The one where I fall in love with Lush

‘WHAT DOES IT SMELL LIKE??’ the most asked question when I tweeted that I was touring Lush’s factories last week.

The answer is ‘Actually, very subtle’. Not like the stores at all. The feedback I had when I mentioned Lush swung wildly between stalker-worthy-obsessive fans and ‘Ooh GOD that smell I can’t bear it.’

I was pretty much on the shelf between the two. I shop in Lush regularly because Ava is a total addict but had never really given their skincare a detailed, clear try until recently. Well, as with Tom Ford, I need to find another hat to eat because I fell a little (a lot) in love with Lush.

I was originally invited to the Poole HQ in order to host a Live UStream with Lush discussing preservatives. The timings were quite late so I stayed over. Knowing what a crazy stalker fan she was, Lush also invited Miss Hirons on the trip.
We had a blast.

The factories are all surrounded with facts about the company.
Literally like Willy Wonka’s Factory 🙂

The team at the Kitchen where we both made products.
My facial tray before we went in.

The original store at 29 High St, Poole.

The Head Office is amazing. 

If you would like to watch the debate it is available here: The Great Preservatives Debate. It was really interesting and the time flew. There is also an unexpected mini-rant about mineral oil around 28:00 – not started by me for a change. 🙂

It was very refreshing to speak to company owners that walk the walk and frankly, don’t BS. And as an aside, I have been in the industry a long time, worked with a lot of people and been to a lot of head offices and factories – the litmus test for me is in the people, not the marketing spiel that brands sometimes front their companies with. I have never, ever seen such happy people as I did during my visit to Poole. The factories, the head office, the shop, the spa, everyone has a genuine love of the company and the job they are doing. So rare and so, so noticeable.

Thank you for having us, it was completely inspiring and our absolute pleasure.

*I was obviously paid to host the UStream event – but this slushy blog post was not part of the deal. Just sharing the love.