Two things can be true, the fact is that they did champion sustainability and recycling before everyone else, so it isn’t just a gimmick. They also stopped advertising on social media because of its toxicity which I admire. But it can also be true that the founders have some real dodgy views and pushing products that don’t really work. I still love their bath bombs and shower gels tho!
yeah, they surely only stopped social media as advertising because of its toxicity. not because it was heavily used in the USA at the same time for showing off how bad the working conditions were and for promoting strikes and people going on strike and that shops would be closed on days cause people would protest against their very bad working conditions..... it probably was only a coincidence that both happened at the same time.
@@JamesWelshThey really do! I have really sensitive skin & sensitive everything, plus sensory issues, to the point that I can't use like a regular big-name liquid hand soap - instead I use clear dye-free dish detergent (no frills) - and olive oil bar soap for body. But the Lush bath bombs, bar soap, and shampoo bars were really nice, no sensitivity, skin felt soft & nice. Oh, I'm sorry for the long reply. Just one last thing! I'm so jealous of your hair! (I mean that in the nicest possible way, not like "Grr! *I* should have the good hair, and _his_ should be dry, dull, and uncooperative!" 😅 I forget which one's jealousy vs envy. The "happy for you" one!) Anyway, love your channel! Xͯ
My husband can confirm Lush Canada did go to hell in 2010 because he was in contact with his friends from the company and it became all about the numbers 😢
@@IsaStracciatellaDon’t live in America so that means nothing for me. Because they stopped it in my country too. Also that doesn’t make sense, ppl can still show that even without social media, I suppose you just can’t tag them.
It seems like the customer experience with LUSH really varied from location to location. In my area, the LUSH stores were known to be more chill than places like Bath & Body Works. They'd let younger teens hang around smelling stuff, and didn't try to get you to try stuff if you weren't comfortable.
Yeah same I went into lush a lot in the late 00’s early 10’s and I never remember them doing things like that. It’s really interesting how different stores operate
I think this is very true. I love my local Lush store!! The employees usually will say Hi when you walk in, but if you say you're fine and don't need any help they pretty much leave you alone to smell things in peace. Sometimes they will say something like, "I love that one!" or "If you like that one, you'll love this!", but otherwise they leave me alone. I honestly get accosted so much more at freaking Sephora than I do at Lush!! Those employees will not leave you alone!! Frankly, the real solution to this is to push back as a society and tell the corporate overlords that we prefer to mostly be left alone when shopping. If I need help, I will ask!
Same plus my lush has let me have so many freebie’s until I worked out what shampoos and conditioners worked for me, I didn’t buy a tub of anything until I was certain I was happy with it.
I don't understand why companies still think they can mistreat workers behind closed doors. Like Lush may not have social media, but their employees do. And Connecting with other people is easier now. Getting that info out AND viral is easier. And maybe in the 90'-early 2000's it was harder to know your rights as a worker, but in the 2020's? That info is all over the Internet. Good on the Lush employees for forming a union.
Unfortunately, i worked there back in the mid 2010s. Back then, I absolutely loved the products and it did help my skin a lot. Cystic acne is something I struggled with extensively growing up. After getting hired, I cannot enphasize how toxic the work environment was. Everything was based on trauma bonding while smelling pretty. The times I was pulled aside for not putting my hands on people to slam product in their face was un countable. As an introvert who loves personal space, most of that position as a sales associate was highly uncomfortable.
So sorry you went through that. A few of my friends worked there around that time and they called it the Glittery Gulag, so can only imagine what you went through. Glad you're free!
I'm thankful for you sharing your story, but also very sorry to hear about our shared experiences. I worked at lush as well in the mid 2010s and it was my very first ""real"" job, I was also still in high school. Cannot count the many ways I was made to feel like I did things wrong, the un-constructive criticism with the same issues of me not putting my hands on enough customers- not getting enough people to sit down in chairs to give them awkward hand massages in a fully packed store during the holiday season. Even when I made a successful sale, there was little to no positive reinforcement and it was always critical. I ended up leaving employment with them for a short period of time, then eventually came back, and despite me already having done the training, they did not let me take off my 18th birthday (which was only a training day, I would not have been in the shop at all), so I always joke to folks that I spent that day underneath the mall, sitting on the dusty concrete floor of the store's storage room, talking about soap for hours. I know many other people also probably don't get to celebrate their 18th birthday, perhaps with worst conditions, but it just always made me sad that they couldn't give me one single break to celebrate what felt like an important day to me at the time-and it was the same management and trainers who had known me before. It was just always about squeezing the most out of us, and getting us to do intense (bordering on harassing) customer service. It was all bubbles and smiles when customers were there, but as soon as there weren't a darkness took over our shop. Because it was my first job, it also set me up to feel incredibly anxious and self-doubtful in every following employment I found myself in.
@@znrh that’s exactly the issues they had with me! I wasn’t forcing people to sit down so I could touch them. I was made to feel like I didn’t fit in there at all. It was horrible. The other girls made fun of me, gave me the worst chores to do every time and it was just so awful. Their culture is awful. I used to love their products before working there but since then I’ve stopped using them fully, I refuse to endorse that company or support them with my dollar.
The fact that people accused Lush of being anti-police in the face of what the officers did shows how LOW of an opinion society has of women. Women are worth nothing.
This! People should really educate themselves about what really happend. It was horrible and disgusting. For the people who like to know more, I can recommend the episode Redhanded did on this.
I agree, but I do think Lush could have made the point of the window displays more obvious. If people didn't stop to read the smaller messages, the windows did give off an overall anti-police vibe. When I passed my local branch I had to do a double take because the main image and crime tape theme did look as if it was an ACAB display.
I’m not gonna lie when the workers did the hand thing they healed something inside of me for that moment lmao I felt SO special & was a welfare kid so never had any kind of massages or treatments lol
Yes! I remember being younger and having saved up for a bath bomb. I was used to being ignored by staff because I was too young to spend a lot of money. But having a sales associate take time to talk to me and do the whole demo made me feel so special and seen.
A friend of mine was an assistant manager at a US Lush location. It was managed very poorly and when the store manager left, she stepped up and took over a lot of those responsibilities, with higher-ups saying they would be promoting her, the manager leaving was unplanned so they had to sort things. They hired someone else for the position without telling her, so she quit. I was so disgusted that, even though I really loved some Lush bath products, I couldn’t shop there anymore. It would piss me off too much 🥴
That's awful! I hate companies that do this. My friends husband worked at a store (not Lush) and when the manager left he took on all the responsibilities, excelled, did great things for the store. He was encouraged to apply for the position of store manager. He didn't get it. Their reason was he "didn't have the experience and wasn't qualified enough" but then, asked him to train the new manager. uhm?!?!?!
I refuse to go into any stores where the staff won’t allow me to shop in peace. I’m not interested in being touched by or preached to by complete strangers. I also don’t consider it ethical branding to physically touch people against their will. This brand is an ick for me.
Agreed. I'm autistic and I like my personal space to shop in peace. I went to a Lush a couple years back and was looking at something, and the employee touched me in order to demonstrate how the product worked. Made me super uncomfortable
The virtue signaling of lush is over the top … I had the misfortune of visiting one in Amsterdam and the assistants were overbearing,so I left !! The following day I was in a coffee shop over the street from lush and it was amazing how many people crossed the street to avoid going in and being harassed by the SAs ! Such a shame because some of the products are lovely !!
I currently live in Japan and the nearest Lush is quite relaxed. The staff greet customers as they come in, like any other shop here, but let you browse in peace. They'll check if you're looking for anything in particular but they're not pushy. The main reason I don't shop there frequently is that the perfumey smells are overwhelming and I can only bear about 5 minutes in store.
@@Sheenoshine It's wild because I've lived in the Netherlands my whole life and generally here 'shopping culture' is very keen on personal space and just letting people do their thing. In most shops at most someone will come up to you to tell you you can come to them if you need anything. There are a few exceptions of course like in jewellery shops where they keep a close eye on people to prevent shoplifting, or small businesses where the owner is just over-excited to show you everything. But for some reason Lush even here is going completely overboard with it.
I Love listen to James, his voice sounds so calm and he always explains everything so well. An amazing storyteller, deserves lots of recognition. I always learn so much with him❤
I live in Brighton 🌈 UK, & I found this guy’s ‘cheesy gossip’ schtick a complete turnoff - familiarity breeds contempt… I am very ‘scent-oriented’, so I find that just walking into a Lush store is an uplifting experience - even when I’m broke! Unfortunately, I won’t be getting to know Lush’s ‘dark side’: as already stated, the presentation set my teeth on edge…not subbed 🙄
The lush store near me is actually not bad at all for customers. They dont pounce on you at all. The most they do is come up and ask if you need any help and ig you say no they walk off
I'm surprised by some of these comments, I love lush ! The staff are always really informed and honest about the products , I'm never pushed to buy anything and I always leave with so many samples . And I've absolutely never been touched without my permission.
I lived in Korea on and off from 2007-2013, and you’re right, Lush is massive over there (or at least it was when I lived there). I never bought anything from there as it was so expensive (much more expensive than in the UK), and there were so many great, affordable Korean cosmetics brands that I didn’t see the point in shopping at Lush.
Well, nowadays isn’t too popular, you can only see stores in Seoul. Hongdae, itaewon and not many Korean customers usually the customers are foreigners
I'd love to see you talk about L'Occitane! They remind me of Lush in a lot of ways but with that boujie vibe. The brand has def gone downhill recent years since they went public, discontinuing and reformulation some of their most beloved products. I am so sad they ruined some of my mom's fave items. I haven't worked there in almost 5 years but I still use a few of their products
ONG i agrée with this so much. They were my favourite brand but they kept discontinuing their perfumes and products that I just gave up and never buy anything from them anymore.
My first job was lush in 2019 - I can honestly say it was the most toxic, fake environment a 16 year old shouldn’t have to work in. Very much overly fake to your face but saying disgusting things about you behind your back. They fired me pretty much illegally too, but in the long run it was honestly a good thing tbh
I can say one thing for sure - I've worked in cosmetics retail in the UK for several brands, and regardless of the brand's public-facing "ethos", it does NOT trickle down to retail staff. I didn't have a single retail job where I wasn't bullied and that included a job in head office, which was infinitely worse.
Yup. Same here. Worked for at least 5 different firms. No sick pay. Bullying. Ridiculous targets. No social benefits. Minimum wage mostly. Therefore you’re expected to lick customers arse and be happy about it.
Most laughable is deff illamasqua with their crap about anti bullying and oh oh the animals. Yeah how about you let people who work for you drink water when temperatures are over 30 degrees in store? The amount of bullying from head office (2016) was insane.
@@ButterKeks700 Omg so about the water thing... I worked for Bare Minerals in Debenhams on Oxford St during a heatwave in London and we were NOT allowed water on the shop floor, despite the air conditioning not working in the cosmetics hall and the staff room being all the way at the top of the building. A lot of us went home sick with literal heat stroke. Disgraceful.
@@lucyjane3803 I was in Debs in Brum Bullring, also did Selfridges all over: Brum and Oxford St. Debenhams traumatised me (2016-2017), Selfridges (2014, 2017-2019) was not much better but at least water was allowed. Now I live in a different country, I don't miss it at all. I get what you say about water, we had one woman being taken away with an ambulance, I wrote a complaint to the city council in Brum, they shat on it. I one time was walking through your store on my break with a coffee in my hand, your security guard scolded me thinking I was one of youse. Haha, jesus how I don't miss it.
