Talk about skincare with substance. Focusing on freshness, handmade principles and keeping it simple, Editor Sophie Ritchie puts her usual go-to products aside and spends a day in Poole to learn more about the ins and outs of skincare, the Lush way. Lather up.
There are few things in life I simply cannot function well without. Frothy oat cappuccinos, a morning run, family (better throw that one in there) and my skincare regime. The latter is a multi-step ritual that began during lockdown, when life’s pleasures became increasingly limited and has become a non-negotiable part of my day ever since.
Skincare, to me, is much more than simply having a doughnut-like sheen and distinct lack of spots. It’s a little bit like makeup – it gives me armour against the world outside. I can face everyday battles if I know I’m moisturised to the max. I take more pride in my work if I feel like my best self – and skincare contributes massively to that.
But when it comes to the science behind the products, admittedly that’s something that can go over my head. I’m a sucker for nice packaging, popular ingredients and online reviews. Lush however, take their skincare just as seriously as their famous bath bombs – and go above and beyond to provide their customers with products that aids their body without harsh chemicals or dangerous misinformation. Building on this, they’ve recently launched a new range of ‘fresh’ skincare, featuring playfully-named but highly effective products that harness the power of fresh fruits and vegetables.
The new replenishing range comprises eight different face masks, six eye pads, five cleansers and a duo of facial scrubs – adding to the brand’s existing standout skincare classics such as cult cleanser Ultrabland. Highly unusual in the modern beauty world, the new collection is entirely preservative-free, designed to help nourish and protect the skin’s natural barrier – rather than pack it with chemicals and difficult-to-pronounce names.
It’s practically a skin smoothie – containing over 16 different varieties of responsibly sourced fruits and vegetables that each have their own natural skincare benefits, whipped up with actual blenders and food processors at their Poole-based factory and other locations around the world.
With an ethos surrounding freshness, handmade principles, real ingredients and keeping it simple, I put my usual go-to products aside and spent a day with them in Poole to learn more about the ins and outs of skincare, the Lush way. Lather up.
What is the Lush skincare way?
They keep it handmade
Being a handmade business is the core principle of Lush. Lush’s innovations started off in co-founder’s Mo Constantine’s home when she created bath bombs in her garden shed, pressing together citric acid, sodium bicarb and a blend of essential oils to create what has become a staple in gorgeous-smelling bathrooms around the world. Today, it still upholds those principles (although the space to create is just a tad larger than someone’s shed). In 2024 alone, globally, Lush produced over 102 million fresh, handmade cosmetics. An impressive 33 million of those products were made in the UK at their Poole-based factories.
Being a handmade business has many benefits, allowing Lush to ensure that they uphold exemplary product quality while working with fresh, active ingredients. It also means they can focus on creating innovative products and best of all, can be ultra reactive to both trends and world events thanks to their blend of high-tech machinery and malleable formulas.
Put your fresh face forward
Unlike the majority of companies out there, Lush has a global, self-imposed freshness policy. That means once a product has been handmade in manufacturing, it must be sent to a shop within three months to ensure customers are receiving their products at their highest quality. This is because it’s within this timeframe that the fresh ingredients are most effective, fragrance the freshest and colours the brightest. Being eco-minded is an enormous part of this brand too. Anything that passes this freshness policy will not be sent to the shops, and will instead be donated to charities via the Lush Green Hub.
Affordable price tags
There’s another distinct difference between the Lush skincare range and others out there, and that boils down to the affordability. The majority of these skincare products are under £20.00, a vast difference to the wallet-squeezing labels we’re often shelling out for whilst on a quest for skincare perfection.
Sustainable-minded methods
One small part of a much larger eco-minded mindset, Lush’s “Bring It Back” scheme is a recycling program where customers can return empty Lush plastic packaging to any Lush store. For each qualifying item returned, customers receive 50 pence towards their purchase, which can be used and ‘banked’ via the Lush app for a future shop. The returned packaging is then recycled into new Lush pots or used as feedstock for other industries, creating a full circle movement that breathes life back into otherwise wasted materials. Talk about skincare with substance.
What’s worth trying?
The range contains carefully-formulated innovations designed to treat specific concerns, with a product for pretty much everyone – especially those who have been dabbling in the realms of harsher chemicals and have not quite seen the results they once envisaged. Here’s some highlights:
From the new collection
1 Enzynamite… for a coveted glow
A juicy deep clean that will leave your skin glowing. This invigorating cleanser and mask is made with oodles (20%, to be exact) of fresh enzymic pineapple and papaya so you can benefit from naturally exfoliating properties, plus glycerine to soften and plump, and wheat germ for its beneficial vitamin E content.
£12.00, shop via lush.com
2 Banana split eye pads… for a post-night out repair
It’s time to split with tired eyes. Soothe under eyes with banana skin infusion and fresh aloe to look less puffy, more twinkly. £3.50,lush.com
3 Coconut Shie Fresh Facemask… For tired, dull skin
For soothed, soft and supple skin, indulge with a prize-worthy bounty of moisturising coconut milk, coconut yoghurt and coconut water – a winning trio when it comes to hydration. £10.00, shop via lush.com
PLUS: From the Lush OG’s
1 Ultrabland… for removing makeup
This hero product is best described as KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). A delicate oil-based cleanse, Ultrabland is thoroughly effective but incredibly gentle, making it the ideal cleanser for sensitive skin. £12.00, shop via lush.com
2 Gorgeous… for a go-to luxurious moisturiser
This glossy, fast-absorbing face cream is ideal for dull skin or combination skin that you want to feel firmer and radiate health. Morning or night, intertwine it with your other skincare steps and reap the glowing benefits.
£46.00, shop via lush.com
Show me the goods
The new fresh skincare range is available now in Lush shops, online and via the Lush app.
