The Bug

This goes on smelling very bitter and herbal, yet at the same time there's an odd sweetness to it, the sweet element made me think of Sweet Tarts. Then it gets a rather funky compost scent, and then it suddenly changes tack and becomes creamy and resinous. At this point it reminded me a little of Lolita Lempicka's Si Lolita, which has the same 'creaminess' which I believe is down to the elemi resin. It goes on to develop a civet scent which reminded me of Guerlain Shalimar (which on me, in the current formulation, is very animalic) I'm actually trying one on each wrist and they are quite similar, though The Bug has kept something bitter and herbal and Shalimar is a much smoother scent. I don't think anyone would confuse the two but with both of them side by side I can see why Bug brought Shalimar to mind. The Bug gets a warm tonka sandalwood dry down, the two notes almost blend into one. I actually really like this, though I can definitely see how the opening could scare people away. When I think of perfume the first things that come to mind are resins and sandalwood. Wearing this I can picture some ancient Mesopotamian king with a coiffured beard and fringed robes sitting in a shady garden, anointed with precious resins. It's a scent that's exotic and distant yet warm and beautiful and it really does feel 'ancient'. I urge people to try this and try not to judge it based on the opening. It wears long but doesn't project a tonne, and every time I've put it on since buying it I've felt compelled to keep inhaling it.

Such a fascinating juice. It is rich leather and polished dark wood. I get lost in it and I love it. A friend who used to work at Lush gifted this to me years ago. He said: "I can't wear this stuff but if I know anyone who can, it's you". It didn't last long in its intended form: I was being clumsy and I dropped the bottle on the floor and it spilled. My bedroom smelled like The Bug forever. I lived in a tiny studio apartment in Amsterdam, writing my thesis, listening to Trentemøller in full volume, sniffing The Bug in the air. Long forgotten days of tangy sensations of wood and cheap art on the walls. I got myself a second bottle now. I'm overwhelmed. This is so potent, my whole house smells like The Bug again and I haven't even opened the (used) bottle yet. It's very well blended, and tricky to pick out singular notes. But leather, holy mother of slick smooth leather, so much leather. This is RICH. Imagine you're cozying up covered in beddings made of quality new leather. Yes. I feel powerful, almost blinded -- I do not notice my surroundings. So powerful, and nothing else matters. My muscles grow stronger. My mind is clear. I am alive. I am The Bug. I am Kafka's inspiration. I am everybody's inspiration. Take that!

Very strange and I mean that in the best possible way. This is hard to define, I can’t say when is the most appropriate time to wear it, or who could pull it off, as it’s just so damn strange. Like a lot of the Lush fragrances, it’s more of an experience than a spritz-on to simply smell nice and I consider it 100% unisex. It’s very green, first application is powerful; like snapped celery sticks, cracked pepper and grass clippings right under your nose, but that’s the closest description I can conjure, as it’s a very alien aroma to my nose. Dry down is incredible, a warm green, the woods and resins becoming more pronounced but still with a faint background of that wonderfully strange note from the first spray. Conceptually, the whole dystopian/post-apocalyptic vibe is very fitting, I can imagine scenes of vegetation reclaiming long-abandoned buildings, empty malls, vacant offices; purely aesthetically though: this perfume does not smell of mould, mildew and dust. Contrarily, it is a very pretty, interesting and oddly addictive scent.

Love love love love love this. Its such a shame that Lush has chosen to give their perfumes such odd, non descriptive names because I am sure it makes many people pass on testing scents that prove incredibly beautiful, like this one. Because of the high proportion of natural ingredients there is also some deviation in the scents of different batches - I have had a slightly more aromatic Bug and a sweeter Bug, for example - in any case both of them were this incredibly beautiful, slightly aromatic and balsamic blend of deep resins with a hint of cola. Wait for this beast to develop on your skin. I could bathe in this stuff, its something I simply want to keep smelling, so deep and rich in a natural, beautiful way. Comforting sweetness without becoming boring or overpowering, just right natural ambery come hither & see what I am hiding marshmallow. Just divine.

Does galbanum smell like celery? Because The Bug on me is strong and heady, like a pop in the nose, of celery and labdanum—which I nostagically love because of growing up with a neighborhood park filled with labdanum bushes. Heavily resinous and green, so it's very much not for everyone, yet I love it.