James! I have to say- I have been following your channel for over 2 or 3 years now. I admire how your content has grown with me. The skincare recommendations were there when I just learning about routines, ingredients and the basics. And now you’re here with these company deep dives and beauty world reporting when I want to be a conscious shopper! Thanks for the amazing content, keep it up!!
In my early 20s I made it all the way through Lush's insane interview process to the final step of a trial hour in the shop. In the first 5 minutes they told me to demonstrate bath bombs to as many customers as I could by filling a basin with hot water, chucking in a bath bomb and making a note of how many I used. Dump out the hot water and repeat. I asked them how many was too many and they said the sales were the most important thing so just demo tons of the things and it would be accounted for later. I asked them how exactly they reconciled the energy wastage of refilling the hot water over and over through the day with their claims of being green and ethical, and they had no answer for me. I asked whether it was really best practice to be wasting product when they were constantly hiking prices, to which they also had no answer. 10 minutes into my hour's trial, I told them I wasn't wasting any more time trying to work for them, as they'd effectively killed all of my respect for the company in that time. I walked out and never looked back.
@KittyCat260 girl I'm sorry if you're hormonal or having a bad day but there's no need to insult me when you brought up where you worked and assumed I'm looking for detailed information. I was curious because you left a job because you deemed them wasteful, so I'm wondering where isn't wasteful in your opinion. Deep breath , you'll be ok 💗
I so look forward to “behind the beauty” & today’s did not disappoint. I hope you continue this series because it’s so interesting & the format you use makes it so easy to follow. Love it! 🥰
I am autistic and terrified of Lush stores. I have only been twice and feel like I was assaulted by the employees who touched me without my consent and brought me near the henna dye - despite me saying that I am deathly allergic to henna. It was difficult for me to verbally express my distress as a teenager, but I know it must have been obvious because my friend ran after me to check that I was okay. I blogged about the incident with the henna and several Lush fans and one employee harrassed me. They blamed me for not knowing it was 'normal' to be touched up at Lush. I just thought the first lady was weird - I did not expect it to happen again!
I also worked at Lush a few years ago for about a year. I have very mixed feelings about the company. I too, was uncomfortable with touching people and being so pushy with the sales. They have a very specific way they want their employees to sell and I felt like it was ultimately dishonest. I also felt terrible when people would come into the store wanting something for their acne or eczema or even anti aging. nothing in that store will help those things, but of course I had to try and still sell. Ultimately I went on leave due to stress and ended up quitting shortly thereafter. My team was incredible and I do think the company is innovative in a handful of ways. But…
@@alisonmercer5946 yep. like if people don’t want to try the product they don’t have to. we basically had to initiate demos… we still had to ask if we could touch them but we’d start the demo anyway and would have to demo on ourselves if they didn’t want to feel the product.
My mom discovered that Lush exists during a UK trip in 2001 & my sister did the same in Germany around the same time. I was still using grocery story skin care (Including St Ives Apricot scrub) & learning about Lush opened up a new world of skincare for me. I don't buy from them much now, but it's definitely a part of my skin care journey.
I work here currently and the problems I largely have is because of regional managers and management in general. I am often only critiqued for performance and not talking enough or not putting things on peoples skin (and btw it’s gonna get worse we have to put things on peoples faces and offer scalp massages🤢. So please if you go in know we don’t want to do this and it’s a push from regional management to offer this or basically quit). Also I’ve had great managers be fired for no reason and replaced with management that are friends with those people and therefore don’t g.a.f. about us:( I really enjoy a lot of the stuff there and the people I meet but sometimes it’s so draining and hard to do. My favorite employees are fellow people who aren’t super culty and kinda easy going but there are absolutely so many people who act like it’s a cult.
@@maryeckel9682 yeah…I know. I never do that but we literally have to ask everyone and demo everything. I really hate touching people unless they want so I really just show instead of apply. I’m not disagreeing with you but the fact that’s the only thing you took from my comment about actual concerns about people is kinda sad.
@@thesoul2sqeeze i worded it bad but basically we have to do scalp massages and like apply hair products in store or some junk. Apparently it was done years ago but I never heard about it, I’ve just been told by older employees. I’ll edit my comment for clarity though.
get out of there before it gets any worse!! i worked in lush for about 2 years and told myself it might get better and it never did! the best thing i did was leaving it behind, did wonders for my self confidence and mental health x
Nightmare for allergies is true. My friend worked there and she had me try a lemon skin lotion. I broke out in a rash and we couldn’t figure out why. Months later, she had been looking at stuff and found the extended ingredients list. Buried deep (not listed on the things normally given to customers) was lavender, which I’m allergic to
Worked at Lush for two Christmas periods and it was the most toxic working environment ever. Staff are constantly competing with each other for promotions to supervisors or managers. One supervisor said the N-word and still works there. Whilst Lush does promote saving the environment, often times their stores are located in shopping centers which do not recycle materials so any good you think are doing is reversed cause of the trash system. Pots can be recycled hooray! But the fresh face masks are shipped overnight often times using couriers, and sometimes even being flown, wasting gas and energy. They want staff members to give customers a 5 star experience and that's through touching and getting in their face, but don't even consider the customers who are autistic or have major sensory issues. They have great products but in the end, you're paying luxury prices for soap, citric acid and skincare that doesn't actually work cause it's homeopathic bullshit.
Sigh, I was v young but I absolutely *loved* Cosmetics to Go. Their Ginger perfume was incredible... they also did this amazing calamine soap bar which I know sounds weird but I loved it. I also adored their Hot Toddy shower gel for Christmas which Lush sometimes bring back but its not quite the same
I forgot about the ginger perfume that was soooo nice! I liked the sand bar, the soap with sand grains in that was great for my keratosis pilaris and smelled amazing. I loved CTG
They still occasionally march Ginger out of the vaults for a limited production run. I guard my bottles very carefully. In their wooden box, in a cool dark place where the temperature remains stable. Lasting well!
I honestly feel like the real fix to all of this is for us as a society to push back against the corporate overlords and tell them that no one likes being hounded continuously while shopping in person. Because it isn't just a Lush thing, in fact I feel like I get way more overwhelmed with employees at Sephora than I do at Lush! You can't even walk down a single aisle without them accosting you. And we know they as employees hate doing it, so that makes it doubly annoying. Use our voices to tell management that if we need help, we'll ask! If we want to try a product, we'll ask! There's no harm in offering to do whatever, but let your employees take No for an answer!! Personally, I love my local Lush store, and I've never really had a problem with employees being overly pushy there. I love their products, and apparently I'm one of the few people who even really loves the smell of their store!! I also love that they obviously don't edit the reviews on their website. They will sometimes respond to one star reviews, but they leave them up even if they are the only review on a product, so I appreciate that. (*coughcoughSUNDAYRILEYcoughcough*)
Part of the reason for the being accosted is that it's a way to prevent theft. They can indirectly let potential thieves that the store has an eye on them without verbally saying so.
I grew up down the road from their tiny little high street shop in Poole and I always made my parents walk on the other side of the road because it stunk and gave me a headache even just walking past. I’ve bought a few things as gifts but can’t stand most of the products and refuse to go near their stores. I do appreciate the zero waste and buy your own size option though- that’s fairly revolutionary even now.
There was a time, when I used some lush products on a regular basis. The soaps, bath bombs, henna and hair mask were great! Also, I really love the scents (karma is my favorite). But honestly, I can't pay 8-12 Eur for one bath! It's too expensive and many formulars have changed because of changing laws by the EU.
@@arbitrary_raspberry In the store they told me, that some scents are different and less intense now, because of EU regulations. Also they had to change their Henna formula and some hair products.
@@calihhan4706 oh i did notice that the intensity of the bodysprays are way less since ..like 5 years now? I just thought it was lush changing its formulas to get more profit like other brands do 🙈 never thought about regulations or something. Guess i got to go to the UK for a holiday and buy my bodysprays over there.
I admire Lush's ethos a lot. When i was a teenager in the 2000s, there were so few brands that championed cruelty free and even palm oil free in some of their products. But now, obviously there a huge number of products now that have never tested on animals and are actually effective for their price point. Unfortunately, as the sales girl there sold me in 2009, that green seaweed mask did NOTHING for my acne scars
As a climate campaigner, Lush in Australia gave us grants (and access to their social media) no strings attached for a large civil disobedience we were organising that even a lot of big environmental NGOs didn’t want to touch for fear of govt blowback. On supporting activism, Lush and B&J are the real ones.
This is a brilliantly researched and nuanced video that highlights Lush’s fascinating history. I worked for lush for almost 5 years in the mid 2000’s and I have always described it as like working for a cult, the moment that word came out of your mouth I was like YES! It was all consuming, I had so much fun but it was intense to say the least and by the end I was exhausted.
With the effort of a lot of folks: Lush actually helped to stop animal texting completely in Canada. Which is a plus, but the amount of dissatisfaction internally is concerning. Some days you’re human, others you’re less than nothing. It used to be “happy people, making happy soap” No, we’re overworked and miserable lol. This is from the manufacturing/production stand point. When it comes to retail…hats off to those employees. They’re the ones SELLING the product and think they should be treated better!
I’ve never been touched in a Lush and I’m thankful for that as a majorly introverted person. Sorry to everyone who’s been touched against their will there!
Oh, the irony: a major civil rights case was filed in the U.S. this week against Lush based on allegations of racism and transphobia. EEOC v. Lush Handmade Cosmetics, LLC, Case 5:24-cv-06859)
I used to spend hundreds of pounds on LUSH every couple of months. Their prices over the years just kept going up and up to the point where £100 would be like 3 mid-size products in a tiny box. I only use their fragance now (because Twilight body spray is life) and so I only shop there twice a year at most. Not saying it's unjustified but the value dropped too much. Cruelty free is easy to find these days.
Thank you for doing these videos. I think it's very important that we are critical of marketing claims, and that we keep a skeptical mind about us when hearing these claims.
I worked for them about 20 years ago. Definitely felt cult-y & also very much a “who you know not what you know” situation. Behaviour of certain senior staff was terrible - spoke to people like garbage, patronising, rude, bullying - but you knew they’d never be held accountable because they were besties with the owners. Went on to work in banking & was treated way better - tells you everything! Also being told to test things on people without permission - once witnessed a colleague put seaweed mask on someone as they told her they were allergic to iodine! She didn’t know what iodine was & the person started having an allergic reaction in the shop. Staff whose “face fit” and were blindly obedient were promoted over people who were better at the job. It’s the worst & most immoral place I’ve ever worked.
Im nervous for this one, im disabled from chronic conditions, and a couple of them are really helped by taking a hot bath. As weird as that sounds, it's been shown to help one of my conditions, and nobody knows why. Then a different condition that causes chronic pain, has been somewhat helped by a hot bath. A hot bath makes me able to relax anyway, which is a big help when I'm in excruciating pain. So I love me some lush bath bombs, I just haven't found any other bath bombs that are better🤷♀️
Hey, you do what you have to do. I am able to not buy from Lush but if I also had chronic pain, I might not be in the same position. Please don’t feel bad.
