Lush life

Reflecting on a handmade success story.

At a pastel-hued high tea café in Melbourne’s CBD, I’m lunching with Rowena Bird, co-founder of LUSH handmade cosmetics.

“Don’t you have major envy”, she exclaims as the waitress places a swan-shaped meringue in front of her. Bird is full of surprise and delight, but still purposeful. “We all need a bit of magic, don’t we,” she says, reflecting not only on the meringue but also her globally successful brand. “There’s plenty out there to depress us; a touch of magic can lift our spirits.”

It’s been 22 years since LUSH opened its first store in southern England’s Poole, introducing the world to that unmistakable sweet scent which greets shoppers metres from a LUSH shopfront. “That kind of happened by accident,” explains Bird. “We simply couldn’t afford packaging, so we didn’t use it to wrap or contain our formulations. Thankfully, people loved the idea back then just as much as they do now.”

Bird describes a pivotal point in the company’s history as opening the LUSH Spa (coming to New Zealand as soon as they can lock down a location). “The spas helped our ‘fun’ brand be taken seriously,” she says, “because underneath the colour and creativity we truly take our ingredients, their effectiveness, and the environment seriously.”

Bath bombs will always be a core part of the company’s range (the Intergalactic bath bomb is the best-selling ever), but 2018 seems like it could be the year for jelly face masks.

“We make up the face masks every week fresh,” explains Bird. “They have a short shelf-life because of the active ingredient (carrageenan seaweed gel). And because of the all-natural ingredients, any excess product that is not sold is composted. ‘Charity Pot’ hand and body lotion remains a core product, with 100 per cent of the price donated to grassroots organisations.”

Now entering her sixties, Bird tells me the key to staying relevant is change. “We’re a bunch of oldies,” she says, referring to herself and three other co-founders of LUSH, “but we all love and embrace change – we even have our own bitcoin (digital currency).

“It’s about attitude,” she smiles. “I’m so impressed with us!”