I ordered this months ago, took one sniff and promptly declared that I didn't like it. I was going through my stash and decided to give it a true chance. I happened to wear this along with All Good Things by Lush as well, just one on each arm. I found them strangely similar in under current. I don't find The Bug to be anywhere near as disconcerting as others have experienced. On initial application, I sense three distinct characteristics: A strong sweetness A soft powdery note A thread of smoky incense This brings to the surface a memory of hair permeated with the scent of a long extinguished campfire, skin cleansed in cool water with a clean, sweet soap, watching the dawn rise on the side of a mountain. I definitely smell the elemi with just the faintest line of sandalwood. I found the galbanum but the black pepper seemed to only pull through for a few seconds on me. I think the notes are pretty accurate here, they're just an odd combination. It's a strong scent, but has a very close spillage on me. While I think this works for me, I can see how many would dislike it. These Lush perfumes seem to have a common note of some smoky incense, namely this one, All Hood Things and Breath of God. They all do smell distinct however.

This is an interesting one. I first smelt this in a Lush store and immediately put it back down as it knocked me back a bit. I came home to read some reviews on here and took the plunge to buy a bottle from ebay (rather than pay full price just in case) and can completely vouch for how it smells like a completely different perfume on the skin. At first it's quite strong, earthy and spicy to me but it's after about 10 minutes that it starts to get interesting. It mellows down into something woody and warm - not sure if I get cumin but it's not in the notes above. It's something that I keep coming back to. It's intriguing - i can get why it's described as unnerving or having the feeling of paranoia. I keep going back to it - i don't know why but there's just something about it that makes me want to keep re-applying and sniffing my arm all day. Edit. This stays very close to the skin after about an hour but i still cant stop sniffing my wrist.

I don’t think the concept matches the product, since I don’t find The Bug ’’unsettling’’ at all. What I smell is childish, happy and bright, and it actually uplifts me. Childish - if I was restricted to one word. Genetically mutated cinnamon from Mars. I could imagine The Bug as the fragrance to a baby hair shampoo. The Bug could be ideal in the heat wave. Sadly, however, there’s only an opening, then, after about 20 minutes it’s gone. Also, interestingly enough, it gives me rashes, however I’m absolutely not inclined to any kind of allergies whatsoever. If you get mad over no longevity, this is not for you. Also, don’t expect the otherwise usual* naturalness here. *with Gorilla perfumes.

I'm torn between two scenarios on this perfume. One is warm and pseudo-nostalgic, full of pencil shavings, open air, and green limbs on the playground for recess. The other is the dark, empty school building, smelling of ozone and cleaned-but-abandoned carpeted hallways with empty wooden shelves where backpacks once were. This one should have been named "Teacher's Brat." Overlooked and exploring places the other kids couldn't go. Maybe that was more the imagery that was meant to be invoked. Observed, but only by the inanimate. The things left behind while everyone else is on Summer break.

This is my favorite fragrance from the new line. It is definitely different and I can't quite put my finger on it. At first, it kinda smells like a squished lightning bug. No, don't wrinkle your nose, stay with me here. And if you don't know what I mean, you should mourn your lost childhood. It evokes a very odd nostalgia. It dries out into a sweet green with a spicy bite and a slightly creamy background. It's not strong, but noticeable. A few minutes go by and I think "Mmm, what's that smell? Oh, it's me!" and take a whiff of my wrist again.

This smells so bitter in the bottle, as do many of the Lush perfumes I've smelled. Once on skin, it takes about 5 mins to settle in, and then you will be able to actually tell if it will work for you or not. I ended up buying this because it's different than many other fragrances out there, more like an oil or incense.

I just bought it and it truly does smell avantgarde. It smells niche. Something like wiring, sweet, musky yet citrusy. Goes on the oriental site at the end. Like a Turkish bath or so. Must buy!

HMOC! If you don't get sick or pass out during the first ten minutes after spraying this on then you'll be in for a surprise. It starts off with a disgusting herbal green scent that's very alienating. To me it was almost gagging disgusting that I got the urge to wash it off right away; but patience is a good virtue so I waited for this weird scent to unfold. And lo! a very lovely scent emerged: creamy, herbal, sexy and akin to L'Artisan's Noir Exquise (to my nose at least). It somewhat reminds me of beauty and the beast: a handsome prince behind an ugly facade where his real beauty opens up after the transformation.

I got this when it was released and I have just smelled nuit de Bakelite for the first time. That was a few years on which leads me to understand how innovative this fragrance was. I wore it for me, it was so unusual nobody every commented upon it in a positive way. By contrast, my other regular at the time, Pom Noir, always attracted compliments. So I let the bug go. I found it dry but herbal, also plastic, it had sweetness on the dry down on me. 10 years later I was reminded of it, it has staying power in memory anyway.

I was clouded with my obsession for Lush but this proved that I dont like galbanum and labdanum. I thought I liked it but becoming more familiar with fragrances this isn't for me. This one and Attaquer le Soleil smell very similar and are in your face outright harsh greenery. It's overwhelming. The dry down isn't worth it and it just smells offensive not bad but it's just.. a lot.