I remember when the lush store opened in my local shops around 2013, the staff were definitely acted keen to interact with you, throwing around jelly soaps, etc. As a socially anxious teenager, I wouldn’t go in without my mum to act as a buffer. 😂 They seem a lot more chill in the last few years though
Lol i hate that. pushy sales people never ever work on me. ill not buy something i wanted it if workers hover around and try to get me to buy. And i won't go back
Love these! I love having it playing like a podcast. There's a lush here in Sapporo, but it's very very expensive. Since Japanese personal care is so effective and reasonably priced, I never feel the need to buy lush.
I was born in and grew up around Poole (where Lush first started). I know of many people who complain about working for them, hearing many horror stories in just this one area. I am confident that, at the very least in the Poole area, they do not treat their staff well. In recent times I have noticed they have chilled out on the forced customer pestering (not the employees fault, a lot of the time they are lovely people on their first job). That being said I have a few go to products of theirs that I love....
I love the products, i LOATHE going to the stores. Last time, i had a horde of employees corner me and ask me what i was in for... I just wanted shampoo. A guy then hung over my shoulder for the entire time i was looking at things. I got out of there as soon as i could. I was so uncomfortable.
I worked at a LUSH in 2009-2011 in Overland Park, KS when it was just opening in the mall. We had to go through a week long training with lots of story time while waiting for the store to be set up. I remember we got to take home broken bath bombs and even unopened customer returns.And we got 50% off everything. My kids loved their bath bombs. I went to our closest LUSH last year and it's just not the same anymore. The bombs are much smaller and prices are much higher.
I worked at Lush in the mid 2000s, and I was one of the older people who worked there - most were teens and early 20s, and there I was in my 30s.....before that I was one of the forumites who were obsessed with it - I still have some of my B perfumes from back in the day (Assassin and B I love you). When I worked there they did the Naked promo where they expected all their (very young, mostly female) staff to work naked, save for an apron. Nope, absolutely not. I do still buy some stuff from Lush (My subscription box arrived today), but my biggest gripe is that they keep reformulating really good products, and not for the better. Sorry, but H'Suan Wen Hua is useless without the eggs, Ultrabland was more effective with peanut oil and I'm just sad when I have to find replacements for stuff. As for working there - it was minimum wage and high pressure, which was difficult for younger members of staff, it was a cult, and the managers earned bog all too (I only worked Saturdays, my day job paid me more than a manager). It was a bit cultish but I did go to the factory which was interesting. And yes, the soap moulds were cat litter trays :D I did hate having to pounce on customers though - I have noticed that in most stores now, the assistants will leave you alone if you ask them to
The first time I'd been to a lush store was in 2003 visiting NYC, I was so off put by how attentive the staff was and how strongly it smelled I had to leave
Lush was my introduction to skincare and at one point everything I used was from lush. Then I had a few interviews at different stores which ultimately put me off the brand. Haven’t bought anything down there in years.
Its sad to see so many negative experiences with employees. I've never had a bad experience in our Lush store. They've never touched me, they help when I've asked but also happy to leave me to shop when I don't need it. I do love them for my skin and will rarely shop anywhere else for bath products.
I also worked at Lush years ago in canada and it was terrible; low pay, pushing sales tactics and targets. Getting in trouble if we didnt meet sales targets. I hated it. I appreciate enough what the brand stands for but I dont respect treating employees terribly.
yes, the allergy issues...i went to lush for the first time and the worker asked me if i wanted to try a product and practically grabbed my hands before i could say yes. she started listing ingredients and i bristled when she said almond oil 😵💫i told her i was allergic and she was mortified. thankfully i washed my hands and nothing further happened. but we did get to shop unbothered after that lol
It's amazing how commercial companies that are also ' activists' so often become cult-like and lash out when criticised. And are often caught mistreating workers.
I always found Lush stores overwhelming, I have ADHD anyway so it was a struggle being bombarded with smells, colours, lights, and people constantly trying to talk to me or touch me! However as a teenager I used to buy from Cosmetics To Go and really loved their products. They were the only company making bath bombs and shampoo bars back then, and I still miss their serpentine shampoo and violet nights bath oil. So when Lush appeared with the same stuff, from the same address, and the same familiar names, I was delighted. But honestly, I can’t remember the last time I bought from them. I think everything I heard about them did put me off. That’s not to say I didn’t like their products though, cos I definitely did
I was in London and Edinburgh in 2001, and loved the Lush stores. When they came to the states, it was a shock how much they changed. I still like some of the products but really miss the original feel. Edited to add, it would be difficult to scale as it was.
1 minute ago wooo! I haven't watched this video yet but excited to! I don't buy from lush anymore... much prefer supporting small local businesses that sell the exact same thing for a third of the price! :)
I worked there very briefly in 2021 for the fact that if we did not pounce on somebody within 10 seconds of them being in the store, we got in trouble. If we did not follow them around and try to upsell constantly and check back every one minute and 30 seconds we got in trouble.
Haven't walked into one since before covid. I try to avoid those pushy sales tactics at all costs. But I would like to get a bar or two, you know? What I find really interesting is how I applied for a job with them in their Sydney factory many many years back now. Went into a group interview with a disability group, either people were there for mental health or injury. I was there for the latter. Asked about PPE and safety, and didn't hear back. Not one person in our group (about 15 of us got bussed in).
I always hated shopping at Lush - I’m autistic, so the scents and way staff behave to customers made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. The last time I tried to go into a store, the overwhelming scents set of my asthma, so I literally had to book it out of there as soon as I’d made my purchase for a friend’s birthday (and I wasn’t keen but that’s what she wanted…), wheezing all the way. I just wouldn’t go back in there and not with what I now know
Omg, are we the same person? That is also why I hate shopping at Lush; I haven't gone in since 2019. The smells not only irritated my asthma, but I can't stand being touched (now knowing that it's because I, too, am autistic), and the aggressive touching to sell products always rubbed me the wrong way.
I am not autistic and love Lush products but I also hate going in there. I go in fast, tell the staff I know what I want and get in and out as soon as possible
i’m autistic n the store doesn’t usually bother me but i interviewed there once n the mix of anxiety and sensory overload i literally almost passed tf out which never happens
The union busting was the final nail in the coffin for me with LUSH. While the products work really well for me, I can't support their hypocritical labour practices.
The one thing I have bought for almost a decade now is their Sympathy for the Skin cream. It’s not perfumy at all and I can put it on freshly shaved legs with no rash or irritation. I can’t stand the smell of the store when I go in as it’s just too many scents all mixed together. I love this series🥰🥰🥰
I loved Cosmetics to Go. Was really sad when it went away. I have loved some of Lush’s old products. Almost to the point of addiction. But not even checked it out for a few years now. Fox hunters are starting a court case trying to be recognised as minority group and that hunting foxes with hounds on horseback is part of their culture. So if anyone is anti blood sports and they don’t want it to start again they should see what they can do.
My other half said to me what are you watching so i showed him. He listened to this video and said to me that you are very good and clear to understand which i agree with. Your probably one of the best skincare youtubers who always gives genuine advice and you good opinions.
Thank you so much for this video! I used to love lush back in the day but I haven’t bought any products from them in a number of years due to the controversies surrounding them. It sounds like I still won’t be buying from them until they treat their workers properly!
I remember my sister worked there in the 2010s and they would always hound her for not touching people enough and for not being happy enough saying to her "do you want to go home" ie not be paid. Like you have to be SO HAPPY to.work there. And they always make customers uncomfortable. I feel like they can just ask and if the customer says no thsn there u go. Also the fact that they are unionbusting is like diagusting.. it kinda shows they only care about looks and profit, not their staff
I also worked for Lush and can no longer shop there. They expected me to be available 7 days a week on an 8 hour contract, while I was also a full time student in practical placement at uni. They showed no flexibility with work hours, underpaid us and told us to promote 'safe' parabens, when other companies were making fully natural products. The products are overpriced and most of them don't work! I couldn't stand their attitude towards their workforce, when their public image is one of 'fighting the man'and ethical campaigning. Treat your staff better! Too many bad tales from people who used to work for them.
I CANNOT BELIEVE that I used to use their blue sea salt scrub that literally left my face red and raw, that coffee grind face mask (which wasn’t nearly as bad), a friggin chocolate face mask (again, CANNOT believe it) and their coal face product. I seriously cannot believe there was a time that I used those products😂 I guess the attraction was that it was a fun/silly thing to slap on your face at a sleepover with friends. As I got older in my early teens, I STRICTLY only used their body bars which were basically hard lotions and were such a pain to use. I had to warm this huge brick of lotion in my hands just to get the smallest amount of product onto my body. Eventually it just became too much of a hassle and moved onto other brands. But Lush for me was like the Claire’s of skincare as a kid: nostalgic but also kinda concerning🤣 I won’t be purchasing anything from them again now that I’m well into adulthood and don’t want to distress my skin
I used to be on the international forum back in the day. The things I saw from management made me never want to give them another penny. Another notable cock-up was the way that they handled the cyber attack on their site back in 2011 (hacked in October, didn't alert people until after the Christmas rush and literally told customers to just laugh it off). I also remember when they attempted to break the record for most lip prints collected in a day by encouraging customers to kiss t-shirts that were being worn by their (mostly female staff) without any consideration for safeguarding.
My mother-in-law used to work for Lush and that’s how I got into it back in 2007 and he did tell me how one of the managers gone one of the employees to go interact with a customer. The employee did and they were told off for being a bother to the customer. Another thing is that There are times when not everybody can handle a certain ingredient and that it would react badly, one time around Christmas they were releasing the luster dust and I love the smell of lust. Don’t get me wrong, but one thing is that I can’t handle glitter all over the rest of my body, especially on my right arm, apparently. I didn’t realize it until after my skin had a bad reaction it became very itchy after the intern at the time poured the dust on my arm, and I scratched until it scarring on my arm. I rather have someone ask me if they can put on my skin or not or at least try on my hand. And one thing that I also find annoying is how they discontinue products that have been popular before or put the items that they said that were supposed to be permanent and put them back to the addition, such as Lord of miserable, I got a big bottle of the shower gel saw that it said limited edition and I told myself didn’t they make that permanent? It doesn’t make sense! My all-time favorite product that still used to this day is revive which used BR and B because it kept my hair so smooth and not always frizzy.
I used to go to Lush as a teen just to hang out in the mall, they weren’t overly attentive and didn’t mind us loitering around and playing with products on our own until we left. I stopped shopping there because I think I outgrew their products, some of their skincare was to inconvenient to use regularly, and their controversy over the treatment of their employees
Worked there in US 2014-end of 2019. Such a poor work environment. Poor pay. Poor leadership. Negligent handling of HR complaints. Rampant bullying. I am not surprised its profits are dropping and its popularity is on the downfall. Can’t have happy customers when you have unhappy employees.
I left working for them because of crappy pay. I made enough to pay for my rent and electricity, I couldn't afford enough food and definitely couldn't afford luxuries like bus tickets or nights out.
