Gap 1969 Electric For Men

Historically, I’ve never like Gap fragrances because their heavy use of synthetic ingredients has been so blatant.  In short, even though they may not smell terrible, they lack depth.  They smell flat.

In comes Gap 1969 Electric For Men, rising above all the other Gap scents I’ve tried.  It doesn’t do anything original – it’s a fairly generic-styled woody citrus scent – but this is a  perfume with an admirable level of complexity and sense of balance.  What you get is a lovely citrus scent with orange and lemon top notes that last for hours, on top of a dark, smoldering woody base.  I realize my description isn’t going to persuade anyone to rush to the nearest Gap store and buy up their entire stock (you can buy a bottle for about 10 bucks), but this is a fragrance that I think will leave even the most jaded perfume nut impressed.        

Woody citrus scents have flooded the perfume market for years, and they tend to be mediocre: go on any perfume enthusiast website, and you’ll see endless complaints about how they have poor longevity, how they smell synthetic, how they smell off-balance, how they don’t project, how they smell boring, etc., etc..  This fragrance, however, fixes all of that.  Granted, it’s not a sillage beast, but it projects well and the scent lasts all day; you can smell orange, green leafy notes, and the smoky wood floating up and around you for a good 8 or 9 hours, thanks to what I’m assuming is a perfume made up mostly, if not entirely, of synthetics.  

This a safe scent that won’t offend anyone, but it smells really good.  I particularly like how the long lasting orange note plays off the base notes that smell like charred wood.  It reminds me a lot of Declaration by Cartier, albeit less complex.

This is a synthetic perfume that smells natural, and is therefore a great example of how a skilled perfumer can create something very wearable with humble, cheap ingredients.

MY RATING:  8/10