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| **Disclaimer: All credit for the images goes to Annelies Vanhove** |
Yesterday was quite an exciting day for Lush fans all over Belgium. Visitors had the chance to make their own bath bombs and a fresh face mask in all four stores in the country. I didn’t want to miss this and strolled off to Ghent to join some enthusiastic people round the table!
First thing
we got to work with was the Space Girl bath
bomb – with popping candy! The oils used in this violet eye-catcher are of almond,
bergamot and grapefruit. Almond oil nourishes and protects the skin, while
bergamot and grapefruit oil are great when you’re in need of a nice, relaxing
bath. On top of that, grapefruit contains a high vitamin C level, which helps
boost your immune system. Two more ingredients to mix together: sodium bicarbonate
– aka baking soda – and citric acid, both a powdery texture. My friend Sofie,
who works at Lush, had already done this step when we came in so I’m not sure
if she also added the other ingredients or colour and fragrance or if those
were in the powders. And that is actually all there was to the recipe! We added
glitter and used small moulds to create the usual shape Space Girl bombs have.
The Think Pink ballistic has a bright pink
colour and the delicious smell of vanilla, which definitely appeals to soap enthusiasts
like myself. Finishing touch: confetti and candy flowers. This bath bomb is
mostly meant to be calming and skin healing. Sodium bicarbonate and citric acid
mix was again the base, with added oils and other ingredients. Oils for this product
were lavender oil and neroli oil, together with tonka and vanilla absolute. I had never
heard of the tonka bean, so I decided to do a bit of research.
The tonka bean, originally from South America,
is most famous for its unusual scent. Some would even say infamous, as there’s a law that forbids the import of tonka beans into the US. I’m not going to write why, because that’s not the purpose of this
blog; don’t hesitate to look it up if you want to know! Anyway, one of its
strong aromas is vanilla, which is probably why tonka is such a great extra in
the Think Pink bath bomb.
I’m aware
that all of the above contains a lot of technical information. I am planning on writing a short Pt. 2, as in sort of a
‘to be continued’ to this post once I’ve used the products to briefly tell you
about my experiences.
Last but not
least, we watched how fresh Catastrophe Cosmetic face masks are made. I have
been eager to try these so obviously I got excited when I found out each of us
would get a free portion to take home (thanks again for that!). The Lush website
describes this face mask as cleansing and soothing. Plus it smells so good. It contains fresh blueberries,
which are full of vitamins and are a great anti-oxidant. My skin has been
sensitive lately, so I’m curious to see the results in a couple of weeks.
Overall,
yesterday was fun! I spent the day with some great people, learning about
something I’m getting more and more passionate about. The only downside was the
bad weather. Belgian weather dropped 15°C in just one day. Depressing, I know.
However, when I got home, a nice official envelope was staring at me from a
distance. It had some great news: I got accepted for the summer job I’ve wanted
so badly! Made my day!
-- Below are
some pictures to give you an idea of what yesterday was like. If you’d like to
see the complete album, check out the Lush Gent Facebook page.
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| "Make your own bath bombs" |
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| Mixing the ingredients for Catastrophe Cosmetic |
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