Only a few weeks ago I’d popped into my local lush to pick up a pot of dream cream, I use it all the time, I got so bombarded by a staff member my anxiety was going through the roof so I blurted out I had a family emergency and literally ran out of the shop 🤣🤦🏼♀️ I still can’t believe I did that. i honestly felt like I was going to pass out from a panic attack, I felt trapped in there having to explain that I really don’t need help or want anything other than my dream cream !! 😅
I have only ever been to one Lush store in my life [they don't have them where I am in the US other than too far away for the trip] - I was visiting my brother and I went in. Staff was friendly but never bothered us. They stayed behind the counter, or were working on something nearby. But they greeted us, told us to ask if we needed anything, and offered to grab things for us. And when my mom did want to try something, the woman that helped us said "Do you mind if I take your hand and rub it in, or should I demonstrate on myself and then you can try it yourself?" And my mom let her demonstrate on my mom's hand. So it's super wild to me [though again only one experience lol] to hear like "They pounce on you" "They touch without really asking" etc in this video or that they flirt. The people there were LOVELY but not remotely invasive ... then again maybe that's because "Murica" ? Where it's probably more dangerous to just grab people? Idk ...
I loved Cosmetics To Go as a teen! There wasn’t anything else like it at the time and it was really exciting to get a parcel of goodies through the post. Also my cats LOVED the boxes of shredded paper they came in
I've only shopped at Lush once because the perfumes gave me a headache even before I walked in, then the sales people would not stop trying to touch me when I said no firmly. There were collections I liked (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) but could not bring myself to even consider walking into their store. I couldn't imagine working there.
Even though lush had a factory in Brazil it was so overpriced they went out of business before expanding beyond their first capital city 😢 I really miss having easy access to karma soap
I did one shift as a christmas temp at a Lush, and they "let me go" after that shift because I wasn't pushy enough with customers. They wanted to pay me in products as well, instead of the actual money I was owed. I still pop in to grab a bath bomb or something every so often but its so frustrating because I *know* what I'm looking for I don't want to be slathered in body lotion and guilt tripped for not buying it.
I don't seem to have an issue with migraines or my asthma in there, which is odd given I'm so sensitive to smells. I find it quite relaxing. A normal cosmetic section in a department store totally sets me off though. I am a bit skin sensitive to some of their products but at least I get to try them first instead of making expensive mistakes over and over again like with buying so many other skincare products. Wish I knew exactly what it was that irritated me.
Love these videos! Very informative, I neither love them or hate them, one of those brands, that I just don’t care for, but the controversy bit was an eye opener tbh…
The WPUK issue was why I stopped buying from Lush. I’ve returned after many years after seeing they have made some changes but I’ve been wary since and never bought as regularly or as often. In fact I can’t remember when I was last in, and I loved Lush
I loved CTG and the CTG shop in Poole. This shop is now the lush store. Wooden floors and lovely service. Way better all round than Body Shop. I even did a factory tour in 1992 and fell in love with neroli. When it failed I was heart broken and didn't find Lush for a long time. It was the only brand at the time that listed its ingredients so I knew exactly what I was buying and could reduce the amount of severe allergic reactions my skin had.
I know I'm late to this, but I wanted to add my experience of working at lush. I was like 17 at the time, and loved the place. I spent all my money there, was an "expert" on their products, the works. Anyway I got the job, and I was so excited. They said they had some days that we had to attend for stock take, and when I got the dates I explained I couldn't make it, as I was enrolling on my course that day. The manager told me "come in for stock take, or don't come back to a job". I was so upset! I got told off for not sweeping up the shop properly (apparently I should have left little piles of dirt in each area, and sweep each pile up at the end, not collect it into 1 pile), and the following day I was fired for not demoing enough products to customers. I was never paid for the work I did either. A friend of mine started at the same time as me, and was told she would be made a key holder after Christmas if she impressed the management. She worked every hour they gave, attended every stock take and staff meeting (they were all compulsory), and then overheard them saying on boxing day that they weren't making of the new staff key holders, and laughing about it. She then realised she was missing Christmas with her family, counting bath bombs for no good reason, and quit on the spot. That store was so toxic, and at the time I was gutted that a) I was fired and b) that the store I loved so much was a horrible place. I still enjoy some of their products, but it's really hard to justify their prices, so I don't tend to go much anymore.
Lush has some genuinely nice products but what I can't stand is their constant need to reformulate something that works, like The Olive Branch shower gel, changing or diluting its scent. I like Ultrabland and Kalimazoo cleanser but haven't found any other unicorns. I also dislike the neon colours used in their relatively recent products. Majority of the staff here do not have much real skin care knowledge. Where I live, lush are at least twice as expensive as they are in the UK, US and Australia. The only country where I do enjoy browsing their products is Japan.
You are right about the staff not having great skincare knowledge. It's a shame they don't have basic skincare guidelines instead of spreading misinformation that can damage customers skin.
My city has the largest Lush store in the world. I love the brand, i love the products and I love the staff. They can be very full on but thats what they're trained to do. The staff in that store are very aware though, they can usually recognize if you're introverted, antisocial, socially anxious or vulnerable and will often leave you alone or say "let me know if you need help" instead of the full on product showcase. I am autistic and not very social and like to be left alone. Sometimes I'll have to tell them "I know what i'm getting" but yeah. Whilst the company does push their staff to be full on, it isn't a bad experience. All staff are lovely. Its mildly uncomfortable though They could fix that by literally having green and red baskets. Red baskets indicate to staff that the customer doesn't want to be approached and green would be that the staff are welcome to come over and help Idk, just a system like that so that customers can shop how they like
James, i have a question about an unrelated product, do u mind? I have really bad achne scars and sun damage, i use clinique even better dark spot remover for years! And it really works, only problem is, you have to use it for years!! To get results! Lol. I dont know if youve seen but No.7 boots have brought out a dark spot corrector but they're claiming its almost instant? Ive never really liked their products but i need a faster daerk spot corrector and i couldve sworn they had a dark pigmentation corrector for eyes! Which i really need!! Can you halp please!! Btw loved lorall deep dive last week, can you cover some more of their scandals again sometime soon?! Thank you! 🥰💜🖤 oh ps can i also ask a question on your nail channel too! After this? Thanks 😅 ❤ Edit: ahhhhh im so sorry! I know youre not the same person! 😅 i had just commented on Roberts post just before i watched your video! I watch all 3 videos every sunday! You know I mispoke because of my questions! Lol. Sorry! X
My friends who worked there called it "The Glittery Gulag", it did seem cultish! That said, they took a busload of local activists and staff to support the Vestas workers when they were on strike, so I guess they only bust their own unions 😂 Their charity pot also paid court fees for low income activists so non-Tarquins could get involved too. And yes, spycops are a genuine concern in grassroots activist groups, with undercover police having long term relationships and even children with activists who don't know they were cops. So i really don't see why raising awareness of this issue is controversial. Still, disappointing that they supported WPUK without due diligence. Hope it was an oversight, unfortunately eco-TERFs are a thing though. So wouldn't feel comfortable supporting them knowing that
I met Mo, got a ton of one off products! Also used to be a Lush mystery shopper...they made it worth while! The online forum was a riot...no wonder it had to go when they wanted to go more mainstream!!!
We always used to spot the mystery shoppers and get top marks. Head office were too stupid to realise mystery shoppers didn't act like actual customers 😂.
As many others on this comment section I too worked in Lush in the 2010s and it had this sustainable image but in reality it was exceptionally wasteful. I believe it might be better now but back then it was bad. We would unpackage massage bars to sell them 'naked' and dump the moulds in the recycling, most of the bars didn't fit the tins we sold and no one ever brought them in to be filled anyway so we wrapped them at the till. We would cut massive chunks of soap and wrap them to encourage impulse buying but no one wanted them when they saw the price so we would unwrap them every day and dump the paper in the recycling at the end of each day. We couldn't just keep them wrapped because the soap was such shit quality it would loose moisture which was a problem when we needed to sell the stuff by weight. The longer that shit 'naked' soap sat on the shelf the more money the shop lost and we had to over order the damn stuff to keep the display looking abundant. I dread to think about how much 'naked' product just got damaged to the point where it was unsellable. The shampoo bars had harsh SLS in them and no one ever wanted to put them out cos opening the box would shred your lungs. The 'naked' shampoo bars were all wrapped at the till like everything else cos no one ever brought the tins in to be filled. The 'fresh' masks were a cute idea but wasted a lot of food that people could have otherwise eaten which was especially galling for the food insecure members of staff (this was more common before Lush was a living wage employer) and it wasted a lot of energy keeping them chilled. I won't even go into all the shitty rapey ways we were expected to slap products on customers without their consent cos many others on this comment section have gone into it in painful acurarate detail.
Daddy oh and R&B (cant remember the new name) have been my hair savers for ages. i still add a bathbomb or small thing to gifts and have a few showergels at home and refill handcreme in the small sample boxes that i have in my bags… but yes, the way they treat their ppl is… more than questionable…
When I worked at Lush in a european location (in the 2010's), our store (or any other store in my country, afik) couldn't recycle the black pots. They didn't establish a recycling chain, so we just pretended to collect the pots and later threw them out 😅
I used to love shopping at Lush in the late 90s/early 00s. I've not shopped there for over 10 years now though as the prices keep going up and up, and they kept discontinuing my favourites. I don't think I'd set foot in one now if staff are told to touch people to demo stuff. Clearly they're not thinking about us thousands of autistics or anyone with allergies. The final nail in the coffin for me was the number of *(allegedly)* ex Lush staff online in the early 00s calling the company out for mistreating staff whose last name wasn't Constantine
Two things can be true, the fact is that they did champion sustainability and recycling before everyone else, so it isn’t just a gimmick. They also stopped advertising on social media because of its toxicity which I admire. But it can also be true that the founders have some real dodgy views and pushing products that don’t really work. I still love their bath bombs and shower gels tho!
Same! I haven’t purchased anything for a while but they look like they have some nice new bits!
yeah, they surely only stopped social media as advertising because of its toxicity. not because it was heavily used in the USA at the same time for showing off how bad the working conditions were and for promoting strikes and people going on strike and that shops would be closed on days cause people would protest against their very bad working conditions..... it probably was only a coincidence that both happened at the same time.
@@JamesWelshThey really do! I have really sensitive skin & sensitive everything, plus sensory issues, to the point that I can't use like a regular big-name liquid hand soap - instead I use clear dye-free dish detergent (no frills) - and olive oil bar soap for body. But the Lush bath bombs, bar soap, and shampoo bars were really nice, no sensitivity, skin felt soft & nice.
Oh, I'm sorry for the long reply. Just one last thing! I'm so jealous of your hair! (I mean that in the nicest possible way, not like "Grr! *I* should have the good hair, and _his_ should be dry, dull, and uncooperative!" 😅 I forget which one's jealousy vs envy. The "happy for you" one!)
Anyway, love your channel! Xͯ
My husband can confirm Lush Canada did go to hell in 2010 because he was in contact with his friends from the company and it became all about the numbers 😢
@@IsaStracciatellaDon’t live in America so that means nothing for me. Because they stopped it in my country too. Also that doesn’t make sense, ppl can still show that even without social media, I suppose you just can’t tag them.
It seems like the customer experience with LUSH really varied from location to location. In my area, the LUSH stores were known to be more chill than places like Bath & Body Works. They'd let younger teens hang around smelling stuff, and didn't try to get you to try stuff if you weren't comfortable.
Same! I never experienced things like this in the stores I went to. The staff is always friendly and helpful, but no one ever touched me 😂
Yeah same I went into lush a lot in the late 00’s early 10’s and I never remember them doing things like that. It’s really interesting how different stores operate
I think this is very true. I love my local Lush store!! The employees usually will say Hi when you walk in, but if you say you're fine and don't need any help they pretty much leave you alone to smell things in peace. Sometimes they will say something like, "I love that one!" or "If you like that one, you'll love this!", but otherwise they leave me alone.
