Addiction – #3 Lush

I was very late to the whole Lush party. As a company they had been around for many years, before I even knew they existed, or at least took any notice of their existence. It certainly wasn’t love at first sight either (or first sniff as it was) but now I know its a love affair that will last forever.

Number 3 in my Addiction topic, is LUSH.

I remember the exact time that I discovered Lush and made my first purchase. It was 2008 and just into the new year. I was a member of a Livejournal Community, that acted as a Thriftstore. It was known to most as TSUK. Loads of people sold off their unwanted Lush after Christmas, but it was a particular post about Lush Mystery boxes being sold on the actual Lush website, that caught my eye. On 3rd February (I still have the email confirmation) I purchased my first box of Lush. I selected a small box, costing £10 but that was advertised as having £20 worth of products in it. I was excited!

Sadly, when it arrived, I wasn’t so excited. When the box was delivered (only a few days later) the scent of the Lush was so overpowering, even before I opened it. I was 8 months pregnant too and I’ve always found my senses were heightened during pregnancy, especially smell. Anyway the smell actually made me feel quite sick and after a quick look through it all, I hid it all in the yet to be used Nursery. Every now and again though the smell would catch my nostrils as I went up the stairs, until eventually I decided I needed to know which I might like and which I might not and get rid of anything I didn’t.

Anyone who knows a bit about Lush, will know that some of their Christmas scents are very strong and spicy. At the time they weren’t at all my kind of thing and I ended up selling them through TSUK. However a few things did smell good, sweet and candy like. A bottle of Snow Fairy made its way into my bathroom, as did a bar of Candy Cane Bubble Bar.

I’ll admit that from this moment, my addiction to Lush began. Though Christmas was over, I did at least venture near to the Lush store, located in Lincoln. From outside the smell was incredibly overpowering still and I remember having to take my time before going in and then try not to breath too much while inside the shop. It seems ridiculous in hindsight, but at the time it was really something I struggled with.

Over that year I would try anything that smelt sweet, making some favourites with Ma Bar, Honey Bee and Bathos. Eventually I was brave enough to try other things and would always try Limited Editions, published at Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s, Easter etc. Lush fast became the easiest present to buy for me, especially Mother’s Day and Birthday.

When I first became a single mum, approximately three years ago, my Lush Addiction had to take a backseat. Money became tighter and the kids had to come first, buying Lush for myself was no longer an option. Don’t get me wrong, I actually have no objection to the price of Lush (give everything the company stands for, the fact its handmade and not tested on animals, and of course the fact it smells amazing) but I’m not going to deny that it is an expensive luxury, rather than a necessity.

Source

Both my girls are a lot like me and over the years they began to pick up a love for Lush. They would ask to get in the bath with me, or ask if I could save the water from my bath so they could bath after me. They loved the sweet smelling products, just like I did and so it became a tradition to give them some Lush on Christmas Eve – as a Christmas Eve bath is a tradition in itself in our house. I would also treat myself to one Bubble bar too.

Now I rarely buy myself Lush at all. I stopped popping into the shop so I wasn’t tempted and I hardly ever look at the website. I rely on friends and family to buy me Lush on special occasions, but otherwise its not really something I have any more. That said, what little I do get, I make last. I try to always have at least one of something hidden away in the drawer, for that bad day when I just need an amazing bath.

Luckily on my last birthday (May), both my best friends bought me a bundle of Lush. It wasn’t something I asked for, or even mentioned that I don’t really buy it myself any more, but they still got it nonetheless. Its now September and I actually still have a few bits left!

My favourite Lush products are without a doubt, the Bubble Bars. If you’ve never tried them then you really should. They create SO many bubbles and make the water feel somehow smooth and silky. I genuinely don’t think there is a Bubble Bar I have tried and not liked, though of course I have the ones I prefer. After that come Bath Bombs. In an ideal world I would have a full bomb and a full bubble bar in every bath, but I would need to be a millionaire AND spend two hours in the bath each time, just to warrant it. Finally after that I would have to pick Shower Gels. I’m not really one for showering, always prefering a bath, but even in a bath you need to wash. Wherever possible I try to buy a few bottles of Snow Fairy at Christmas and make it last all the way through the year. It’s even good for washing your hair with!

Though I don’t dislike any products, I would definitely say I wasn’t fussed about the soaps or massage bars. I’m not one for soaps anyway and I’d be lucky to get given a massage (and certainly can’t be bothered to give myself them). I’m not really one for a skincare routine, or spending time on grooming. As such none of the other products really interest me. I know other people rave about them though and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend any Lush product. I’ve tried lip scrubs, face masks, shampoo bars and body lotions. Though I might not buy them again (that’s purely based on my lack of effort to groom), I would have good things to say about any of their products.

I could bang on and one about Lush, telling you all my favourite products both past and present, but I’m sure you get the idea. If you’ve tried Lush then I’m sure you must have a few favourites yourself – and if you haven’t then I strongly recommend you do.

On my last pay day, I finally treated myself to more Lush than I have in years. There is two reasons for this, one of which you’ll have to wait till my next post for, the other being that I’m finally a bit more settled financially and felt like it was something I could treat myself to. I’m glad I bought it when I did though, as now later into the month I might have been having second thoughts about the spend! (though I have booked a holiday with my wages this month so I supposed I shouldn’t complain).

Want to know what I bought? You’re going to have to wait till next time to find out…

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