Every time i wear this all i can think of is big, leather-bound books in a huge ornate library, along with a herb garden outside. Such a breath of fresh air as a fragrance!

Skank, not bug. Skank. A "protest perfume," indeed. I would strongly protest if my wife were to find within her a sudden desire to smell like this. Here's what Bug smells like: When I was a twelve year old living in Los Angeles in 1968, my best friend Jimmy lived just off of Sunset Boulevard more or less behind the Egyptian Theater. He lived in a rather shabby apartment with his mother and grandmother. Next door to him was an even shabbier apartment building recently vacated by some hippies. They left the door open one day and we went inside to explore. Within was old dog food, newspapers flung about, a cigarette and full ashtray smell, 1950's Mad magazines, patchouli oil, discarded tee shirts and the flotsam and jetsam of drug use. The place smelled like Lush Bug. It was such an objectionable odor that we didn't even take the old Mad magazines. Yeah, it's different. But so was Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" - who listens to it? Yeah, it's avant garde. But so is Yoko Ono - how many multi-CD sets of her music does anyone own?

The Bug fails both as an enjoyable scent and as a conceptual one. For something that's supposedly inspired by paranoia, surveillance, and technology, this is surprisingly green. What we have here is simply a vile, beaming blast of dirty water from the toxic avenger's mop. This repulsive potion is much more jungle than urban, though they make it sound like the olfactory equivalent of Orwell's 1984. But the biggest flaw of this fragrance is its aggressive sweetness. This stuff is like liquid pixie sticks, and it really gives the fragrance a very immature feel. I really wish this wasn't my introduction into gorilla perfumes because I'm left with a bad impression to say the least.

The Bug reminds me of Youth Dew/Opium/Tabu: It's not exactly like them, but it shares that vintage charm, earthy notes and warm, spicy kind of depth. Lots of resins and wood here. I also smell some subtle floral notes, jasmine and ylang ylang, although they're not listed. The sticker on the rectangular bottle is unique and very Lush, but the story behind the name doesn't really fit the luxurious vintage feel of this scent. Compared to other Lush fragrances, the Bug is closest to Icon, which was also warm, earthy, spicy and dark. This is an unapologetically heady, sensual fragrance from a different era. Amazing that Lush dares to create stuff like this today.

About one hour after dabbing this VERY GENTLY on the wrist its beautiful! Turnes sweet & incense and reminds me of its relative -Karma- in some ways but i really prefer this! Karma is much to orangysweet for me. The bug is a new favourite:) So rich and unusual. I have tried just One perfume before with opoponax (les nereides) and even if its not listed, i think i can detect a liiiiitle bit of that same sauna-wibe here. Ps. The first 30 minutes was ultra horrible, i never thought i would like this even a bit.ds

The galbanum is so overpowering in the beginning I can't enjoy this one. Feels a little licorice-ey too, or like some kind of herbal alcoholic drink (Jaegermeister maybe?) I love the other notes, and i do feel a good dose of those too especially on the drydown. So the initial opening is the hard part for me. I'm probably not a huge elemi fan either, though I love anything resin this particular resin is a little sour ish to me. Quite sweet and powdery - but still a bit herbal - on the dry.

This is probably the weirdest of the new batch of Gorilla perfumes. I'm not entirely sure how wearable it would be, and I only smelled from the bottle, but it actually reminded me of burned electrical wiring -- a sort of sulphuric, smoky effect. If you thought Breath of God was nuts, wait until you try this. Highly experimental and avant-garde, but I'd need to revisit it to truly assess if it's worth a purchase or not.

Ooof! Banana Moon soap on steroids. Holy banana Batman! I love it! Takes me back to living in Newcastle, the first town I lived in that had a Lush shop back in the day. I find this pretty sweet opening. It's been maligned as bitter but not on my skin. My skin clearly loves this. Not a scent I would wear romantically but I do like it a lot. I don't get the pepper at all. It's a chill and drink tea kinda perfume.

Very deep, deep, mysterious, sexy, sensual perfume ..... like all the fragrances of this maison it changes with the passage of time. When I wear it they always ask me the name of this fragrance. The note that I perceive over the hours is amber ... and then we talk about sweetness

Not loving this one. There’s a soft, definite spice in here; it smells like powdery cardamom or cinnamon powder with not a lot of punch, though it's lovely, but there's a background of bug spray. I'm wondering if that's the pepper? Doesn't work on my skin.

Bug spray and cardamom? Maybe it's the black pepper. There’s a soft, definite spice in here that smells like powdery cardamom or cinnamon powder with not a lot of punch, and a background of bug spray. This so didn't work on me.