I first sniffed the Dirty product line at the New York launch of Gorilla Perfume at Lush last year, and I’ve been looking forward to its release in the United States. Dirty has finally reached our shores, in all its iterations, and it feels just right for summer. According to Gorilla Perfume‘s promotional materials, “Dirty is an invigorating, cathartic breath of fresh air that stirs up something primal.” Its notes include spearmint, thyme, tarragon, lavender, sandalwood, and oakmoss (but no dirt!).

Dirty is available in as a traditional liquid perfume and as a solid fragrance stick; it’s a fresh fragrance that leans slightly towards the masculine end of the spectrum, but it will probably find quite a few female fans who enjoy wearing grassy, minty, or leafy scents. For the first hour or so, Dirty reminds me of an herb garden giving off the aromas of an assortment of plants: the thyme and the tarragon are there, and the mint is especially noticeable. Dirty gradually evolves into a salty sea breeze and an airy musk base with a very sheer sandalwood note. It has good staying power for a “fresh” fragrance, particularly one that includes so many natural ingredients.

The complete Dirty line takes a new approach to “layering”: each product is scented with a different element of the Dirty composition, so that they can be worn together to recreate the total fragrance…

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