Dirty
Lush (2004)

I quite like it when I forget it smells like a mix of toothpaste and soap. Beautiful lavender, amber and peppermint. Lots of mint. Like you’ve been chewing bubble gum for days without stopping. I love it though, quite a lot. Very clean, this dirty fragrance.

Strangely, ironically, but surely not intentionally redolent of swimming pool chlorine. Initial freshness quickly dies down to chemical modernism.

I once visited a Lush store and was trying some of their offerings. After a while a sales associate came over and asked what I was considering. I told her that I liked a few of them, including Dirty. Without hesitation she responded with, "I'm a dirty girl myself."

After careful consideration, I left the store without the fragrance ... or the girl.

Mint, grass, moss and mint again. The grassiest (and one of the dirtiest in a green/grassy way) scent I've tried. Dirty is "Lymphatic" and humid. Really strong on terrangon. Almost zero structure. A pungent dissonant botanical aroma. Not enough.

This is just a really nice, bracing aromatic fougere and as many have said, the name is a total misnomer. There's no reason a lady couldn't enjoy this, but Dirty intentionally plays to a hundred years of masculine perfumery tropes with its “backyard”, guerilla vibe and does so exceptionally well.

The opening is remarkably straightforward - if you'd like your shot of morning vigor by way of mint and tarragon, then please step right up sir. To me, this is the organic hippy spiritual cousin of L'eau D'Issey... here's an uppercut of FRESH!!! Wake up!!!

The backbone of this fragrance is text book fougere (if a bit light on the oakmoss) with some neroli and sandalwood thrown in to give it a soapy, soft dry down and it just works. The spearmint never really goes away, which gives this some true character and keeps it in its own realm - if you don't like mint, this isn't for you.

If you do like a brisk and fresh finish sans aromachemicals, then Dirty is entirely on point. You can notice the slightly rough quality to the blending, but it doesn't detract from enjoyment.

I generally don't dig the hipster vibe and general aesthetic of Lush shops... I'm a bit too cranky and curmudgeonly in my outlook to enjoy it. But some of the things they make really win me over, and this is one of the nicer examples.

While it dared to be different and was interesting, I really thought about purchasing. But it kept reminding me of toothpaste

Genre: Green

Ha ha! I get it…Dirty is anything but.

Did the folks at Lush really think they were being funny slapping the “Dirty” label on this immaculately crisp, sparkly, citrus-and-herb composition? If I ignore the utterly inapt name I can enjoy the brisk blend of tarragon, lavender, mint, and thyme over a plain woody base note, but Dirty doesn't hold a candle to the more stimulating green herbal arrangements at the heart of scents like Eau de Campagne, Calamus, Virgilio, or Silences.

On the other hand, it is pleasant and extremely cheap, so if you're looking for a green pick-me-up on an Axe budget, Dirty just might be your thing.

Minty, herbal and fresh. That's the best way to describe this. To me the mint and herbs last a few hours, then the dry down has a clean and soapy scent that lingers right at the skin. i wish the spearmint would last longer as it really smells unique and also invigorating.

This will make a nice hot weather frag for sure, and the price is very reasonable.

Dirty was originally a creation of "B Never To Busy To Be Beautiful", a sister-company founded in 2003 by Mark Constantine, one half of the duo that founded Lush in 1994. When he joined it with the main company in 2009, this was re-branded as a Gorilla Perfume product under the Lush brand and relaunched as one of their complete lines. Dirty is really anything but, and it's named cheekily because the modern "bro/slacker" kind of guy this product courts isn't known for the best physical hygiene, so this scent is made to combat that, but also present itself in a modern-day organic hipster-friendly version of a traditional barbershop scent. It's actually a fairly nice and complete line of men's grooming from the house, with the perfume joined by a body spray, shower gel, skin care products, and sometimes solid soap. Dirty gleefully takes the traditional turn of the 20th century style barbershop fougère style it apes and breaks it down to it's core, building it back up with the simplicity BNTBTBB/Lush was/is known for. The results are something that is the essence of the barbershop fougère rather than a modern retread of it. I would say it works: this stuff is seriously good for a shave, a good after-bath scent, or something to pick up the spirit before venturing out into the world, but it also isn't very versatile outside of those uses. Dirty is an ode to the long-lost fastidiousness of Victorian grooming, the core of the "clean manly" smell, and a must-have for guys that love the vibes of niche shaving shops, but it isn't going to set the world aflame. It's the "Barbasol smell" for the hipster crowd, and it shows.

