All Things Lush UK: Dirty Massage Bar

In all honesty, I probably wasn't as excited about this massage bar as most other Lush fans around the world were - that being because I'm not overly keen on most mint-scented cosmetics. That's not to say I don't enjoy the scent, just that it wouldn't be the fragrance I would pick if I had a choice. However, the sound of this massage bar was enough to leave me at least optimistic about what it could offer me.

Dirty Massage Bar is a brand new bar, but one that I can imagine has been a long time coming. It's surprising that Lush have not offered this to fans already, given the popularity of the Dirty family. With a perfume and a body spray, not to mention the soap, shower gel, hair cream and toothy tabs to name but a few, this seems like a natural next step for the company.

What sets this massage bar apart from the other same-fragranced products, not to mention the other massage bars that Lush currently offer, is that this one has an extra layer of chocolately goodness. It's a perfect accompaniment for those of us with a sweet tooth who don't want to overindulge on the edible kind. And let's not forget to mention the fact that the inclusion of it elevates the Dirty scent to a whole new level.

Dirty Massage Bar is the same size as your average bar and sports a rather lovely tan colour. In the centre is an oval of dark chocolate that protrudes a little from the surface and sports the word 'LUSH' across it's belly. While I find other Dirty products very heavy on the mint, this format is slightly softer and more appealing. The inclusion of both cocoa and shea butter help to dampen the mint element a little and give it an almost creamy fragrance, which is very pleasing.

What I love about this product is that, from a distance, you can smell a combination of the distinctive herbal, minty aroma from Dirty, woven around an exquisite, rich dark chocolate scent. Yet if you take a closer sniff, you find clear definition of the two notes. The tan coloured bar sports the Dirty fragrance while the darker section is the chocolate scent. This gives you power to choose how much you combine the two smells.

The first time I used this, I only massaged the flat bottom of the bar and was able to pick up the Dirty smell; the second time saw me using both parts and being able to detect the wonderful combination of chocolate, mint and sandalwood. However, please don't assume that this is a typical 'chocolate mint' smell - it's far more sophisticated and fragrant than this. You can smell the sandalwood here as well as the thyme, tarragon and lavender - all three adding a gentle but complex aromatic experience. The sandalwood in particular comes out a lot on your skin and offers a beautiful woody aroma.

This bar is an easy melter - so be careful not to hold it for too long. I noticed that the second I picked it up, I could already feel it sliding between my fingers. Much like Yes Yes Yes, this bar glides easily across the body and leaves a light trail of oil which absorbs into the skin fairly quickly and leaves you with a beautiful, natural sheen. It doesn't take long for the bar to permeate into the skin and leave it looking, feeling and smelling absolutely gorgeous. Lush have really perfected the usability of the massage bar with this one.

While some fans may be worried that the chocolate element will paint your skin like Chocolala Massage Bar does, this one is nowhere near as messy. You will find chocolately smears on your skin but there is a lot less for you to contend with and the consistency of the oils helps these to disperse into the skin quickly. Furthermore, as you have the power to determine how much you use the chocolate part, you can control just how Dirty you want to get!

The beautiful fragrance of the bar is really long-lasting and stays with you for hours. The fragrance is definitely more masculine than feminine which is great as there are few massage bars available predominantly for male consumers. While I would still maintain that this is more of a masculine smell, it's definitely not something that cannot be enjoyed by everyone. This is probably my favourite Dirty product to date and one that I hope will be around for a long time. I will be buying this again.

Quantitative Ingredients: Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Fair Trade Shea Butter, Dark Chocolate, Perfume, Lavender Absolute, Neroli Oil, Sandalwood Oil, Tarragon Oil, Thyme Absolute, Cocoa Powder, Oak Moss Extract, Coumarin, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool, Methyl Ionone, Hydroxycitronellal.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £5.95 each.

Scent Family:

Dirty Body Spray

Dirty Hair Cream

Dirty Liquid Perfume