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I shopping and style
HAND-MADE COSMETICS
Beaut with asell- y date
When they say 'bananas', 'figs' and 'flotsam' at LUSH, that's exactly what they mean. Words: Louisa Pearson
“We believe in making effective products out of
fresh fruit and vegetables. the fittest essential oils and safe synthetics. without animal ingredients. and in writing the quantitative ingredient list on the outside.‘ That‘s the mission statement of Lush. the shop that you can find just by using your nose. At a time when every major beauty company has some kind of ‘natural‘ range on offer. it’s surprising to find one whose ingredients really do come from where you'd expect. rather than a Chemist‘s lab.
Stepping into a Lush shop is a bit like
entering another world. the huge blocks of
colourful soap being the first thing most people notice. With names like liigs & Leaves and Banana Moon. they really do contain what they say (even if. in the case of Flotsam seaside soap. you might think it‘s going a bit far to include sand). And yup. you can find out what‘s inside the products just by looking at the label (it’ll be in English rather than Latin).
The creative team behind Lush first started making hand—made cosmetics back in l978. and after some tough times finally struck gold with the first Lush store opening in l994. A measure of the success is that there‘s now over ()0 shops around the world. and they still hand- make all their own products.
Where else could you find Wiccy Magic Muscles massage bar with peppermint oil and cinnamon. fining bath ballistics. solid shampoo bars and skincare products like Seaweed Sushi with ground rice and seaweed to exfoliate? The one thing that really differentiates Lush from anywhere else is the Ultra-Fresh range. Mixed tip from raw ingredients each day and housed in lemons. cucumber pieces and the like. these face-masks
FOOTWEAR
Wiccy Magic Muscles, fizzing bath ballistics and Seaweed Sushi
and cleansers seem to embody the company's philosophy. In their words. ‘our aim is to have
the youngest. freshest products in the history of
cosmetics‘.
So they‘re natural. they’re ethical and they smell great — but do they work'.’ At The List we‘re always grateful for any help in the beauty stakes. so there was no shortage of willing volunteers ready to find out:
Volcano Foot Mask After scooping the menthol. oil of clove smelling mixture out of a real tomato and applying to my feet. the warm tingling sensation soon began to penetrate.
Feeling revived and refreshed (to the point of
being cold). it's definitely one fora hot summer's day rather than the middle of winter.
Strawberry Boat Fresh ginger. strawberry juice and oats combined to make my skin feel like I was ready for my close-up. Mr De Mille. The perfect body-scrub to use before baring flesh.
Coolie-O (one for the boys) This cucumber and mint based concoction is a refreshing wake up call for any tired
Shoes to save up for Tracey Neuls is a young Canadian designer who doesn’t make shoes for just anyone. Originally a prize-Winning clothes designer for Nike in the US, she moved to London to attend Cordwainer's College for Shoes where she developed her own unmistakable style.
If the fairytale of the elves and the shoemaker was true, these would be the elfin shoes in question. The unique moulded shape of the toes is characteristic of her organic, natural approach to design combined With a
112 THE “31’ 1—15 Feb 2001
structural lement she likens to many men engineering. ’You bUlld the heel and who would then it’s about the way your foot and pay your body sit,’ she says. ’It’s almost like nearly your body is a budding on a platform.’ £300
At the moment, her excluswe TN_29 for a
range only features shoes for women, although she w0u|dn’t mind branching out into the male market. ’At some pOint I would like to make men’s shoes because I think that my style is somewhat androgynous, sort of comfortable,’ she says. Mind you, I don’t
know
too
pair
napper. Not too severe. it exfoliates without stripping the skin of moisture and is chock full of healthy gubbins. giving it a back-to—nature feel.
Cosmetic Warrior Knowing it contained garlic and egg whites. l was a bit scared of putting this on my face. But ten minutes later the tea tree had zapped spots. the honey had soothed and I looked like lid had a good night's sleep.
WOW Wow Face Mask Intended for mature skin. this face mask had the appearance of something I wouldn't mind serving tip at the dinner table. My skin felt pretty good afterwards: clean and clear. if a little dry (I still felt the need to moisturise). Also very good for putting the wind up alien-phobic flatmates.
So go out there and try them. Just don‘t eat them.
111 Buchanan Street, Glasgow, 243 2522; Princes Square, Glasgow, 248 9811; 44 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 557 3177.
of shoes, foot-shaped or not In fact, l don’t know many women who would Gllhef, 'l’m producmg in Italy at the moment and the quality is quite high which I want to maintain To bring the prices down the quality would also have to drop ’
Neuls has no plans for a high street range Similar to TN__29 at the moment, which is a shame, Cracking shoes, pity about the price. (Eleanor McGlynni
Tracey Neuls’ shoes are currently only available in Scotland through Croise in Glasgow and selected branches of Whistles, Further details on her website - www tn29.com