I made a mistake of going into Lush and trying to buy...

[Underthestairsbears]

Something for a guy...!!!

I just popped into my local Lush, they used to have a 'bloke section' so I kept wandering around looking for it...
Of course one of the helpful assistants came over and asked if she could help.
I said "oh I can't find your bloke section "

Poor young woman looked rather pale and launched into her "oh we don't have a men's section. It's all inclusive "
Lovely, so I asked where I might find something that might appeal to a teenage boy.

The only thing she could point me towards was a "beard cream" and I explained he didn't have a beard!

She then dragged another more senior young lady over... who then started on and on about being inclusive and how everything in LUSH us for everyone....it as I tried to escape....!

I tried to see if they had gift sets that might appeal to him....

Ok, it didn't need to be masculine per se but honestly it's like they've eradicated men from LUSH...

I'm not sure if that's the look they were going for...and also isn't it usually the other way round 🙄

Couldn't make head nor tail of it but I didn't escape easily.... literally had to hot foot it out of there quickly to avoid another encounter!

Does anyone else find it's getting harder to shop efficiently for what you want because things have to be so woke...

I got given a bath bomb from the children that turned the water black and left a scum resembling what i can only describe as whale sperm

Even the children refused to touch it and i refused to get in the bath

@Squeakycatflap

Haha you “anti-woke” idiots are disappearing up your own arses.

Well you'd know….

@PurgatoryOfPotholes I always had a great deal of respect for Artemis on the old forum. Mark Constantine did rely on a level of 'Celebrity Awe' from his staff and customers (especially the ones on the forum) and she wasn't having any of it. Always spoke sense and wouldn't stand any bullshit.

@Thatsplentyjack it's the job of a good sales clerk to ask the right questions to find out what the customer needs.

@NCBlossom

Personally I’m all for clothes and toiletries being unisex. It’s the kind of woke I am all for! (I’m not usually for eradicating male and female, but the idea that there is a stereotypical male or female really seems silly to me).

However my teenage son would massively disagree. Unless it’s labelled heavily male he won’t go near it. And as a consumer, it’s the consumer’s that usually drive that, so Lush will just lose out I guess in the long run.

I'm the same, I regard any shampoo/shower gel with suspicion unless it's explicitly for men. I don't want to get home and discover that it's got some awful sickly scent.

Much easier now I've gone green though, the zero waste shops invariably offer unscented bars of everything.

@Itsanewdah

Soooo according to most posts in this section of mumsnet, gender and sex are the same, there are no differences except biology, its all just a myth driven by Stonewall etc . And now somebody complains that there are no male fragrances in LUSH? It would be funny if it wouldn’t be so tragic

Masculine and feminine social norms certainly exist, even if gender critical people wish to discourage them.

I do wonder if there are different smells which do appeal to different sexes and ages due to biology rather than mere socialisation. Would be an interesting study.

Parfumes can smell differently on different people because of our unique body chemistry. I wonder if sex plays a role too.

I do wonder if there are different smells which do appeal to different sexes and ages due to biology rather than mere socialisation. Would be an interesting study.

It seems quite likely, given that sex affects how people smell. In both senses (cf the 'my dog has no nose joke')...men and women have different odours, and women tend to have a more sensitive sense of smell. Apparently there's sexual dimorphism in the olfactory bulb.

journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111733

@WomaninBoots

Last time I was in a Lush I ended up getting getting my arm washed and I wasnt sure how I had got there... so I haven't been back since.

😂😂😂

The muslin bag is key @Felyne, I use a laundry delicates bag and sometimes bits of oat escape. I wonder if cinnamon and golden syrup are good for the skin…

@Squeakycatflap

Haha you “anti-woke” idiots are disappearing up your own arses.

Incisive comment 🙄

When my eczema was bad i made my own oat thing with a pair of old tights.

Sounds like you threw them off guard and they had woke reflex panic.

