in order to like a fragrance, but if I am kinda "on the fence," it pushes me HARD. I will never forget when two workers at UPS Store said how good I smelled in Encre Noire (one actually walked by me, and then came back to the other and said, "yeah, it's him." Then they told me. I was stunned as I didn't think EN was something anyone "external" liked. I thought of it as a "personal" scent. I felt somewhat similarly to Banana Rush. I got a sample, and tried it, and thought it was "nice." I didn't think it warranted a 3.4oz bottle purchase, but I was glad I smelled it. It was different and nice. But then, I had to go to Urgent Care for a bad cold, and the intake woman actually blurted out, "Whatever you're wearing smells REALLY GOOOOD!" That usually doesn't happen in a medical setting. So, I bought a 100ml (3.4oz) bottle this evening. The nurse spoke.

I am very hesitant when it comes to banana fragrances, because they often smell too artificial or plastic-y. Banana rush has a very beautiful opening scent of banana and maple syrup and dries down to a very strong summer vanilla that smells like some sort of banana bread or cake. It is so so good. I sprayed it on a tester and couldn’t stop smelling it and eventually sprayed it on myself and fell in love! Let it dry down. It lasted over 5+ hours on me personally and complimented my skin well. Mind you, I had read these reviews prior to going in store and smelling it and I don’t think the hate it’s getting is fair. I purchased it and it is now my current scent. Other scents I like are Dior hypnotic vanilla, Gucci flora gardenia, Versace dylan blue, and anything vanilla gourmand or aquatic. I think the tropical vibe the banana rush has makes it great as a summer scent,

Ok- lot’s of thoughts on this one. Instantly banana pie. To me it was very banana. Extremely banana. But to my partner, it was more dessert/cinnamon roll. I unfortunately didn’t have a chance to spray it on my skin. I have the tester strip and it was quite strong on it. But part of me wants to smell it more, or the other perfumes of this line. EDIT: I left the tester strip in my purse and I'm lowkey addicted to the smell that has been left by it. Very cozy and addicting. That after-smell makes me want to buy it tbh. ANOTHER EDIT: (LOL) I returned to Sephora!! I sprayed it on me this time!!! It took a while to settle but boy, I do like this. Kinda wished the opener wasn't so banana-y. Because at the end of the day, I really like it. And it sticks to ya like glue besties.