The opening of dirty is mint and tarragon. Luckily we're working with spearmint and not peppermint, so it goes on smooth alongside the piquant tarragon and will wake you up in the morning if your coffee isn't up for the task. From there, we shift to thyme and lavender, the latter being fougère 101 material. It's a perfectly seamless transition and frankly is done better than dozens of similar throwback barbershop hopefuls being pumped out by much more prestigious houses than lil' old Lush. It's a unique thing overall that a house which is almost content to rebel against centuries of dynastic perfume house tradition, pomp, circumstance, and perfume development as a culmination of generations worth of layering ideas can nail something that itself is the product of such development on it's first try almost blind, but once the heart is there and in place the mint and tarragon no longer seem as shockingly brisk. Afterward, we're in oakmoss and sandalwood territory. There is of course coumarin here, as there almost needs to be in order for it to finish the way it does, but it's that raw tonka absolute variety and not the refined perfumers variety, which again lends itself to the organic DIY nature of Lush. Dirty simmers down into a mighty fine daywear scent at the end, with the moss, tonka, and wisps of that mint coming and going through the lavender. It's not a revolution to be sure, but it just "gets" that vintage grooming smell without a half dozen florals littering the pyramid. Projection is good, longevity is great, and layered with the other products, the perfume will send waves and waves of minty fougère freshness all day.

Dirty won't have the pedigree needed for the aristocratic types that place stuff like Bond, Creed, Lutens and Xerjoff on a pedestal, nor will it has the complexity and sophistication of folks used to niche fragrances in general. Designer guys probably already know the Lush line, as chances are they have a local Lush shop in a nearby mall and walk past it (smelling it before seeing) on their way to the Macy's counter, so venturing inside (with nose pinched) will yield a tasty treat for about $50 a bottle. A lot of Lush perfumes admittedly feel amateurish, like the garage punk rock equivalent of the niche scene, lacking the social graces, education, and refinement of their peers, but come in swinging like a baseball bat to the nose, hence why the young and hip simply love them. Dirty, one of the rare gender-specific scents in their catalog (as most are unisex), doesn't particularly feel anti-establishment, just simple, neat, and tidy. Something like Dirty could have easily come from a Victorian barbershop back in the day, especially considering that stuff made by Geo F Trumper isn't exactly swimming in notes either, but the deal maker/breaker here is going to be that spearmint. Either you love or hate it, and there are plenty of also-good barbershop scents without it. A good simple grooming scent, with a farm-to-table vibe for the Whole Foods avocado toast crowd. Thumbs up.

This review is for Gorilla perfumes at Lush Dirty. The opening is a burst of spearmint, tarragon, thyme, and a hint of lavender. This initial burst produces a "dirty" herbal mint which is good, but a bit odd. After 10 minutes the dirtyness fades and what your left with is a bright and clean spearmint (not sweet) with the sandlewood coming in to play. Longevity and projection are very good on this fragrance, and the quality of materials is evident. If your looking for a masculine mint fragrance, this is a great choice and worthy of a purchase. Thumbs way up on this one.

To me, Lush occupies a unique spot in the world of fine perfumes. Basically, there's a huge, centuries-old history of perfumery, with family dynasties and time-honed mixes and classic recipes and a huge international industry operating within this historical context. And then there's Lush, playing by itself over in a corner like a rebellious punk teenager determined to make its own rules and not be a part of the system. On the positive side, this means that pretty much everything Lush puts out smells completely unique (while the regular perfume industry tends to endlessly copy itself). But, on the negative side, it's very difficult for me to imagine Lush ever coming up with a Mitsouko or a No. 5, a perfect expression of centuries of perfumery as fine art.

With that, there's Dirty. It certainly doesn't smell like any other scent out there. It's got a lot of toothpasty mint, and what I'm assuming is lavender provides a perfumey brightness as well, so it's a very "up" kind of smell. Then there's the tarragon, which somehow gives Dirty a weird fleshy undertone, almost like a meaty smell. All together, it makes for a baffling perfume. Lemon chapstick? Minty breath with the volume amped up to 11? Sort of, but it mostly smells like a mix that would make perfect sense as a wake-you-up Lush soap, but made into a perfume, where it smells completely absurd, but in a way that's weirdly compelling. If you're a Lush fan(atic), you'll probably enjoy Dirty, but if you're not, it's unlikely to win you over.

I have Gorilla re-issue for Lush.

It does exactly what it says. Very refreshing and a bit spicy. An interesting and clean smell that stands out on its own. Great price I think, 160g body spray but lasts surprisingly long.

A nice pick-me-up!