But - I do think it’s an annoying thing to ask. Sorry! They most likely genuinely think that pretty much all their products are for everyone. Not some that are “best for men”. My husband really likes loads of the lush stuff after I converted him many years ago, and he doesn’t prefer the “Father’s Day” ranges they bring out - I’m the one that likes the spicy scents and he tends to like the creamy or mild ones (and the ones that aren’t annoying to get out of the bottle.) I suspect I’d be a bit sarky with anyone asking which is the most “boy” soap. But yes, they could have definitely handled it better and tried to be helpful for you.

I don't think having cultural norms around male and female bath products disadvantages anyone in any way at all.

I myself tend to prefer the male-coded scents, despite being female. I wear a male deodorant and typically choose soaps etc in scents like bay or sandalwood, so often they are ones marketed to men. So far, no one has ever made any disparaging comment about this when I purchased or worse said products.

I think it's much better for people to express their sense of femininity or masculinity through these kinds of harmless things rather than through through stuff that is more important, like jobs or interests. The idea that we could erase it altogether seems disconnected from reality to me, and also kind of unpleasant.

I'm not surprised Lush would think that way though.

Lush: they fucking stink and hate women.

@Lottapianos

'I want to support them more because of their inclusivity and anti-jkr stuff'

Oh, what JKR stuff?

JKR has made the fatal mistake of defending biological women. And for the achingly woke brigade who support the erasure of rights for biological women and the erasure of the concept of biological women, as well as the erasure of biology itself, that's not on.

I do wonder if there are different smells which do appeal to different sexes and ages due to biology rather than mere socialisation. Would be an interesting study.

well i wear Old Spice because it smells lovely. And Aramis because i love that and my DH doesn't wear aftershave. But i also wear Chanel No 5. Depends on my mood.

I'm very happy to see stuff being de-gendered (unless it's a way of making usually cheaper "male" versions of things more expensive...") you just buy the ones you like or the ones you think other people would like?

PP mentioned Clark's shoes - you buy the shoes that best fit your child and that's fine. I used to want Clark's Commandos when i was a kid and, bless my lovely parents, they got me some. But my friend's mum didn't allow her to wear boys shoes. Which is shit.
They sell by width anyway, don't they? So it makes no odds if boys and girls feet are different.

I wear a rose perfume. Really can’t see the men around here wearing it. DS (being a teenage boy) prefers much stronger smells.

I think it is fine to acknowledge in some way that there are scents and products that are likely to appeal differently to the different sexes on average ... as long as a man who likes floral or a woman who likes sandlewood do not then believe that they are the opposite sex because of it! It is fine to organise the products in a shop along those lines too. You could have a focused men's area for the beard cream type products and next to that an area with the products more likely to appeal to men. There's going to be some divergence in scents that appeal across the sexes for sound biological reality reasons, our olfactory systems are different!

I know men and women's feet are different. I don't know about children. Children's shoes should fit well and be robust for both sexes though.

I don't mind things like clothes and shoes being sex-specific... we are different shapes! BUT women's and girls clothes and shoes not being robust and warm and as practical as menswear is a massive bugbear. I buy mens clothes as a result, fortunately for me I am tall so that works.

There's a balance. Overly gendering stuff or making assumptions about what women's things should be like based on stereotypes is annoying but it also makes sense to acknowledge sex-differences even if those differences are average differences rather than set in stone ones. The problem is of course that the market seems to constantly drive the stereotypes in after the acknowledgement of difference.

YY, WomaninBoots

There's a balance. Overly gendering stuff or making assumptions about what women's things should be like based on stereotypes is annoying but it also makes sense to acknowledge sex-differences even if those differences are average differences rather than set in stone ones.

Yes to this. I wish i could find nice men's jeans to fit, i want proper pockets.

Yes to this. I wish i could find nice men's jeans to fit, i want proper pockets

Me too. Looking at you Levi's. Great jeans with shit pockets

And the kitchen and cleaning products - usually pink as housework is just for girls, isn't it

Yeah… the conversation should have gone:
We don’t have a men’s section, it’s all inclusive?
You used to, have the products been discontinued or repackaged? If the latter please can you show me them!
Of course

I anyone answers such a question with the word ‘inclusive’ i will say ‘I’m going to have to stop you there...’ and walk away. Life it too short. If they can’t answer the question without giving me a lecture, I’m out.