WITH two jobs, a house to run and a wedding to plan, it’s almost too easy for me to get stressed or wound up these days.
So the thought of a Treat Yourself Lush Party – with 90 minutes of winding down treatments and some relaxing massages – was too good to turn down.
And I was not disappointed after an afternoon with the dream team at the high street beauty’s biggest Scottish store.
I was invited to visit the massive branch on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street with my two girls – two of my bridesmaids Aimee and Sarahjane – for the luxurious pamper party.
After a tour of the bath bomb experts’ brand-new secret Spa, we were taken downstairs to the store’s party area.
One of the many incredible things about Lush is the fact that all of the chain’s products are made fresh by hand and only use natural, vegetarian ingredients.
So the first thing we did was actually create one of Lush’s most popular items by hand ourselves – the Let the Good Times Roll cleanser.
And I have to say – it’s definitely harder than it looks!
The team laid out all of the ingredients – maize flour, glycerine, talc, water, corn oil, polenta, cinnamon powder, gardenia extract, and popcorn.
After mixing everything and kneading it like dough, we actually had a body scrub that looked exactly like the product that the shop sells.
The staff were impressed, so we bottled it up and each of us got to take away two tubs.
With the product finished, we moved on to the pamper session of the party.
We each got to pick from a range of oil bars to have an incredibly relaxing hand and arm massage.
I love a good massage. To me, there’s no better way to relax, so it was amazing to have my troubles gently eased away with the intoxicating smell of the massage bars.
It worked wonders to release the everyday tension that builds up in your arms and wrists – but it was my thumbs that really benefited the most from it. You don’t realise how much tension builds up there!
I picked the Therapy bar, which softens the skin and soothes the mind with glorious floral and sweet scents of lavender and neroli.
Aimee opted for the Magik bar which has an earthy scent with mushrooms and floral tints with violet.
While Sarahjane chose the Turmeric Latte bar that has a cosy scent of velvety vanilla, creamy tonka and a hint of spice, making it feel like a reassuring hug.
After the glorious massage, we were treated to a facial with the Full of Grace facial serum bar.
I felt completely relaxed and this feeling only deepened as it melted away all my tensions.
The most amazing part was the way the staff explained what they were doing with each stroke, because it meant when we got home we could actually perform the same routine to our own faces.
And I won’t lie, my fiance really enjoyed it when I gave him the same treatment on his face when I got home!
Feeling completely relaxed and lighter than air, it was time for the final part of the party – trying out some products and having a skincare consultation.
This started with sampling the different sparkling dusting powers, which looked incredible on Aimee.
Blowing it in the air, you simply stand under it and let it fall over you so that your hair and skin sparkle under the light.
Aimee picked up a bottle before heading to TRNSMT, while I added it to the list of must-haves for my wedding day.
Next on the list of products to sample was the face masks – the team were amazing in showing us their incredible range of masks and what type of skin they were best suited for.
A WOMAN has revealed she was left stunned when she discovered a 'secret message' on her Lush hair conditioner.
Brooke splashed out on the Super Milk spray from the much-loved store after hearing about its lasting smell on social media.
But she then made another discovery, after learning that the stickers on Lush products – which say which employee made them – have messages underneath.
Admitting in a TikTok video that she must have been “living under a rock”, Brooke said she “never knew that”, so wanted to see if it was true.
Peeling back the sticker on the Super Milk spray, she saw it said “Got plant-based milk?”
Brooke then went to find another Lush product to see what was under the sticker on that one.
She found a shower gel from the Shrek range, and underneath the sticker it said “there’s an arrow in your butt”.
According to Lush themselves, the secret messages are for the person who places the stickers on the pot or bottle – so they know “exactly where to pop it”.
They sat down with us and asked us loads of questions about our skin types, how we feel IN our skin and how we WANT our skin to actually feel.
Based on our answers, they gave us their best recommendation on the face mask that would give us the feel that we desired most.
I was immediately drawn to the silky smooth Rosy Cheeks mask, but they explained that this was best for cleansing skin that was prone to redness, and I was actually looking for something to help dry skin.
They recommended their new Skin Soothing Porridge mask to both Sarahjane and myself, while they suggested that Aimee try their Catastrophe Cosmetic mask, which leaves the skin soft, matte and clear.
We were then treated to incredible goody bags that were filled with different samples for us to take home as well as the body scrub that we made earlier.
It was the perfect, indulgent end to what was the most fun, quirky, yet relaxing pamper days out I’ve ever had.
