I first discovered Lush early last year when I got given one of their gift sets for Christmas and since then I've visited Lush stores in the UK, Canada and the USA. For those unfamiliar with the brand, let me first tell you a few things about this wonderful company. I'm an absolute Lush addict and I absolutely insist that anything that touches my sensitive skin (except for my makeup) must be produced by Lush. This is easy enough to achieve as this company make EVERYTHING you'll ever need like soaps, shower gels, shaving cream, moisturisers, lip balms, bath bombs, bubble bath, massage bars, shampoos, conditioners...you name it - they make it. It's all hand made from 100% natural, ethically sourced ingredients and sold in recyclable containers. It's also all vegetarian and in many cases vegan friendly. The company philosophy is that the words 'fresh' and 'organic' should be words that have meaning beyond marketing and that a natural approach to skincare is far better for you than assaulting your skin with the kinds of chemicals that can be found in other, more commercial products. Trust me, it works like a charm - my skin has never looked or felt better!
Without a doubt, my favourite branch of Lush has to be Wimbledon. This store stock the same products as every other Lush you've ever been in but the reason it ranks higher than any of the others is purely because of how absolutely wonderful all the ladies are who work there. They are all so incredibly friendly and they really know their stuff! They dispense wonderful advice and can pick out products that they know you'll absolutely love. For example, on one occasion I went in and told one of the ladies that I was looking for the perfect exfoliator and she took her time and showed me all of the exfoliators they had, gave me a rundown of what ingredients were in them and what properties each of those ingredients had and eventually matched me with a GORGEOUS concoction (named 'Angels On Bare Skin') which I honestly can't live without now. The same wonderful lady also advised me on which shampoo/conditioner combo would be best for my hair type and again, I was so pleased with the results I'll never use anything else again for as long as I live. No matter how busy the shop gets (and it does get very busy sometimes) they always take the time to talk to you and advise you properly - you know they're not just trying to fob you off with the most expensive product or make you buy more than you need. On another occasion (just yesterday in fact) I went to Lush to stock up on a cream ('Dream Cream') and solid soap ('Fresh Farmacy') that has worked miracles for my fiance's eczema and I told the lady about this. She then told me that if he has problem skin, then he could really do with a soothing shaving cream and sent me away with a free sample of one that she thought would be perfect for him! That's the other wonderful thing about this particular Lush branch - the samples. I'm aware that a lot of branches of Lush hand out free samples of other products with purchases but in my experience, the assistant will just throw a few things in the bag and that will be the end of it. At Wimbledon, the same quality of service and advice even extends to things you're not paying for! Every time I've got my free samples, the lady will tell me in detail what each thing does and how to use it and what's in it. They're also very generously sized samples too as I find that with a lot of Lush products, a little goes a very long way! Also, (and this is a company-wide thing, not exclusive to Wimbledon) if you bring back 5 empty Lush pots, then you get a free face mask which are heavenly and I recommend that everyone try them.
The ONLY downside to this particular branch (and they only reason I haven't given it a full 5 stars) is due to it's size. It's a teeny tiny little store which can get very crowded at times which means that I have to plan my visits there very carefully because I get extremely anxious when it comes to confined spaces! The store is also split-level with 3 or 4 steps leading up to the section where all the REALLY fun stuff like the shower jellies and bubble bars are, which would be a real shame for any wheelchair-bound customers (providing they could even get into such a tiny store in the first place!) However, when it's practically empty such as it is on weekday mornings, it's an absolute pleasure to go there and have a wander around at your leisure, smelling everything!
So, in summary; this is an unfortunately small store but with a GREAT selection of products as all Lush branches do. However, no other Lush branch in the world has had staff quite as wonderful and dedicated as this one in my experience. read more