This event overall was wonderful! I can’t wait for you to hear what we did during the day, and with so many wonderful people, including fellow beauty bloggers ‘SophieScribbles’ and ‘BeautyOnReview’ – The event brought so many lovely people together and it really made us realise how much we love what we do. The beauty industry is changing and growing and we’re so excited to be part of it!
Our own creations
Catastrophe Cosmetics Face Mask
For the first part of our all day VIP “Validation” event, we were taken to the front of the store where they create face masks! – The three of us “VIP’s” were introduced to the lovely lady who was leading our fun, creative session. She showed us the ingredients needed and we then took it in turns to do each small task towards the creation of our “Catastrophe Cosmetic” blueberry face mask!
Face masks have never been easier to create! We simply added each component to the jug, including fresh blueberries, and blended them all together before mixing by hand and creating a smooth, thick and rejuvenating face mask which we individually added to our own little cosmetic tubs to take home!
It was so rewarding being part of the creation process of our own face masks! It really gives you an insight into the life and work at LUSH – It was a great way to break the ice and get to know the group a little better as well as the staff who were being our guides for the day!Β
"Sex Bomb" bath bomb!
The second treat of the day was creating our very own famous “Sex Bomb” bath bomb! It’s one of the legendary LUSH bath bombs that I remember from the very first time I visited a LUSH store. It’s beautifully scented, fun, colourful and has it’s own little rose hidden inside. It was so much fun to make our own!
To make our own “Sex Bomb” we had to mix these special powders into two bowls to create two separate colours, purple and pink. We mixed them into a thick paste by hand until the consistency was right. We then had our own plastic circular molds and began pushing the pink mixture into the one half mold. We then did the same with around a quarter of the purple mix in the other half mold. We filled the rest of the with the pink mix and squeezed both halves together and let them set! oh and how could I forget, we placed the little rose into the purple half!
Having the chance to create our own face mask and bath bomb was awesome. It gave us an insight into Life at LUSH – It was so nice to do something with one of my favourite companies! The products are everything I could hope for and their ethics and prospects are fantastic! It makes me so excited to see new products come along. The fun never ends!
Drag makeup
Part of “Validation” today was focused on the topic of the beauty industry and drag makeup. LUSH have started a wonderful expanding makeup range which they showcased to us today by doing a little drag makeup session carried out and talked through by Amber – A local drag wonder! – Amber used another fab drag star who happens to work at LUSH as her model. With illuminous hair and nails, this queen was the perfect canvas for showcasing the new LUSH makeup range. It was inspiring and definitely sold the products to us hehe! – We even had a little play around with some highlighters.
Our host Liddy, talked through the unique products in LUSH’s makeup range as Amber worked her magic doing the drag makeup session. Whilst we watched, we were inspired to try out the makeup on ourselves, with the help of Liddy. We took it in turns having some shimmering highlighters used on us to create some beautifully subtle shine and contour.Β
I just had to try some, so Liddy showed me some colour options and we agreed I’m a warm colour kind of gal so we used a beautiful golden shimmer on my cheek bone and lips and I fell in love!Β
One thing I learnt and loved about the LUSH makeup range is that it is so multi purposeful! – Each product Amber and Liddy showed us was somehow used in more than one way and was so creatively freeing. It made me so interested in trying the range out for myself to see how many unique looks can be created using the products. This is just another reason why I admire LUSH so much – They thrive in making customers happy and going the extra mile to create products suitable for all.
Masculinity
So, remember how this event is based on “Validation”? Well, here’s where we sat and spoke about the importance of validation in our society. We were treated to an independent charity joining us, talking about ‘Masculinity’ in society. This independent group was started by a LUSH member of staff from the old store, who came together with a bunch of fantastic people to spread important messages around this subject.
We covered a range of things that come to mind when we think of ‘masculinity’ – Things such as mental health, society, masculinity in males and females and expectations and judgment. One of the founders of this group told us the story of a close family member who suffered with mental illness and took his life. We spoke about this sensitive topic with compassion and even more so inspiration to change society in order to help those who battle these fights daily. Society has this common misconception that Men shouldn’t show emotion or weakness.. which is why the male suicide rate is so high. We need to make everyone from each walk of life realise that they are valid, their emotions matter and they are allowed to express themselves in any way they need no matter who they are or where they come from.Β
We spoke about how certain careers are seen as stereotypical, for example: If a male works in the beauty, hair, fashion or cosmetics industry, he often has his sexuality questioned; The same for women who work in trades like engineering and mechanics. We touched on the topic of women with short hair being called lesbian and how women are questioned if they are gay but feminine.Β
Masculinity is a broad topic and is so much more important and in depth than people think, and validation means everything to it. We must remember that masculinity is to the individual and isn’t something labelled to a specific job, walk of life, gender or sexual orientation. The moral of the story is to be kind, and try to understand each individuals situation and feelings. We’re all fighting battles and they are ALL relevant.
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Shaping the beauty industry
During the last part of the VIP “Validation” day, we sat with staff and discussed everything ‘beauty’. We spoke about the growing beauty industry and how we can make it better together. Of course we discussed the topic of ‘Cruelty free’ and ethical beauty since these are two of LUSH’s greatest selling points and have become renowned for their work towards helping the environment.
We covered points around marketing, passion from staff and how the LUSH community can make positive impact on the beauty industry and brands around us on the high street. We spoke a lot about how we should be pushing consumers and the companies to think about how the beauty brands MUST start to cater to all of their customers needs such as providing foundation and concealers in all skin types so that no one is left short when shopping beauty with their friends. We want to push brands into looking towards becoming more ethical and even breaking off into the ‘cruelty free’ category.
Throwing around ideas about beauty, we hit the topic of Drag! What a wonderful world we live in, where all kinds of people are discovering the creativity and freedom of makeup and fashion. It truly does make me so inspired by our generation. We want to push brands into accepting the drag world and welcoming the freedom and growth in to the beauty world! – Makeup is an art and the more expression and passion the better.
The Meena Centre
For the icing on the cake, we got to meet two lovely ladies from The Meena Centre. This is an organisation dedicated to helping support refugee women and their children. “The aim of Meena is to identify any issues, offer support and find solutions so that our friends reach the best possible outcomes in the new lives in the UK”. Meena “want to ensure that these individuals, many of whome they consider friends, get the support they need throughout the asylum claim and resettlement process”.Β
Beautiful fact: Meena means LOVE in Pashto!
“Meena is doing outreach in order to support young people and connect them with the services that are available to them. They will also run workshops to support integration, independent living skills, understanding rights, and do activities that enhance quality of life”.
It was incredible to meet the representatives and find out more about the amazing goals of Meena! It was inspiring and really summed up the whole day of “Validation” – What a wonderful world we live in. This day at LUSH made me realise that!
If You’d like to know more about MEENA, click on either image below and It will take you to their site where you can find out more, donate or get involved!
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