I honestly get accosted so much more at freaking Sephora than I do at Lush!! Those employees will not leave you alone!!
Frankly, the real solution to this is to push back as a society and tell the corporate overlords that we prefer to mostly be left alone when shopping. If I need help, I will ask!
Same plus my lush has let me have so many freebie’s until I worked out what shampoos and conditioners worked for me, I didn’t buy a tub of anything until I was certain I was happy with it.
The Chester Lush is pretty neat I’d argue, me and my friend have sniffed the whole place down
I don't understand why companies still think they can mistreat workers behind closed doors. Like Lush may not have social media, but their employees do. And Connecting with other people is easier now. Getting that info out AND viral is easier.
And maybe in the 90'-early 2000's it was harder to know your rights as a worker, but in the 2020's? That info is all over the Internet. Good on the Lush employees for forming a union.
Lush has a discord server
Unfortunately, i worked there back in the mid 2010s. Back then, I absolutely loved the products and it did help my skin a lot. Cystic acne is something I struggled with extensively growing up. After getting hired, I cannot enphasize how toxic the work environment was. Everything was based on trauma bonding while smelling pretty. The times I was pulled aside for not putting my hands on people to slam product in their face was un countable. As an introvert who loves personal space, most of that position as a sales associate was highly uncomfortable.
Oh God, yuck. Sorry.
Me too! I worked there in 2013 and it was absolutely HORRIBLE, I am still traumatized by it.
So sorry you went through that. A few of my friends worked there around that time and they called it the Glittery Gulag, so can only imagine what you went through. Glad you're free!
I'm thankful for you sharing your story, but also very sorry to hear about our shared experiences. I worked at lush as well in the mid 2010s and it was my very first ""real"" job, I was also still in high school. Cannot count the many ways I was made to feel like I did things wrong, the un-constructive criticism with the same issues of me not putting my hands on enough customers- not getting enough people to sit down in chairs to give them awkward hand massages in a fully packed store during the holiday season. Even when I made a successful sale, there was little to no positive reinforcement and it was always critical. I ended up leaving employment with them for a short period of time, then eventually came back, and despite me already having done the training, they did not let me take off my 18th birthday (which was only a training day, I would not have been in the shop at all), so I always joke to folks that I spent that day underneath the mall, sitting on the dusty concrete floor of the store's storage room, talking about soap for hours. I know many other people also probably don't get to celebrate their 18th birthday, perhaps with worst conditions, but it just always made me sad that they couldn't give me one single break to celebrate what felt like an important day to me at the time-and it was the same management and trainers who had known me before. It was just always about squeezing the most out of us, and getting us to do intense (bordering on harassing) customer service. It was all bubbles and smiles when customers were there, but as soon as there weren't a darkness took over our shop. Because it was my first job, it also set me up to feel incredibly anxious and self-doubtful in every following employment I found myself in.
@@znrh that’s exactly the issues they had with me! I wasn’t forcing people to sit down so I could touch them. I was made to feel like I didn’t fit in there at all. It was horrible. The other girls made fun of me, gave me the worst chores to do every time and it was just so awful. Their culture is awful. I used to love their products before working there but since then I’ve stopped using them fully, I refuse to endorse that company or support them with my dollar.
The fact that people accused Lush of being anti-police in the face of what the officers did shows how LOW of an opinion society has of women. Women are worth nothing.
Exactly. I would have turned around and did a "for the women" theme because wtf was that
Well that's just a general opinion people have of women. We aren't "enough of a minority" for anyone to consider we fit into the "inclusive" bracket.
This! People should really educate themselves about what really happend. It was horrible and disgusting.
For the people who like to know more, I can recommend the episode Redhanded did on this.
I agree, but I do think Lush could have made the point of the window displays more obvious. If people didn't stop to read the smaller messages, the windows did give off an overall anti-police vibe. When I passed my local branch I had to do a double take because the main image and crime tape theme did look as if it was an ACAB display.
@@KittyCat260they 100% should do an ACAB campaign
I’m not gonna lie when the workers did the hand thing they healed something inside of me for that moment lmao I felt SO special & was a welfare kid so never had any kind of massages or treatments lol
Yes! I remember being younger and having saved up for a bath bomb. I was used to being ignored by staff because I was too young to spend a lot of money. But having a sales associate take time to talk to me and do the whole demo made me feel so special and seen.
Agreed. I was neglected and sure lush got a few bucks from me but it did heal something in me for those moments of connection
tfw you're touch-starved
They really didn’t discriminate with younger people when most would turn their noses up if kids were in their store
A friend of mine was an assistant manager at a US Lush location. It was managed very poorly and when the store manager left, she stepped up and took over a lot of those responsibilities, with higher-ups saying they would be promoting her, the manager leaving was unplanned so they had to sort things.
They hired someone else for the position without telling her, so she quit. I was so disgusted that, even though I really loved some Lush bath products, I couldn’t shop there anymore. It would piss me off too much 🥴
Yeahhh but come on, it’s USA, known for shitty labour right
That's awful! I hate companies that do this. My friends husband worked at a store (not Lush) and when the manager left he took on all the responsibilities, excelled, did great things for the store. He was encouraged to apply for the position of store manager. He didn't get it. Their reason was he "didn't have the experience and wasn't qualified enough" but then, asked him to train the new manager. uhm?!?!?!
I refuse to go into any stores where the staff won’t allow me to shop in peace. I’m not interested in being touched by or preached to by complete strangers. I also don’t consider it ethical branding to physically touch people against their will. This brand is an ick for me.
Agreed. I'm autistic and I like my personal space to shop in peace. I went to a Lush a couple years back and was looking at something, and the employee touched me in order to demonstrate how the product worked. Made me super uncomfortable
Anyone who even invades my space gets these hands 👊 old and neurospicy
The virtue signaling of lush is over the top …
I had the misfortune of visiting one in Amsterdam and the assistants were overbearing,so I left !!
The following day I was in a coffee shop over the street from lush and it was amazing how many people crossed the street to avoid going in and being harassed by the SAs ! Such a shame because some of the products are lovely !!
I currently live in Japan and the nearest Lush is quite relaxed. The staff greet customers as they come in, like any other shop here, but let you browse in peace. They'll check if you're looking for anything in particular but they're not pushy.
The main reason I don't shop there frequently is that the perfumey smells are overwhelming and I can only bear about 5 minutes in store.
@@Sheenoshine It's wild because I've lived in the Netherlands my whole life and generally here 'shopping culture' is very keen on personal space and just letting people do their thing. In most shops at most someone will come up to you to tell you you can come to them if you need anything. There are a few exceptions of course like in jewellery shops where they keep a close eye on people to prevent shoplifting, or small businesses where the owner is just over-excited to show you everything. But for some reason Lush even here is going completely overboard with it.
I Love listen to James, his voice sounds so calm and he always explains everything so well. An amazing storyteller, deserves lots of recognition. I always learn so much with him❤
Thank you 🥹
I live in Brighton 🌈 UK, & I found this guy’s ‘cheesy gossip’ schtick a complete turnoff - familiarity breeds contempt…
I am very ‘scent-oriented’, so I find that just walking into a Lush store is an uplifting experience - even when I’m broke!
Unfortunately, I won’t be getting to know Lush’s ‘dark side’: as already stated, the presentation set my teeth on edge…not subbed 🙄
@@Cristobels-Green-Bootsthanks for letting us all know, we don’t care though
@@Aaaa-1zntwe actually don't care what you think
The lush store near me is actually not bad at all for customers. They dont pounce on you at all. The most they do is come up and ask if you need any help and ig you say no they walk off
I'm surprised by some of these comments, I love lush ! The staff are always really informed and honest about the products , I'm never pushed to buy anything and I always leave with so many samples . And I've absolutely never been touched without my permission.
I lived in Korea on and off from 2007-2013, and you’re right, Lush is massive over there (or at least it was when I lived there). I never bought anything from there as it was so expensive (much more expensive than in the UK), and there were so many great, affordable Korean cosmetics brands that I didn’t see the point in shopping at Lush.
Well, nowadays isn’t too popular, you can only see stores in Seoul.
Hongdae, itaewon and not many Korean customers usually the customers are foreigners
Agree! Nowadays it’s barely nothing. There’s one in Gangnam too but always empty
I'd love to see you talk about L'Occitane! They remind me of Lush in a lot of ways but with that boujie vibe. The brand has def gone downhill recent years since they went public, discontinuing and reformulation some of their most beloved products. I am so sad they ruined some of my mom's fave items. I haven't worked there in almost 5 years but I still use a few of their products
Jen Luv has a video on them!🙂
ONG i agrée with this so much. They were my favourite brand but they kept discontinuing their perfumes and products that I just gave up and never buy anything from them anymore.
My first job was lush in 2019 - I can honestly say it was the most toxic, fake environment a 16 year old shouldn’t have to work in. Very much overly fake to your face but saying disgusting things about you behind your back. They fired me pretty much illegally too, but in the long run it was honestly a good thing tbh
lol I worked there 10 years before you and it’s nice to know they haven’t changed 😂😭
I can say one thing for sure - I've worked in cosmetics retail in the UK for several brands, and regardless of the brand's public-facing "ethos", it does NOT trickle down to retail staff. I didn't have a single retail job where I wasn't bullied and that included a job in head office, which was infinitely worse.
Yup. Same here. Worked for at least 5 different firms. No sick pay. Bullying. Ridiculous targets. No social benefits. Minimum wage mostly. Therefore you’re expected to lick customers arse and be happy about it.
Most laughable is deff illamasqua with their crap about anti bullying and oh oh the animals. Yeah how about you let people who work for you drink water when temperatures are over 30 degrees in store? The amount of bullying from head office (2016) was insane.
@@ButterKeks700 Omg so about the water thing... I worked for Bare Minerals in Debenhams on Oxford St during a heatwave in London and we were NOT allowed water on the shop floor, despite the air conditioning not working in the cosmetics hall and the staff room being all the way at the top of the building. A lot of us went home sick with literal heat stroke. Disgraceful.
@@lucyjane3803 I was in Debs in Brum Bullring, also did Selfridges all over: Brum and Oxford St. Debenhams traumatised me (2016-2017), Selfridges (2014, 2017-2019) was not much better but at least water was allowed. Now I live in a different country, I don't miss it at all. I get what you say about water, we had one woman being taken away with an ambulance, I wrote a complaint to the city council in Brum, they shat on it. I one time was walking through your store on my break with a coffee in my hand, your security guard scolded me thinking I was one of youse. Haha, jesus how I don't miss it.
James! I have to say- I have been following your channel for over 2 or 3 years now. I admire how your content has grown with me. The skincare recommendations were there when I just learning about routines, ingredients and the basics. And now you’re here with these company deep dives and beauty world reporting when I want to be a conscious shopper! Thanks for the amazing content, keep it up!!
In my early 20s I made it all the way through Lush's insane interview process to the final step of a trial hour in the shop. In the first 5 minutes they told me to demonstrate bath bombs to as many customers as I could by filling a basin with hot water, chucking in a bath bomb and making a note of how many I used. Dump out the hot water and repeat. I asked them how many was too many and they said the sales were the most important thing so just demo tons of the things and it would be accounted for later.
I asked them how exactly they reconciled the energy wastage of refilling the hot water over and over through the day with their claims of being green and ethical, and they had no answer for me. I asked whether it was really best practice to be wasting product when they were constantly hiking prices, to which they also had no answer.
