Oman's Cosmetic Haven: Lush

While I was shopping at Muscat City Centre recently, something pleasant caught my fancy. I didn’t know what it was exactly, neither did I know where it was, but I followed the fruity, fragrant trail until I found myself in front of a new shop called Lush.

The aptly named UK brand produces an aromatic line of wellness products in the form of luxurious, all-natural bath and body tonics. The premium handmade soaps, creams, and elixirs are created using the best and raw materials, placing emphasis on fresh ingredients like organic fruits and vegetables, and the highest quality herbs, flowers, and essential oils. Lush leads the cosmetics industry in combating over-packaging by running public awareness campaigns and developing products that can be sold ‘naked’ to the consumer without any packaging. And, it should come as no surprise, this social conscious company doesn’t test any of their products on animals.

The most popular item at Lush branches across the world is the ‘Karma’ soap, consisting of a mix of rare essential oils and citruses. It contains patchouli and a citrus blend for the relaxing element, while pine, lemongrass, orange oil, and lavender oil refresh and soothe the senses and the skin.

The ‘Maypole’ is an instant therapy soap made from glycerine and sorbitol (MPG free) and contains a mix of high quality essential oils and ingredients like gardenia. The composition is used by aromatherapists to treat tension and headaches.

All this natural goodness comes at a price, which the brand says is based on the quality of the ingredients in the products. Owing to the brand’s strict freshness policy, the exotic blends have a limited shelf life, making them more costly to produce.

“We believe our products are a good value, that we should make a profit, and that the customer is always right,” a brand representative explained. “The concept of Lush is romantic: Long candlelit baths, sharing showers, massage, filling the world with perfume,” all done in a sustainable, responsible way.

Lush may be a bit pricey, but it’s also the ultimate feel-good indulgence — good for the earth, good for my body and mind, with smells so sweet that they can literally lead you down new paths of discovery.

Enchanted (Eye Cream) OMR15
American Cream (Hair Conditioner) 250g OMR11
Lush Pot (Hand and Body Lotion) 240g OMR15
Rub Rub Rub (Body Scrub) OMR6
Passionate (Lipstick) OMR9
New Shampoo Bar (Hair) OMR7.200
Maypole (Soap) 130g OMR40
Peace (Massage Bar) OMR8.300
Imperialis (Face Moisturiser) OMR16

Pamper yourself
Lush
Muscat City Centre, Seeb
+968 2454 3364
Open from 10am-10pm Sat - Wed; Thurs & Fri 10am till 12 midnight
lushmena.com
Instagram: @lushmuscatcitycentre
—[email protected]