dirty – Notable Scents

* Tobacco and rum dominate the top – and the room – as it projects strongly.

* When I say it projects strongly, you will be leaving a strong scent trail.

* The tobacco and rum stay present and gradually get more dirty and animalic as the smell of dirty leather and musk comes in.

* It starts to get a little smoky at this point, as if the match for the tobacco has been extinguished in the dirty leather.

* As the smoke rises, the heart of sweet resins and earthy patchouli come in with a hint of the rum from the top still in the mix.

Summary: The buzz on this scent from my fragrance friends has been deafening. Last time I was in NYC, my friend Brian was wearing it, and walking a few steps behind him, I felt like I had to control my urges to throw him down and ravage him. Montecristo is very powerful, primal, and sexual. Obviously not a scent for the office, but for a night of clubbing (or hunting for a partner) this would be a great go-to scent. I supposed a woman could wear this but it feels so virile and masculine, I am not sure how it would work. Longevity is great at more than 12 hours on my skin. It also wears a little differently each time – sometimes it feels dirtier, while other times the rum on the top remains the dominant note. For a good bit of the time in the heart phase, it smells like a used leather satchel used to carry around illicit goods that has absorbed the best of all the elements – well worn, but still very desirable.

Other opinions:

Ca Fleure Bon
Kafkaesque
The Non-Blonde
Colognoisseur
Chemist in the Bottle

Masque Milano Montecristo is available from Twisted Lily and LuckyScent.

Disclaimer: sample received from fellow perfume lover.. Image courtesy of LuckyScent website.

* It’s called dirty but its actually clean. It starts with a refreshing burst of spearmint and herbs (tarragon and thyme).

* Projection is strong for the first hour or so. People around you will be smelling herb garden.

* Sometimes I get lavender or licorice in there, sometimes I don’t.

* You can tell this is marketed to guys since it comes as a ‘body spray in a Windex-looking bottle.’ The body spray is a little more minty and sheer with less emphasis on the herbs.

* The EDP (not body spray) is pretty linear and calms down after about an hour. The spearmint and herbs quiet down a little bit and are joined by sandal wood in the base.

* “Dirty” is said to be a reference to the “Italian Shower” – jumping out of bed wearing the same clothes and just spraying cologne to cover body smell. I guess this scent would work for that situation.

Summary: I find myself becoming more and more of a Lush fanboy. Their products and scents are great quality, have solid longevity, and are priced fairly. You get great value for your money in a Lush store. I love Dirty and would recommend trying the associated products – especially the springwash and the toothy tabs. The springwash will wake you in the morning with a tingling mint. It reminds me of CO Bigelow Menthe. The toothy tabs will be covered a future review, but are basically baking soda tablets that you crush up and use as toothpaste. I can’t vouch for the hair cream (for obvious reasons) and i wasn’t a big fan of the shaving cream.

Guys, check out Dirty for a fun and refreshing summer fragrance. If you spray this on at least an hour before you get to work, it would be office-friendly. If you spray it on in your car before you walk into the office, your coworkers will look at you strangely. Victoria at eaumg.net recommended using the Dirty body Spray as room spray – and at 19.95 for 6oz, I would agree it does work for a multipurpose product. Her Frug named Frink seemed to like it even more. If you are planning to use Dirty as solely a skin scent, go for the longer lasting EDP.

Lush Dirty is available at Lush stores and on the Lush website.

*Disclaimer – No disclaimer needed – I bought a full bottle.