Visitors to Oxford Street in recent months can't fail to have noticed the recently-opened Lush flagship, anyone with nostrils must surely have been enticed through its doors at least once by the sense-seducing fragrances wafting down the street. From hair heroes and seriously impressive skincare to a floor dedicated to its dazzling array of bath bombs, it's a sight to behold.
If you haven't already made the pilgrimage however you may not have noticed the secret housed downstairs, the somewhat phenomenal Lush Spa. Spa, shma; seen one, seen them all? How wrong you are. I've seen my fair share of spas over the years I've had this gig, some good, some bad, some definitely ugly. Luxuriously fancy spas, slightly clinical spas, even at-home spas, but it's safe to say I've never encountered anything like The Lush Spa.
The Lush Spa is quoted as somewhere 'where massage, music and fragrance create innovative holistic experiences and each visit is fresh, personal and validating. Sounds like lovely, floaty, hippy, mumbo jumbo, but my visit there was quite possibly the best treatment I've ever had. And there's been a LOT.
My 'treatment' at the Lush Spa wasn't really a treatment as such, more a multi-sensory experience. The spa creates individual recipes to unique musical compositions, meaning no two are the same and each is quite unlike anything you may have tried before. From the 80 minute Synaesthesia, combining colour, fragrance and sound, to the rich, creamy and indulgent exfoliating hot chocolate body scrub and rose serum massage in The Comforter you'd be hard pressed to pick just one.
I visited for a Validation Facial, which began with a chat to my therapist at a scrubbed pine table (a replica of the one at which Lush was dreamed up in the founders' kitchen) about what and how I wanted to feel post-facial, followed by a visit to the shop floor to learn more about and select what products would be used on me during the spell. Nothing short of magical, I don't want to give too much away about the facial itself but suffice to say it was an incredible experience (you can tell just from the picture...). Lush's deliciously fresh herbaceous products left my skin completely glowing a soothed - it was the first time in a long while I've confidently left a facial with no make up on. Each step of the treatment was perfectly choreographed to a soothing soundtrack of waves crashing against the Dorset shoreline, inspirational words of validation from the founders and the sounds of the British seaside; I was in awe of how magical it all felt.
Though the Lush treatments aren't cheap - from £50 for the 30 minute Tailor Made massage to £125 for the 80 minute Synaethesia - I can say with some certainty that not only do you get what you pay for, but it's worth every single little copper penny. I'll be back to try the rest before you know it.
Love Laurel x
