Saturday, March 13, 2010

product review (aka warning) - lush sugar scrub

Let me just say at the outset - I adore Lush products. Half of my skincare is from Lush. I love how it is natural and gentle and environmentally friendly and also cruelty-free. I have a massive long list of Lush items I use regularly and recommend to my friends and family.

But... sadly I cannot say the same of their new Sugar Scrub product. I ducked into Lush on Friday to pick up some Ultrabland, and the girl at the counter offered me a free sample of their new body scrub - her instructions were to just 'wet it in the shower and rub it over your whole body'. I gave it a try this morning in the shower, applying a VERY gentle pressure, as I have quite sensitive skin. I scrubbed it gently over my body, and about 5 seconds later I had to jump out of the shower because I was crying in pain. V came running in and yelled because it looked as though I'd been attacked - my body was covered all over in angry red scratches, I was actually bleeding in places!

Below are the results...



The back of my arm looks like I've been attacked by a cat or a very angry woman. It still hurts!



My leg was actually bleeding in places, that was how harsh this scrub is.



My poor decolletage! I pride myself on my fair, porcelain skin - which is currently and angry red, marked with deep scratches.

This product is clearly not appropriate for anyone with sensitive or delicate skin (indeed I hesitate to say it would be appropriate for use by anyone, it felt as though it were full of broken glass). I rate this product a zero out of 5. The same result could be obtained by shutting oneself in a box with an angry cat.

EDIT: I went into Lush QVB store today and showed the sales assistants and the manager the photos, and they were absolutely stunned! They were very apologetic and said they had never seen anything like this before. They had apparently received the free samples just last week direct from the warehouse, and so none of the staff had had the chance to try them yet. I was very relieved that they took the entire box of samples down and said they would definitely not give them out to anyone else after seeing what had happened to me.

I am starting to think now it may have been a massive error in making it - this was just far too strong a reaction for a scrub that was too strong. They are going to contact head office (who I also emailed last night), and let them know there is a problem. They also gave me a customer care form to fill in and said they will follow up with me. They thanked me profusely for coming back in to let them know, so they don't put anyone else through the same thing.
So, all up, I am very happy with the customer service I received at the Lush QVB store, and happy to know that no other poor customer is going to end up with the same horrible results I did.

17 comments:

  1. Oh no! That looks very sore :(
    I would try putting some sorbolene on that irritation, or some vaseline, or if you don't want to use petrochemicals, try some paw paw ointment.

    I like Lush, but some of their fragrances are very overpowering. I can use some Lush products without them hurting my skin. I like the fig soap and recommend it for those with sensitive skin.

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  2. That is a brilliant suggestion about the pawpaw ointment, I have some in the cupboard, thanks so much Carly.
    Thanks for the kind words. x

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  3. That looks terrible! Has the redness gone down at all? Definitely go back and tell them what happened. Maybe try some Aloe if the paw paw doesn't work.

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  4. Oh Dear God in Heaven you poor thing what was in it? Was it sugar or metal demrabrasion beads?????

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  5. No problems KittyCate. I hope it works for you and you feel better soon. I know that sort of pain of scratches all too well. You have gorgeous skin.
    And I hope you don't mind me passing on some advice re skin treatments. Like Carrie Bradshaw knows good sex, Carly Findlay knows bad skin. :P

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  6. ...or that should be...
    I know treatments for bad/sore skin!

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  7. Oh my god Cate that is awful! I never dreamed a scrub could do that much damage.

    Will you go back to Lush and complain?

    Hope it gets better soon xx

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  8. Oh my! This is terrible Cate :( Do you have an aloe vera gel? That might help to sooth it :) Thanks for the warning, I'll make sure to avoid this product.

    Just saw the Carly suggested paw paw, that might be better!

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  9. You poor thing!!! Definitely not trying that one!!

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  10. Hope it heals ASAP.

    Send the pictures to Lush and complain!

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  11. Ouch! Hope its healing quickly.
    I often use plain old sugar to exfoliate and dont have a problem. Sure is cheap too! x

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  12. Holy Moly! I hope you are okay, that looks really painfull.
    I hope you contact Lush and send these photos to them.

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  13. Whaaat? That looks incredibly painful! I would definitely take photos to Lush and complain - a simple scrub shouldn't do that to you!!!
    I second the paw paw - there is nothing more soothing for me!

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  14. Whoa! I agree with Anon - hit up Lush with a big ol' complaint. You never know who else has already done so which might spring some rectification on their side.

    Hope it's not too uncomfortable. :(

    renewvintage.blogspot

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  15. owwww that looks painful!!

    I tried out one of their sugar scrub things at Christmas, it was harsh but not that harsh and i limited the use to very very light scrubbing and mainly on my legs.

    You should definitely email them or go back into the store. They shouldn't sell products that will have such an affect, or at least give some warning.

    Anita
    http://lovevulcanella.blogspot.com

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  16. Sorry to hear/see your terrible experience Cate! As a fellow sensitive-skinned gal I sure do understand how frustrating it is when you think a product will be fine and then it does something awful to you. Good news about the customer service, perhaps it was a bad batch or something...

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  17. I'm guessing that bio-oil or Palmer's aloe moisturiser (it's bright green - you can't miss it!) could help you out, Lovely.

    ..unless you're allergic to aloe vera because that's just asking for a mountain of pain. Eep!

    xxx jo

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