I don't have a problem with chemicals in my beauty potions and lotions. It's the chemical in my anti-acne cleanser that keeps my face relatively bump-free (emphasis on "relatively"). It's the super-secret, patented chemical cocktail in my night cream that keeps people guessing the number of candles on my birthday cake (or I'd like to think so). And it's that funky-smelling chemical in my sunless tanning lotion that makes me blend in as an Arizona native.
But I want to go green. Really, I do.
Enter Vancouver-based LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics. If anyone could cure a chemical dependency, it's LUSH.
It was 1995 when LUSH opened its first store in London and began quietly garnering a cult-like following. Fast forward to today and Lush stores dot the globe with nearly 100 in the United States alone, including one in my local mall in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Hidden in a sleepy wing of Scottsdale Fashion Square (currently under construction to shed its narcotic status), the store's fresh-cut soaps and piled-high bath balms emit such intoxicating aromas that even the manliest of the species get drawn in like bees to honey. The store is a tactile explosion of color — hot pink bath melts, jiggly cherry-colored shower jellies, slices of canary-yellow soaps laid out like birthday cake — and because LUSH strives to keep product packaging as "naked" as possible, the urge to touch is not only impossible to resist, it's encouraged. Talk about a kid in a candy store. Over time, I developed a serious crush on the brand, and now count myself among the flock of devoted "Lushies" who have a deep appreciation for the company's fun, functional, and innovative products.
If you have even the slightest desire to move onto a greener path in your beauty routine, start with LUSH. Why? Here are three good reasons.
Ingenuity
I'm going out on a limb here, but I'll assert that you really haven't had a bubble bath until you've made a date with a LUSH bubble bar. Throw a bar under warm running water and you've got yourself a tubful of silky bubbles that leave your skin soft and sweetly scented, not slimy and covered in soap scum. The dizzying blend of aromas available is, frankly, brilliant. My favorite is the chocolaty-sweet Ma Bar Bubble Bar. And the very berry Comforter Bubble Bar. Oh, and the lavender-laced French Kiss Bubble Bar. Heck, give me a bar, any bar, and I'm happy.
But it's not just the bubble bars and their adored bath bombs that make LUSH products so innovative. Think solid shampoo bars for every hair type that are perfect for travel (no mystery goo in your makeup bag); no-mess massage bars; chemical-free deodorant powders; and facial masks so fresh that you can only buy them in stores and have to keep them in the fridge (Ayesha is my fave — it dries to an ugly swamp-thing hue but the afterglow is incredible).
Article comments