To think Lush isn't actually lush at all...

[Brain73]

I really cannot see what the fascination with this shop is. DD age 12 begged to go there today to spend some of her birthday money. The place made me itch as soon as I stepped inside with the sickly overpowering scent.

DD wanted some bath bombs, some of which were over £6! Each! I tried explaining that they were probably no good for her skin with all that artificial colouring and scent added but she really wanted them and as it was her money she bought two.

My shopping bag and her bedroom now reeks of the smell of these things. What are they made of and are the products really as natural as they are made out to be? I was astounded at the price of most of the products and equally astounded that the shop was full with the tills ringing a brisk trade the whole time we were in there. Are the products any good?

I used to work at Lush a few years back, aside from The Worst Manager in The World (TM) it was a great place to work.
The products are 100% natural, all of them vegetarian and a lot of them vegan too. There isn't anything artificial in there.
A lot of people find that Lush products really help with skin problems - I personally love one of their face masks and can't find an alternative that has nearly as good results.
It is particularly strong smelling, however, but you become accustomed to it after a while. Your sense of smell actually becomes more sensitive and you can pick up all of the separate scents!
I'm not going to lie though, it is exceptionally expensive and I don't shop there very often at all - because I simply can't afford it!

The old company went bust owing £££ and lush is the phoenix from that.

I believe it used to be Cosmetics to Go.

I have had the same shampoo bar since mid January, I love those.

I think, for teenagers, it's less about the products and more about the kudos. And £6 isn't much money wasted, better than them squandering £50 of their hard earned pocket money on some bit of Jack Wills tat or whatever the latest brand is this week.

It was indeed Cosmetics to Go. They made the loveliest perfume ever - called Ginger - which Lush have only just stopped selling .

DD is nearly 20 and swears by their skin cleansers for her very sensitive skin.

I don't know what they put in it, but I can't even walk past the shop!
I literally have to close my eyes and hold my breath to walk past or my eyes will be itchy sore for hours after.

I wish I was overreacting. Once I was in a town I didn't know and suddenly my eyes started itching and sore. We turned the corner and there was a lush shop.

I was given some for Christmas and I couldn't even open the package!

I cant stand the stench of their shops from 20 yards away, so Im not likely to set foot in one.

I dont know if it's true or just an urban myth but I heard that the bath bombs can do terrible things to your fanjo if youre sensitive down there

If you google bath bomb recipe uk, there is a link to the soap kitchen, they sell bath bomb making packs for around £10 you can make loads, you can add glitter fragrance etc..,

I hate the smell in our local Lush shop. Never bought anything there.

I've actually started making my own cosmetics recently. It is very satisfying to buy high quality ingredients (shea butter, rosehip oil, apricot kernel oil, aloe vera etc) and turn them into a beautiful cream, lotion or body scrub. It's perfect for my super sensitive super dry skin since I know exactly what's going in. It's not really difficult to do either. I thoroughly recommend it.

Shaving cream is fab. I buy it for my dh but he refuses to go in.

My Dd12 and her mates are into the bath bombs.... Never seen a £6 one... My DD has quite sensitive skin but she has never had a reaction to these.

I like them. I don't like all their products, but I do like some of them.

Their solid soaps are lovely and get a good lather, I also like some of the shower gels and the scents. (Breath of god is superb.)

Well as a guy in his early thirties I love Lush for the following reasons....

1. Always provides an excellent source of present materials for DP/SIL/Mother/female friends. Combined with the famous Boots 3 for 2 offers and Christmas is usually well covered

1. The customer service at my local store is pretty darn good, albeit sometimes they're guilty of jumping on you the minute you wander in (which admittedly I hate!). They're always very helpful though and seem to know their stuff quite well.

1. The smell. I LOVE the smell!!! And love the way our bathroom smells (still) after buying my DP a boxset on Mothers Day.

1. The few products that I have personally used I've really quite liked. As a psoriasis sufferer I need to keep skin well moisturised and their stuff works well for me, although there are cheaper and more effective products I can use. They just don't smell as nice....

