Yesterday on Oct 2, 2021 we visited lush.

We went to the ultimate flagship location on Queen street, which for years had the reputation of being like walking into a party: full of people, salespeople excitedly talking loudly, barely room to move and absolutely bustling. An exciting atmosphere.

Since the pandemic, a lot businesses have changed in personality. Lush is not an exception. There was only 8 customers allowed in the store. There was at least 5 salespeople. which at least 2 weren't really needed all the time as there were so few customers.

I didn't get the experience that many complain about and that i had expected: a salesperson who would constantly talk to me about products and follow me around the store.

We arrived after 3 or 4 hours of walking around Kensington market, and walked to Lush, which felt like a short walk. We waited outside in line behind 3 people. Somehow a 4th snuck in front of us. we waited outside for maybe 10 minutes. it felt like 20. we could smell the Lush store smell, mixed with wine or beer which must have been from a nearby pub. A strange and interesting combination.

Then we were allowed in the store. we sanitized our hands and asked if we could wash them at the sink. i went straight to the sink at the back, and use d a red bar of soap. i smelled it, but couldn't really smell anything. it was either my beloved karma, or 13 unlucky for soap, an oregano and rose blend. based on my karma soap purchase which has a pungent smell, i would guess it was not a karma soap.

then we immediately moved on to what i was most curious about: perfumes. its a small wall and hard to share with another customer who is also trying samples. i sprayed nearly every sample perfume on white paper slips, and had hubby write down the name of perfume on each.

the perfume slips were hard to smell. not only was the mask a slight interference, but the store smell was so overwhelming. it was very hard to discern anything from using the slips.

I was instantly not impressed by he perfumes. it may only be because i could not smell them.

so we moved on. i looked at the massage bars and smelled a sleepy lotion.

It smelled like lavender, and not very sweet tonka or ylang ylang scent. i imagine thy were too subtle to pick up in store. I desperately sniffed the soft couer bar several times - could get a fain honey smell. too difficult to smell properly. i was impressed by the size. and i wanted one, bad.

i smelled the sleep massage bar, and nothing much. too faint of a smell.

I found an employee gazing at a bookcase like shelf full of products, and asked where the body conditioners are. she showed me and we both went to the ro's argan conditioners. she stayed and asked if i knew much about it. and i said yes, i blog about lush. she said oh and went quiet. I asked for a sample and she offered a sample of the tub version, and i said id like the solid. she ran off to cut me a piece and i didn't see her again. she was pretty helpful and attentive.

then i turned around and screamed, "oh there's the comforter" and picked up a bubble bar and smelled it. it smelled nice. not the blackcurrant scent of the tea i used to drink, but a fruitier smell. still very pleasant. i asked for a sample of it ad was told no, they don't do that. (which is odd because i asked in fb to the lush store if i could sample anything, they said yes except bath bomb and henna).

I was a bit surprised at that. I tried to smell a Coco shower lotion, no smell. a tried a scrubee, no discernible smell. i had already tried the ros rgan solid, no real smell either. so my expectations of it went down.

i smelled the snow fairy beside it. pheeeeeeew. the ingredients listed are musk and lime oil. the musk must smell like cotton candy. its a strong sweet smell. not what i would call musk at all. no trace of lime either.

After that i looked at the soaps. they were hard to smell. i think fig and leaves was pleasant. hard to smell. rhubarb custard did smell nice. lotus flower - no smell. the polar bear did smell like almonds. but really, i could by a dr bonners almond soap for $4 - same smell.

I had already begun taking pictures at this point, after asking if i could do it for my blog. they said yes of course. then they later came over and said no people allowed in pics. i said yes of course.

I gravitated back to the massage bars. oh i wanted one so bad. the sales associate was there. i asked her about solid perfumes having no testers. she said there was a few she could get out and give me tester samples. i said yes and said the first two names i could think f : LOM and goddess. i was pretty worn our by this time. I wish i had gotten tester stick of the others too. i received a popsicle stick with a bit of green goo, and purple goo on the other. i smells them, rubbed LOM on my arm, and put them in bags. even those i couldn't smell through the lush store smell. the employee said the perfumes were like a warm hug. i said oh yes. reminder: next time get more samples of what you came for! i believe these solids are way different that liquid perfumes, only because of he delivery method. alcohol affects it too much.

it was in this area i asked the associate for a sample of sleep massage bar. she said of course and brought it up to the counter. i tried on a repeat foot balm on my hand, which didn't overly impress me, and looked at the lemony flutter at some point earlier. it had separated into two layers. i forgot to get a sample of it. i did a few last pics, then went to the cash. they had my karma soap ready, hubby had my argan sample, and my sleep bar was laying on the counter in 3 pieces. i reminded the cashier to give me my sample. i got my online order in a bag. i paid for the karma and a charity pot coin. it came to $12 after $1 tax. i was exhausted but happy.

in my online order a few nights before, i panicked as i added the last and only karma solid perfume to my cart. i raced to check out in time. in the message box i asked for 2 samples of the top of my head: goddess soap or sleepy body lotion. when i picked up my order they included both, with a smiley face written. lovely.

