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