1. Popcorn for packing. How can one not love that?!

We all adore Lush in this house, especially Dd, all of her friends have the bug.The only thing I really dislike is the constant offers of help from their staff, especially if the shop is quiet, it is impossible to look around without being approached.But the actual products I really like.

I start to feel physically ill if I'm within a few feet of a Lush shop.
Vile smelling chemical cosh.

If it smells that bad, what's it doing to your skin?

It's the essential oils they use that smell so strongly - plus they aren't wrapped in plastic keeping the smells in. I remember when it seemed as though the majority of teenage girls smelled of Bodyshop's White Musk or Dewberry. At least you only smell Lush within 500m of the shop doorway.

I really liked Cosmetics to Go - Lush's predecessor - which failed and I think they lost their intellectual property from CTG; a real shame but I guess they are laughing all the way to the bank now.

I don't get it either. The smell really irritates - something they use - I would be interested to know what it is. Very expensive for what it is. But dd, 8, adores the bath bombs so I buy them for her from time to time.

Yabu.

Its perfectly fine that its not to your taste, but the products ( as already mentioned by pp) are 100% natural, not tested on animals and are IMO lush

Angels on bare skin face mask is by far the best product that I've come across and in comparison to the clinique I used to buy, is cheap as chips.
I also love the candy bubble bar at £2.30 which smells ridiculously sweet and I get about 3 baths out of each one.

Plus tmi alert: there bath products are the ONLY ones which don't give me thrush after using them.

Yes, horrible smell and very allergenic.

My lovely friend used to give me them as presents, which was so sweet of her, but oh, yuck.

I don't actually work for lush BTW. I just really really like it there

I like the block soaps. I am fairly minimal with lotions and potions so don't buy anything else from there, but I do like a nice piece of soap at the sink rather than using liquid soap all the time.

Can't abide bath bombs.

It's the essential oils they use that smell so strongly - plus they aren't wrapped in plastic keeping the smells in. I remember when it seemed as though the majority of teenage girls smelled of Bodyshop's White Musk or Dewberry. At least you only smell Lush within 500m of the shop doorway.

Really?!

Proves how different our senses of smell are (not just acuity - what we react to). Lush makes whole shopping centres stink.

I don't believe it's essential oils. Essential oils tend to evaporate (I sometimes buy strong essential oils to use in a base, and they're strong enough to burn your skin if you were to use them undiluted). They must have fixitives in lush products strong enough to keep a dead horse upright.

Lush Manager from Hell would make us push and push and push customers when they came in, which I hated.
There is a rule (this was 6 or so years back) in the company which says all customers should be greeted within 10 (I think) seconds of entering the store.
I would always say hello, how are you and then leave them to it. Perhaps approach later and say "can I help you with anything?" but nicely and not pushy.
Lush Manager from Hell would hiss at me to go and demo what they were looking at, or to ask them what they were looking for etc etc which i HATED doing because I'd be really uncomfortable the other way round.

Overall, the Lush folk are really nice though.

I stock up on bombs in the boxing day sale. DD and I then chop the larger balls into four. You really don't need all that bomb for one bath.

One thing that had changed my life is their shampoo bars. I was spending a small fortune on Aussie products then bought a shampoo bar to try. Didn't think there was any way this little £5 bar could compete. Not only did it lather beautifully it left my hair in wonderful condition and smelling amazing (dh for the first time ever in twenty years commented on how nice my head smelled!!)
Even better, the £5 bar has now been going for five weeks and is just over half used.

I love Lush, although I haven't seen the £6 bath bomb you mentioned. I don't think I'd spend that much, although they last for several baths. I think the products are in a different league to normal bath stuff as it makes my bathroom and skin smell lovely and just is nice quality stuff. Obviously I don't like the smell of all of the products. There's a lot I dont like and I don't particularly like the smell of everything in the shop together, but I pick out stuff I do like the smell of. I don't have any problem with people disagreeing and thinking it's crap though! Each to their own.