10 minutes into my hour's trial, I told them I wasn't wasting any more time trying to work for them, as they'd effectively killed all of my respect for the company in that time. I walked out and never looked back.
Where have you worked since then ?
@@thesoul2sqeeze several places, it was a good 15 years ago now.
@@KittyCat260 very informative 🙄🫠
@@thesoul2sqeeze excuse me for not choosing to give a weirdo stranger online my entire work history for the last 15 years 😂
@KittyCat260 girl I'm sorry if you're hormonal or having a bad day but there's no need to insult me when you brought up where you worked and assumed I'm looking for detailed information. I was curious because you left a job because you deemed them wasteful, so I'm wondering where isn't wasteful in your opinion. Deep breath , you'll be ok 💗
I so look forward to “behind the beauty” & today’s did not disappoint. I hope you continue this series because it’s so interesting & the format you use makes it so easy to follow. Love it! 🥰
I am autistic and terrified of Lush stores. I have only been twice and feel like I was assaulted by the employees who touched me without my consent and brought me near the henna dye - despite me saying that I am deathly allergic to henna. It was difficult for me to verbally express my distress as a teenager, but I know it must have been obvious because my friend ran after me to check that I was okay.
I blogged about the incident with the henna and several Lush fans and one employee harrassed me. They blamed me for not knowing it was 'normal' to be touched up at Lush. I just thought the first lady was weird - I did not expect it to happen again!
I also worked at Lush a few years ago for about a year. I have very mixed feelings about the company. I too, was uncomfortable with touching people and being so pushy with the sales. They have a very specific way they want their employees to sell and I felt like it was ultimately dishonest. I also felt terrible when people would come into the store wanting something for their acne or eczema or even anti aging. nothing in that store will help those things, but of course I had to try and still sell. Ultimately I went on leave due to stress and ended up quitting shortly thereafter. My team was incredible and I do think the company is innovative in a handful of ways. But…
@@alisonmercer5946 yep. like if people don’t want to try the product they don’t have to. we basically had to initiate demos… we still had to ask if we could touch them but we’d start the demo anyway and would have to demo on ourselves if they didn’t want to feel the product.
My mom discovered that Lush exists during a UK trip in 2001 & my sister did the same in Germany around the same time. I was still using grocery story skin care (Including St Ives Apricot scrub) & learning about Lush opened up a new world of skincare for me. I don't buy from them much now, but it's definitely a part of my skin care journey.
I work here currently and the problems I largely have is because of regional managers and management in general. I am often only critiqued for performance and not talking enough or not putting things on peoples skin (and btw it’s gonna get worse we have to put things on peoples faces and offer scalp massages🤢. So please if you go in know we don’t want to do this and it’s a push from regional management to offer this or basically quit). Also I’ve had great managers be fired for no reason and replaced with management that are friends with those people and therefore don’t g.a.f. about us:( I really enjoy a lot of the stuff there and the people I meet but sometimes it’s so draining and hard to do. My favorite employees are fellow people who aren’t super culty and kinda easy going but there are absolutely so many people who act like it’s a cult.
People don't want to be touched unless they want to be touched!
@@maryeckel9682 yeah…I know. I never do that but we literally have to ask everyone and demo everything. I really hate touching people unless they want so I really just show instead of apply. I’m not disagreeing with you but the fact that’s the only thing you took from my comment about actual concerns about people is kinda sad.
What do you mean "offer hair again "?
@@thesoul2sqeeze i worded it bad but basically we have to do scalp massages and like apply hair products in store or some junk. Apparently it was done years ago but I never heard about it, I’ve just been told by older employees. I’ll edit my comment for clarity though.
get out of there before it gets any worse!! i worked in lush for about 2 years and told myself it might get better and it never did! the best thing i did was leaving it behind, did wonders for my self confidence and mental health x
Nightmare for allergies is true. My friend worked there and she had me try a lemon skin lotion. I broke out in a rash and we couldn’t figure out why. Months later, she had been looking at stuff and found the extended ingredients list. Buried deep (not listed on the things normally given to customers) was lavender, which I’m allergic to
I worked for them. Oh my god the cult. It's such a cult. The bullying that goes on in that company is beyond the pale.
Worked at Lush for two Christmas periods and it was the most toxic working environment ever. Staff are constantly competing with each other for promotions to supervisors or managers. One supervisor said the N-word and still works there.
Whilst Lush does promote saving the environment, often times their stores are located in shopping centers which do not recycle materials so any good you think are doing is reversed cause of the trash system. Pots can be recycled hooray! But the fresh face masks are shipped overnight often times using couriers, and sometimes even being flown, wasting gas and energy.
They want staff members to give customers a 5 star experience and that's through touching and getting in their face, but don't even consider the customers who are autistic or have major sensory issues.
They have great products but in the end, you're paying luxury prices for soap, citric acid and skincare that doesn't actually work cause it's homeopathic bullshit.
Sigh, I was v young but I absolutely *loved* Cosmetics to Go. Their Ginger perfume was incredible... they also did this amazing calamine soap bar which I know sounds weird but I loved it. I also adored their Hot Toddy shower gel for Christmas which Lush sometimes bring back but its not quite the same
CTG was great, loved the originality, catalogue
I forgot about the ginger perfume that was soooo nice! I liked the sand bar, the soap with sand grains in that was great for my keratosis pilaris and smelled amazing. I loved CTG
@@RuthDeane oh yes! thats was a great product
They still occasionally march Ginger out of the vaults for a limited production run. I guard my bottles very carefully. In their wooden box, in a cool dark place where the temperature remains stable. Lasting well!
I honestly feel like the real fix to all of this is for us as a society to push back against the corporate overlords and tell them that no one likes being hounded continuously while shopping in person. Because it isn't just a Lush thing, in fact I feel like I get way more overwhelmed with employees at Sephora than I do at Lush! You can't even walk down a single aisle without them accosting you. And we know they as employees hate doing it, so that makes it doubly annoying.
Use our voices to tell management that if we need help, we'll ask! If we want to try a product, we'll ask! There's no harm in offering to do whatever, but let your employees take No for an answer!!
Personally, I love my local Lush store, and I've never really had a problem with employees being overly pushy there. I love their products, and apparently I'm one of the few people who even really loves the smell of their store!! I also love that they obviously don't edit the reviews on their website. They will sometimes respond to one star reviews, but they leave them up even if they are the only review on a product, so I appreciate that. (*coughcoughSUNDAYRILEYcoughcough*)
Part of the reason for the being accosted is that it's a way to prevent theft. They can indirectly let potential thieves that the store has an eye on them without verbally saying so.
I grew up down the road from their tiny little high street shop in Poole and I always made my parents walk on the other side of the road because it stunk and gave me a headache even just walking past. I’ve bought a few things as gifts but can’t stand most of the products and refuse to go near their stores. I do appreciate the zero waste and buy your own size option though- that’s fairly revolutionary even now.
There was a time, when I used some lush products on a regular basis. The soaps, bath bombs, henna and hair mask were great! Also, I really love the scents (karma is my favorite). But honestly, I can't pay 8-12 Eur for one bath! It's too expensive and many formulars have changed because of changing laws by the EU.
Really the formulas changed? I didnt even notice that. Do you know what changed (i live in the Netherlands)
@@arbitrary_raspberry In the store they told me, that some scents are different and less intense now, because of EU regulations. Also they had to change their Henna formula and some hair products.
@@calihhan4706 oh i did notice that the intensity of the bodysprays are way less since ..like 5 years now? I just thought it was lush changing its formulas to get more profit like other brands do 🙈 never thought about regulations or something. Guess i got to go to the UK for a holiday and buy my bodysprays over there.
I admire Lush's ethos a lot. When i was a teenager in the 2000s, there were so few brands that championed cruelty free and even palm oil free in some of their products.
But now, obviously there a huge number of products now that have never tested on animals and are actually effective for their price point. Unfortunately, as the sales girl there sold me in 2009, that green seaweed mask did NOTHING for my acne scars
Even cheap shower gel (£0.90) isn't tested on animals anymore. To me Lush has lost its unique selling point.
As a climate campaigner, Lush in Australia gave us grants (and access to their social media) no strings attached for a large civil disobedience we were organising that even a lot of big environmental NGOs didn’t want to touch for fear of govt blowback. On supporting activism, Lush and B&J are the real ones.
I prefer my beauty products to work for my skin not to fund “civil disobedience “. But thats just me
This is a brilliantly researched and nuanced video that highlights Lush’s fascinating history. I worked for lush for almost 5 years in the mid 2000’s and I have always described it as like working for a cult, the moment that word came out of your mouth I was like YES! It was all consuming, I had so much fun but it was intense to say the least and by the end I was exhausted.
With the effort of a lot of folks: Lush actually helped to stop animal texting completely in Canada. Which is a plus, but the amount of dissatisfaction internally is concerning. Some days you’re human, others you’re less than nothing.
It used to be “happy people, making happy soap”
No, we’re overworked and miserable lol.
This is from the manufacturing/production stand point.
When it comes to retail…hats off to those employees. They’re the ones SELLING the product and think they should be treated better!
I know it's autocorrect being autocorrect, but "helped to stop animal texting" made me chuckle. Anyway, solidarity!
I’ve never been touched in a Lush and I’m thankful for that as a majorly introverted person. Sorry to everyone who’s been touched against their will there!
Absolutely obsessed with your content at the moment. I’m not really even into skin care, the things you talk about are just so interesting 😅
Oh, the irony: a major civil rights case was filed in the U.S. this week against Lush based on allegations of racism and transphobia. EEOC v. Lush Handmade Cosmetics, LLC, Case 5:24-cv-06859)
This is amazing because I experienced racism from Lush when I worked there like 15 years ago
@@vegasa2067omg I am so sorry!
That’s awful, I’m thankful a case is being made but so sorry it’s necessary!
Ofcos it’s US based… USA have the worse labour right in first world countries
I used to spend hundreds of pounds on LUSH every couple of months. Their prices over the years just kept going up and up to the point where £100 would be like 3 mid-size products in a tiny box. I only use their fragance now (because Twilight body spray is life) and so I only shop there twice a year at most. Not saying it's unjustified but the value dropped too much. Cruelty free is easy to find these days.
Thank you for doing these videos. I think it's very important that we are critical of marketing claims, and that we keep a skeptical mind about us when hearing these claims.
I worked for them about 20 years ago. Definitely felt cult-y & also very much a “who you know not what you know” situation. Behaviour of certain senior staff was terrible - spoke to people like garbage, patronising, rude, bullying - but you knew they’d never be held accountable because they were besties with the owners. Went on to work in banking & was treated way better - tells you everything!
Also being told to test things on people without permission - once witnessed a colleague put seaweed mask on someone as they told her they were allergic to iodine! She didn’t know what iodine was & the person started having an allergic reaction in the shop.
Staff whose “face fit” and were blindly obedient were promoted over people who were better at the job.
It’s the worst & most immoral place I’ve ever worked.
Touching a person without permission has a legal name: assault. If anyone tried that with me, I'd call the police.
