Slightly Higher Shipping Costs and Longer Delivery Time Don’t Detract From The Uniqueness of This Site
Lush
I have heard so much about Lush products that I went straight to the source.
Want the Site Sells
Fresh, hand made soaps, body butters, powders, shampoos, bath bombs and much more. Everything is unique and nothing is tested on animals.
Navigation
The opening page greets you with 29 flags. Pick your country’s flag to see the offerings in your dollars (or whatever denomination of money you use). A click on the US flag takes you to the American site. Once inside, the site is very cartoonish and the font looks like a kid’s printing. There are several categories down the left side of the page and important links across the top like checkout, forums, and FAQs. The middle has a bunch of cartoon people (I assume caricatures of employees?) and a drawing of a round disc of soap. Clicking that will take you to a page that has a special offer, if one is available, that you can take advantage of while shopping on the site.
You can search for products or browse the categories. You can also check out the Best Sellers link which is a mish mash of all types of products that are the most popular at the moment.
If you are a registered member of the site you can also use the Quick Order to link to access your prior orders and reorder without browsing and searching.
The search feature isn’t very intuitive. I was looking for a product called “Silky Underwear Dusting Powder” and every search I tried showed nothing. However, after a lot of clicking around, I found the product for sale on the site.
If you see a picture of something you like, clicking on the thumbnail will take you to a full page with a description, price, and a bunch of user reviews which are probably legitimate but all positive that I could see. The ingredients are all listed clearly as well, which I really like to see on a website selling bath and body products.
Click to add to your cart and, when done, move to the checkout phase.
You must create an account before you can go any further. They ask the usual personal info along with your email address and for you to pick a password.
At last, you get to find out what your shipping charges are. The orders come from Canada and you have a choice of US Ground, Express, or Priority. Naturally, the faster you want the order, the more shipping you will have to pay.
Input your major credit card details and expiry and you will see a confirmation of your order and will get an immediate email. Later, you will get another with tracking info.
It took my order ten days to arrive by UPS Ground which wasn’t terrible considering it was coming from Canada and that the items may have had to be made fresh.
The orders are well packaged, fragrant, and yummy! I also got a sample to try and enjoyed that product enough that it is on my wish list for the next time I shop on the site.
My Experience
I wanted to try that Silky Underwear Dusting Powder for months but didn’t want to spend almost the same amount in shipping as the cost of the powder to get it. Since Lush products are sold on a few other sites, I did check into it but the shipping costs on Amazon were the same and pretty much anywhere I found the product, the shipping was about the same. I decided to go to the Lush site to see all they offered and was there forever, looking at the really cool and very different items being sold. I added a couple more products to my cart and my shipping was $8.21 for a $40.80 order. That isn’t great but not really too outrageous I suppose. I was informed that my order might take 15 days to arrive.
I input my credit card details and expiry and I was all set. My confirmation and shipping emails came promptly and I got my order in 10 days. I had no need for customer service as all was fine and the products were as described.
I will, however, wait until I have a larger order to shop at Lush because, for just the one product I was going buy for $8.95, shipping would have been $7.65. Adding two more products only increased the shipping by a few cents and made the cost easier to swallow.
Shipping and Returns
Shipping, as I mentioned, is by UPS and you can choose from three time frames. The basic Ground shipping could take up to 15 days to arrive and is a bit on the high side for small orders but is reasonable for orders with a few or more items included.
The return policy is a little sketchy. You can, apparently return products but must call customer service for a return authorization number. They do not specify if the products can be used or must be unused to return them. I did not have to make a return so I had no need to find out but will find out before I make another order. I am guessing they are fairly liberal with their returns policy, however. Then again, remember you will be shipping an item or items to Canada for a refund and you may end up spending more to return the item than to just keep it.
Contact Info
You can contact Lush customer service at 1-888-733-5874 or via email at customercare@lush.com. Questions about orders can be addressed at the same number or sent to orders@lush.com.
Recommendation
Lush is FUN! They have some really unique fresh, hand made products for the bath, body, face, and more. The prices range from reasonable to somewhat expensive but nothing is really outrageously priced. I am not thrilled with the shipping costs for small orders but if you order a few items, the shipping is much fairer.
There is a longer than usual wait for orders because of location and the fact that the some items are made to order but 10 days isn’t a big deal to me to wait for items. You can track your orders so you know they are on the way.
I had no problems whatsoever with the site. I am not a fan of the somewhat hard to read font they chose for their main links but it isn’t a major deterrent.
Their clear policy against using products that are tested on animals makes this site and their products even more desirable to me.
I give the site 4 stars. If shipping were a tad lower on small orders, I would go with 5. It’s reliable and it’s a fun, unique site.
Recommended:
Yes
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