The lush smell.

the lush smell of the store is unusual and confusing. it has a strong odor of detergent, like a laundry soap, then it has a milder mash of scents presumably from products. then it has an almost acrid smell of musk. the tail end of the musk is acrid. the musk smell is overpowering. it is a bit unpleasant. I'm not sure if it is just because of the snow fairy overpowering the whole store. the lush smell has seemingly synthetic elements which overwhelm natural smells of oils and the synthetics seem unpleasant.

Back to the perfumes.
I smelled the goddess perfume, lust, vanillary. they all had a strong jasmine tone, but it wasn't the pleasant jasmine i'd known form say, buck naked jasmine soap. this jasmine had mingled with synthetic smells, or perhaps the spray agents (alcohol?) or the store smell to become unpleasant. the goddess at first sniff was sharp, somewhat jasmine, with a sharp pine musk smell.

when i first entered the store, i had a headache. as i browsed it went away.

when i left, it came back. the residual smells of the lush store, and perhaps our long journey, made me feel nauseous. the strong synthetic musk smells haunted me all the way home: on my purse, hands, and shopping bag. i had washed my hands after, didn't make a difference. a good 4 hours later after recovering at home, i was able to open my lush shopping bag.

at home look at samples and products - first impression
it seems they had included samples at a size of a quarter of the bar. i was impressed.

Upon bringing the goddess home, we appreciate it a lot more. the woodsy scent comes out more. it smells a bit smoother. and the colour of the soap is beautiful.

the infamous sleepy scent. it has been known to be borderline addictive, and i attributed it to the sweet tones of tonka added to lavender, already a favourite. well, the sleepy lotion is overwhelming lavender, and just a hint if caramelly tonka. really not much. i was expecting a lot more. hard to smell the ylang in there too.

Argan body conditioner was nice to rub on skin. it smelled strongly of argan. little of rose. That product i would be tempted to buy.

karma
A beautiful scent. I first fell in love with it 5 years ago when hubby had the solid perfume. i remember it being a stronger patchouli scent. now they have made the solid half the size but same price. I refrained from smelling karma products in the store. i already knew i loved it and didnt want to confuse my nose further as it was already.

4 hours after arriving home, we opened the karma perfume. hubby used it. i immediately was hit with a bubblegum-like sweetness base note, with a top note of a sharp combination of lavender and pine.
It was beautiful and pungent in the best way. i had no idea it would smell like that. I suppose the elemi creates the sweet note, with the orange oil. lavender and pine make the sharp note. patchouli had blended in so well i couldn't tell it was there.

Now, this karma scent has no trace of a synthetic scent. it comes off as the most genuine product lush makes, and possibly is the reason why its become a raging trend for so long (20 years!).

karma soap

Just taking this wrapped soap out of the bag I could smell the fragrance. it was like holding a big block of solid karma perfume. the bar was squidgy. i hadn't noticed at first. this is common of lush soaps. they aren't cured for very long, leaving them soft, but also so fragrant. I've read that if you try curing it, some of the fragrance will go away. who wants that? I will experiment and see what happens.

Goddess soap. this sample was not squidgy like the karma soap. it smells nice. dont think i would spend $10 on a whole bar though.


The day after

It was hard properly smelling things the day we brought home our lush purchase. our clothes smelled, our hands, arms. we were going noseblind. So today, October 3rd, we had another look at the products.

sleepy bar and lotion - same. strong lavender scent, very mild caramel. barely tell its there. wish it was more. bar melts as i touch it. it doesn't seem particularly hot today. maybe 19C outside.

Argan conditioner - my new fave product. so happy i got a sample of this. it smells strongly or argan in a good way, and i can smell the rose a bit more and maybe a hint of lemon. the scents meld beautifully. it almost smells like something you could eat. not a sweet smell really, but a sugar free sort of thing. feels pretty similar to the sleep massage bar. Melts as i touch it. similar base ingredients too.

karma - same impressions. still stunning. just from handling the soap for a few pictures, i still smell it on my an hour later. amazing.

charity pot coins
smells of ylang ylang. hard to detect any other notes. also melts easily in this weather when handled.


In the store, when i picked up bars they seemed not to melt at all. it might be a bit warmer at home today. all the solid bars/lotions/conditioner melted pretty much the same way as i handled them. they all have similar base ingredients. and i intend to use them in a similar way - as solid body lotions. we are coming to winter and the thicker lotions are very useful. i find it economical and efficient to cut water out of the lotions, which is essential what they've done with the solids. also I've read they are more fragrant, for whatever reason, and last longer is used a certain way.



Conclusion

I would definitely go back, i feel i somewhat got my moneys worth, and i am very satisfied, though some things were not satisfying (solid perfumes experience). I would go back when the prices go back down $1. I hope they do. It could be just for the Christmas season.

My plan for next time: get a soft couer bar, or ro's argan bar. get solid perfume samples. maybe get another karma soap.