Im nervous for this one, im disabled from chronic conditions, and a couple of them are really helped by taking a hot bath. As weird as that sounds, it's been shown to help one of my conditions, and nobody knows why. Then a different condition that causes chronic pain, has been somewhat helped by a hot bath. A hot bath makes me able to relax anyway, which is a big help when I'm in excruciating pain. So I love me some lush bath bombs, I just haven't found any other bath bombs that are better🤷♀️
Hey, you do what you have to do. I am able to not buy from Lush but if I also had chronic pain, I might not be in the same position. Please don’t feel bad.
lord i love behind the beauty
You are looking AMAZING James!! Stunning! ❤❤
Thank you 🥹💜
I remember when the lush store opened in my local shops around 2013, the staff were definitely acted keen to interact with you, throwing around jelly soaps, etc. As a socially anxious teenager, I wouldn’t go in without my mum to act as a buffer. 😂 They seem a lot more chill in the last few years though
Lol i hate that. pushy sales people never ever work on me. ill not buy something i wanted it if workers hover around and try to get me to buy. And i won't go back
Love these! I love having it playing like a podcast. There's a lush here in Sapporo, but it's very very expensive. Since Japanese personal care is so effective and reasonably priced, I never feel the need to buy lush.
I was born in and grew up around Poole (where Lush first started). I know of many people who complain about working for them, hearing many horror stories in just this one area. I am confident that, at the very least in the Poole area, they do not treat their staff well. In recent times I have noticed they have chilled out on the forced customer pestering (not the employees fault, a lot of the time they are lovely people on their first job). That being said I have a few go to products of theirs that I love....
I love the products, i LOATHE going to the stores. Last time, i had a horde of employees corner me and ask me what i was in for... I just wanted shampoo. A guy then hung over my shoulder for the entire time i was looking at things. I got out of there as soon as i could. I was so uncomfortable.
I worked at a LUSH in 2009-2011 in Overland Park, KS when it was just opening in the mall. We had to go through a week long training with lots of story time while waiting for the store to be set up. I remember we got to take home broken bath bombs and even unopened customer returns.And we got 50% off everything. My kids loved their bath bombs. I went to our closest LUSH last year and it's just not the same anymore. The bombs are much smaller and prices are much higher.
I worked at Lush in the mid 2000s, and I was one of the older people who worked there - most were teens and early 20s, and there I was in my 30s.....before that I was one of the forumites who were obsessed with it - I still have some of my B perfumes from back in the day (Assassin and B I love you). When I worked there they did the Naked promo where they expected all their (very young, mostly female) staff to work naked, save for an apron. Nope, absolutely not. I do still buy some stuff from Lush (My subscription box arrived today), but my biggest gripe is that they keep reformulating really good products, and not for the better. Sorry, but H'Suan Wen Hua is useless without the eggs, Ultrabland was more effective with peanut oil and I'm just sad when I have to find replacements for stuff. As for working there - it was minimum wage and high pressure, which was difficult for younger members of staff, it was a cult, and the managers earned bog all too (I only worked Saturdays, my day job paid me more than a manager). It was a bit cultish but I did go to the factory which was interesting. And yes, the soap moulds were cat litter trays :D I did hate having to pounce on customers though - I have noticed that in most stores now, the assistants will leave you alone if you ask them to
The first time I'd been to a lush store was in 2003 visiting NYC, I was so off put by how attentive the staff was and how strongly it smelled I had to leave
Lush was my introduction to skincare and at one point everything I used was from lush.
Then I had a few interviews at different stores which ultimately put me off the brand. Haven’t bought anything down there in years.
Its sad to see so many negative experiences with employees. I've never had a bad experience in our Lush store. They've never touched me, they help when I've asked but also happy to leave me to shop when I don't need it.
I do love them for my skin and will rarely shop anywhere else for bath products.
I also worked at Lush years ago in canada and it was terrible; low pay, pushing sales tactics and targets. Getting in trouble if we didnt meet sales targets. I hated it. I appreciate enough what the brand stands for but I dont respect treating employees terribly.
yes, the allergy issues...i went to lush for the first time and the worker asked me if i wanted to try a product and practically grabbed my hands before i could say yes. she started listing ingredients and i bristled when she said almond oil 😵💫i told her i was allergic and she was mortified. thankfully i washed my hands and nothing further happened. but we did get to shop unbothered after that lol
It's amazing how commercial companies that are also ' activists' so often become cult-like and lash out when criticised. And are often caught mistreating workers.
I always found Lush stores overwhelming, I have ADHD anyway so it was a struggle being bombarded with smells, colours, lights, and people constantly trying to talk to me or touch me!
However as a teenager I used to buy from Cosmetics To Go and really loved their products. They were the only company making bath bombs and shampoo bars back then, and I still miss their serpentine shampoo and violet nights bath oil.
So when Lush appeared with the same stuff, from the same address, and the same familiar names, I was delighted. But honestly, I can’t remember the last time I bought from them. I think everything I heard about them did put me off.
That’s not to say I didn’t like their products though, cos I definitely did
I was in London and Edinburgh in 2001, and loved the Lush stores. When they came to the states, it was a shock how much they changed. I still like some of the products but really miss the original feel.
Edited to add, it would be difficult to scale as it was.
1 minute ago wooo! I haven't watched this video yet but excited to! I don't buy from lush anymore... much prefer supporting small local businesses that sell the exact same thing for a third of the price! :)
I worked there very briefly in 2021 for the fact that if we did not pounce on somebody within 10 seconds of them being in the store, we got in trouble. If we did not follow them around and try to upsell constantly and check back every one minute and 30 seconds we got in trouble.
In what country?!
@@thesoul2sqeeze the USA
Haven't walked into one since before covid. I try to avoid those pushy sales tactics at all costs. But I would like to get a bar or two, you know?
What I find really interesting is how I applied for a job with them in their Sydney factory many many years back now. Went into a group interview with a disability group, either people were there for mental health or injury. I was there for the latter. Asked about PPE and safety, and didn't hear back. Not one person in our group (about 15 of us got bussed in).
I always hated shopping at Lush - I’m autistic, so the scents and way staff behave to customers made me feel incredibly uncomfortable. The last time I tried to go into a store, the overwhelming scents set of my asthma, so I literally had to book it out of there as soon as I’d made my purchase for a friend’s birthday (and I wasn’t keen but that’s what she wanted…), wheezing all the way. I just wouldn’t go back in there and not with what I now know
I’m not autistic but have sinasthesia. Lush is a literal mind melt for me. (Tbf, most beauty departments are, but Lush is the worst by far!)
Omg, are we the same person? That is also why I hate shopping at Lush; I haven't gone in since 2019. The smells not only irritated my asthma, but I can't stand being touched (now knowing that it's because I, too, am autistic), and the aggressive touching to sell products always rubbed me the wrong way.
I am not autistic and love Lush products but I also hate going in there. I go in fast, tell the staff I know what I want and get in and out as soon as possible
@@kilahb3742 - literally!!! (Hate being touched for different reasons. See above!)
i’m autistic n the store doesn’t usually bother me but i interviewed there once n the mix of anxiety and sensory overload i literally almost passed tf out which never happens
The union busting was the final nail in the coffin for me with LUSH. While the products work really well for me, I can't support their hypocritical labour practices.
I love LUSH’s fragrances though. I think they’re unique.
American cream is so nice
They're Cempasuchil fragrance is literally my favourite smell ever. There's nothing else really like it
The one thing I have bought for almost a decade now is their Sympathy for the Skin cream. It’s not perfumy at all and I can put it on freshly shaved legs with no rash or irritation. I can’t stand the smell of the store when I go in as it’s just too many scents all mixed together. I love this series🥰🥰🥰
I loved Cosmetics to Go. Was really sad when it went away. I have loved some of Lush’s old products. Almost to the point of addiction. But not even checked it out for a few years now.
Fox hunters are starting a court case trying to be recognised as minority group and that hunting foxes with hounds on horseback is part of their culture. So if anyone is anti blood sports and they don’t want it to start again they should see what they can do.
My other half said to me what are you watching so i showed him. He listened to this video and said to me that you are very good and clear to understand which i agree with. Your probably one of the best skincare youtubers who always gives genuine advice and you good opinions.
Thank you so much for this video! I used to love lush back in the day but I haven’t bought any products from them in a number of years due to the controversies surrounding them. It sounds like I still won’t be buying from them until they treat their workers properly!
I remember my sister worked there in the 2010s and they would always hound her for not touching people enough and for not being happy enough saying to her "do you want to go home" ie not be paid. Like you have to be SO HAPPY to.work there. And they always make customers uncomfortable. I feel like they can just ask and if the customer says no thsn there u go. Also the fact that they are unionbusting is like diagusting.. it kinda shows they only care about looks and profit, not their staff
I also worked for Lush and can no longer shop there. They expected me to be available 7 days a week on an 8 hour contract, while I was also a full time student in practical placement at uni. They showed no flexibility with work hours, underpaid us and told us to promote 'safe' parabens, when other companies were making fully natural products. The products are overpriced and most of them don't work! I couldn't stand their attitude towards their workforce, when their public image is one of 'fighting the man'and ethical campaigning. Treat your staff better! Too many bad tales from people who used to work for them.
Also it’s so much easier to find plastic free, ethical, natural, etc cosmetics now - online or on the high street
I CANNOT BELIEVE that I used to use their blue sea salt scrub that literally left my face red and raw, that coffee grind face mask (which wasn’t nearly as bad), a friggin chocolate face mask (again, CANNOT believe it) and their coal face product. I seriously cannot believe there was a time that I used those products😂 I guess the attraction was that it was a fun/silly thing to slap on your face at a sleepover with friends. As I got older in my early teens, I STRICTLY only used their body bars which were basically hard lotions and were such a pain to use. I had to warm this huge brick of lotion in my hands just to get the smallest amount of product onto my body. Eventually it just became too much of a hassle and moved onto other brands. But Lush for me was like the Claire’s of skincare as a kid: nostalgic but also kinda concerning🤣 I won’t be purchasing anything from them again now that I’m well into adulthood and don’t want to distress my skin
I used to be on the international forum back in the day. The things I saw from management made me never want to give them another penny. Another notable cock-up was the way that they handled the cyber attack on their site back in 2011 (hacked in October, didn't alert people until after the Christmas rush and literally told customers to just laugh it off). I also remember when they attempted to break the record for most lip prints collected in a day by encouraging customers to kiss t-shirts that were being worn by their (mostly female staff) without any consideration for safeguarding.
My mother-in-law used to work for Lush and that’s how I got into it back in 2007 and he did tell me how one of the managers gone one of the employees to go interact with a customer. The employee did and they were told off for being a bother to the customer. Another thing is that There are times when not everybody can handle a certain ingredient and that it would react badly, one time around Christmas they were releasing the luster dust and I love the smell of lust. Don’t get me wrong, but one thing is that I can’t handle glitter all over the rest of my body, especially on my right arm, apparently. I didn’t realize it until after my skin had a bad reaction it became very itchy after the intern at the time poured the dust on my arm, and I scratched until it scarring on my arm. I rather have someone ask me if they can put on my skin or not or at least try on my hand. And one thing that I also find annoying is how they discontinue products that have been popular before or put the items that they said that were supposed to be permanent and put them back to the addition, such as Lord of miserable, I got a big bottle of the shower gel saw that it said limited edition and I told myself didn’t they make that permanent? It doesn’t make sense! My all-time favorite product that still used to this day is revive which used BR and B because it kept my hair so smooth and not always frizzy.
