[Lush](http://lush.com) finally [made it to Lausanne](http://climbtothestars.org/archives/2006/05/31/lush-a-lausanne-en-aout/)! In case you didn’t know already, [Lush makes me happy](http://www.flickr.com/photos/nksyoon/57434732/) and I’m glad I don’t have to go all the way to Geneva anymore to get [my fix](http://climbtothestars.org/archives/2003/11/27/lush-bathroom/) of ethical-fun-organic cosmetics.
The new shop opened on Saturday, and the nice Scottish guy I spoke to in the shop today told me it was absolute madness, with customers queuing all through the shop to get to the cash desk. I was (un)fortunately away this week-end, so I had to wait until today to set foot in my new favourite shop. The place they found for the shop is just right, in my opinion. Place de la Palud is pretty much dead central (well, Lausanne city centre is pretty spread out, so many places are “centre”, which is quite nice, actually).
The shop is much less cramped than the Geneva one. They have good air conditioning, which means the typical “Lush shop smell” (all the fragrances blended together, yum!) which some find overwhelming isn’t very strong. They have the [fresh face masks](http://www.lush.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=18) which to my knowledge are not available in Geneva, so I bought one to try — it’s in the fridge now. The Scottish guy (I didn’t ask his name; he’s in charge (?) of the Bern shop but is going to be over here every now and again to help the new shop get started) told me they were discontinuing the Ginger fragrance, which I like a lot, so I bought a [vaporiser](http://www.lush.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_16&products_id=103) (oh my). I also found a few ballistics which I hadn’t tried: [Dream On](http://www.lush.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5&products_id=439), [Still Life](http://www.lush.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5&products_id=413) and [Romance in a Stone](http://www.lush.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5&products_id=361). [Ballistics](http://www.lush.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_5) are usually tennis-ball sized bath fizzies. They’re much better than any others you can find at Body Shop or perfume stores.
The thing I really like about Lush, as a brand, is how refreshing the article descriptions and the [Lush Times](http://flickr.com/photos/nksyoon/57434941/) are. The style is direct, no-jargon, witty (and sometimes even a bit naughty). For each product, they’ll tell you what’s in it and why, how to use it and when. In the Lush Times (a good place to start if you feel lost in all those smells and colours, just go to your nearest Lush store and grab a copy), you’ll see photographs of real people using the products. Customer letters and quotes are sprinkled throughout the publication. Lush employees also appear as human beings, cited by name here and there when anecdotes are mentioned. All this makes it feel very “bloggy” to me (see what I mean?), even though their websites (ahem) could really use some help (and not just [technical](http://climbtothestars.org/files/lush_oops.jpg)).
Never been to Lush? If you are unfortunate enough not to live in [beautiful Lausanne](http://www.flickr.com/photos/bunny/sets/1292407/), [go to the site and click on your country’s flag](http://lush.com/) if you see it (otherwise, click on the flag of the country closest to yours — it’s worth the trip). You can order online (the shipping fees in Switzerland are very reasonable, 8.- CHF per shipment) too if you wish. Lush products are great to use on yourself, but they make really nice gifts too (though some of the guys might not appreciate glittery stuff like [the Fairy Jasmine ballistic](http://www.lush.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5&products_id=49)), and they have vouchers if you’re not certain what to choose. Be sure to read through the product descriptions and allow yourself to be tempted.
*Note: I’ve linked to the UK site even if it hangs and you’re not going to use it to order stuff for Switzerland because (a) this post is in English (b) the descriptions are so much better in English than on the [French version of the Swiss site](http://lush-shop.ch/fr/). I find Lush loses a lot of its charm during translation, sadly.*
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