I used to go to Lush as a teen just to hang out in the mall, they weren’t overly attentive and didn’t mind us loitering around and playing with products on our own until we left. I stopped shopping there because I think I outgrew their products, some of their skincare was to inconvenient to use regularly, and their controversy over the treatment of their employees
Worked there in US 2014-end of 2019. Such a poor work environment. Poor pay. Poor leadership. Negligent handling of HR complaints. Rampant bullying. I am not surprised its profits are dropping and its popularity is on the downfall. Can’t have happy customers when you have unhappy employees.
I left working for them because of crappy pay. I made enough to pay for my rent and electricity, I couldn't afford enough food and definitely couldn't afford luxuries like bus tickets or nights out.
Only a few weeks ago I’d popped into my local lush to pick up a pot of dream cream, I use it all the time, I got so bombarded by a staff member my anxiety was going through the roof so I blurted out I had a family emergency and literally ran out of the shop 🤣🤦🏼♀️ I still can’t believe I did that. i honestly felt like I was going to pass out from a panic attack, I felt trapped in there having to explain that I really don’t need help or want anything other than my dream cream !! 😅
I love these videos. I rediscover this channel every couple months and just binge the videos.
I have only ever been to one Lush store in my life [they don't have them where I am in the US other than too far away for the trip] - I was visiting my brother and I went in. Staff was friendly but never bothered us. They stayed behind the counter, or were working on something nearby. But they greeted us, told us to ask if we needed anything, and offered to grab things for us.
And when my mom did want to try something, the woman that helped us said "Do you mind if I take your hand and rub it in, or should I demonstrate on myself and then you can try it yourself?" And my mom let her demonstrate on my mom's hand.
So it's super wild to me [though again only one experience lol] to hear like "They pounce on you" "They touch without really asking" etc in this video or that they flirt. The people there were LOVELY but not remotely invasive ... then again maybe that's because "Murica" ? Where it's probably more dangerous to just grab people? Idk ...
Ive been loving these deep dives, I must say this and the L'oreal are two of your best yet.
I throughly enjoyed this.
Thanks James 💜
I loved Cosmetics To Go as a teen! There wasn’t anything else like it at the time and it was really exciting to get a parcel of goodies through the post. Also my cats LOVED the boxes of shredded paper they came in
I've only shopped at Lush once because the perfumes gave me a headache even before I walked in, then the sales people would not stop trying to touch me when I said no firmly. There were collections I liked (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) but could not bring myself to even consider walking into their store. I couldn't imagine working there.
Even though lush had a factory in Brazil it was so overpriced they went out of business before expanding beyond their first capital city 😢 I really miss having easy access to karma soap
I did one shift as a christmas temp at a Lush, and they "let me go" after that shift because I wasn't pushy enough with customers. They wanted to pay me in products as well, instead of the actual money I was owed.
I still pop in to grab a bath bomb or something every so often but its so frustrating because I *know* what I'm looking for I don't want to be slathered in body lotion and guilt tripped for not buying it.
Lush or as I like to call it the migraine store🖤
Ahhh haha when I worked there that’s what every customer used to say 😅
😂 I call it the Respiratory health problems/Asthma store, I cant breath in there😅
I don't seem to have an issue with migraines or my asthma in there, which is odd given I'm so sensitive to smells. I find it quite relaxing.
A normal cosmetic section in a department store totally sets me off though.
I am a bit skin sensitive to some of their products but at least I get to try them first instead of making expensive mistakes over and over again like with buying so many other skincare products. Wish I knew exactly what it was that irritated me.
Omg especially every dad who came in with his family or children asked me if i never got migraines while working😂
I cross the street or cover my face when I have to walk past the shop. The shop does actually give me a migraine 😂
Love your videos James. You tell them so very well. You always make my day. Thank you
Love these videos! Very informative, I neither love them or hate them, one of those brands, that I just don’t care for, but the controversy bit was an eye opener tbh…
The WPUK issue was why I stopped buying from Lush. I’ve returned after many years after seeing they have made some changes but I’ve been wary since and never bought as regularly or as often. In fact I can’t remember when I was last in, and I loved Lush
I loved CTG and the CTG shop in Poole. This shop is now the lush store. Wooden floors and lovely service. Way better all round than Body Shop. I even did a factory tour in 1992 and fell in love with neroli. When it failed I was heart broken and didn't find Lush for a long time. It was the only brand at the time that listed its ingredients so I knew exactly what I was buying and could reduce the amount of severe allergic reactions my skin had.
I know I'm late to this, but I wanted to add my experience of working at lush. I was like 17 at the time, and loved the place. I spent all my money there, was an "expert" on their products, the works. Anyway I got the job, and I was so excited. They said they had some days that we had to attend for stock take, and when I got the dates I explained I couldn't make it, as I was enrolling on my course that day. The manager told me "come in for stock take, or don't come back to a job". I was so upset! I got told off for not sweeping up the shop properly (apparently I should have left little piles of dirt in each area, and sweep each pile up at the end, not collect it into 1 pile), and the following day I was fired for not demoing enough products to customers. I was never paid for the work I did either. A friend of mine started at the same time as me, and was told she would be made a key holder after Christmas if she impressed the management. She worked every hour they gave, attended every stock take and staff meeting (they were all compulsory), and then overheard them saying on boxing day that they weren't making of the new staff key holders, and laughing about it. She then realised she was missing Christmas with her family, counting bath bombs for no good reason, and quit on the spot. That store was so toxic, and at the time I was gutted that a) I was fired and b) that the store I loved so much was a horrible place. I still enjoy some of their products, but it's really hard to justify their prices, so I don't tend to go much anymore.
Lush has some genuinely nice products but what I can't stand is their constant need to reformulate something that works, like The Olive Branch shower gel, changing or diluting its scent. I like Ultrabland and Kalimazoo cleanser but haven't found any other unicorns. I also dislike the neon colours used in their relatively recent products. Majority of the staff here do not have much real skin care knowledge. Where I live, lush are at least twice as expensive as they are in the UK, US and Australia. The only country where I do enjoy browsing their products is Japan.
You are right about the staff not having great skincare knowledge. It's a shame they don't have basic skincare guidelines instead of spreading misinformation that can damage customers skin.
I have been waiting for an exposè on them since years.
I think this is a fair review/assessment of the brand (I buy from them). The questions asked are important and wider follow up would be a good thing.
My city has the largest Lush store in the world. I love the brand, i love the products and I love the staff. They can be very full on but thats what they're trained to do. The staff in that store are very aware though, they can usually recognize if you're introverted, antisocial, socially anxious or vulnerable and will often leave you alone or say "let me know if you need help" instead of the full on product showcase.
I am autistic and not very social and like to be left alone. Sometimes I'll have to tell them "I know what i'm getting" but yeah. Whilst the company does push their staff to be full on, it isn't a bad experience. All staff are lovely. Its mildly uncomfortable though
They could fix that by literally having green and red baskets. Red baskets indicate to staff that the customer doesn't want to be approached and green would be that the staff are welcome to come over and help
Idk, just a system like that so that customers can shop how they like
James, i have a question about an unrelated product, do u mind?
I have really bad achne scars and sun damage, i use clinique even better dark spot remover for years! And it really works, only problem is, you have to use it for years!! To get results! Lol. I dont know if youve seen but No.7 boots have brought out a dark spot corrector but they're claiming its almost instant? Ive never really liked their products but i need a faster daerk spot corrector and i couldve sworn they had a dark pigmentation corrector for eyes! Which i really need!! Can you halp please!! Btw loved lorall deep dive last week, can you cover some more of their scandals again sometime soon?! Thank you! 🥰💜🖤 oh ps can i also ask a question on your nail channel too! After this? Thanks 😅 ❤
Edit: ahhhhh im so sorry! I know youre not the same person! 😅 i had just commented on Roberts post just before i watched your video! I watch all 3 videos every sunday! You know I mispoke because of my questions! Lol. Sorry! X
Best thing to watch while making tea for the family 🤩
My friends who worked there called it "The Glittery Gulag", it did seem cultish! That said, they took a busload of local activists and staff to support the Vestas workers when they were on strike, so I guess they only bust their own unions 😂 Their charity pot also paid court fees for low income activists so non-Tarquins could get involved too. And yes, spycops are a genuine concern in grassroots activist groups, with undercover police having long term relationships and even children with activists who don't know they were cops. So i really don't see why raising awareness of this issue is controversial. Still, disappointing that they supported WPUK without due diligence. Hope it was an oversight, unfortunately eco-TERFs are a thing though. So wouldn't feel comfortable supporting them knowing that
The Undercover Policing Inquiry was only completed 2 months ago btw youtube.com/@undercoverpolicinginquiry9441?si=KBxZ7ydHhhfCFHfb
I met Mo, got a ton of one off products! Also used to be a Lush mystery shopper...they made it worth while! The online forum was a riot...no wonder it had to go when they wanted to go more mainstream!!!
I was on the forum! It was indeed a chaos riot. 😂
We always used to spot the mystery shoppers and get top marks. Head office were too stupid to realise mystery shoppers didn't act like actual customers 😂.
As many others on this comment section I too worked in Lush in the 2010s and it had this sustainable image but in reality it was exceptionally wasteful. I believe it might be better now but back then it was bad. We would unpackage massage bars to sell them 'naked' and dump the moulds in the recycling, most of the bars didn't fit the tins we sold and no one ever brought them in to be filled anyway so we wrapped them at the till. We would cut massive chunks of soap and wrap them to encourage impulse buying but no one wanted them when they saw the price so we would unwrap them every day and dump the paper in the recycling at the end of each day. We couldn't just keep them wrapped because the soap was such shit quality it would loose moisture which was a problem when we needed to sell the stuff by weight. The longer that shit 'naked' soap sat on the shelf the more money the shop lost and we had to over order the damn stuff to keep the display looking abundant. I dread to think about how much 'naked' product just got damaged to the point where it was unsellable. The shampoo bars had harsh SLS in them and no one ever wanted to put them out cos opening the box would shred your lungs. The 'naked' shampoo bars were all wrapped at the till like everything else cos no one ever brought the tins in to be filled. The 'fresh' masks were a cute idea but wasted a lot of food that people could have otherwise eaten which was especially galling for the food insecure members of staff (this was more common before Lush was a living wage employer) and it wasted a lot of energy keeping them chilled. I won't even go into all the shitty rapey ways we were expected to slap products on customers without their consent cos many others on this comment section have gone into it in painful acurarate detail.
Daddy oh and R&B (cant remember the new name) have been my hair savers for ages. i still add a bathbomb or small thing to gifts and have a few showergels at home and refill handcreme in the small sample boxes that i have in my bags… but yes, the way they treat their ppl is… more than questionable…
When I worked at Lush in a european location (in the 2010's), our store (or any other store in my country, afik) couldn't recycle the black pots. They didn't establish a recycling chain, so we just pretended to collect the pots and later threw them out 😅
I used to love shopping at Lush in the late 90s/early 00s. I've not shopped there for over 10 years now though as the prices keep going up and up, and they kept discontinuing my favourites. I don't think I'd set foot in one now if staff are told to touch people to demo stuff. Clearly they're not thinking about us thousands of autistics or anyone with allergies. The final nail in the coffin for me was the number of *(allegedly)* ex Lush staff online in the early 00s calling the company out for mistreating staff whose last name wasn't Constantine
Omg Chelt Lush was my main store back in the day lol. I’ll forever wonder if I got served by you!