Tunbridge Wells Blogger Event

Would you believe that I have never been to a blogging event held by Lush before? Given how much press I've been told I provide the company, you would have thought that I would have at least dipped my toes into the exciting world of promotional nights and product demonstrations at least once in my lifetime!

When I was asked to attend the debut press night at the Tunbridge Wells store, I jumped at the chance. Although I do consider my knowledge of the company and their products to be pretty secure, I am always up for finding out more. And if anything, I thought the event would at least allow me to converse with a few like-minded Lushies. 

As it turned out, the night was a success, for both myself and all of the other thirty attendees present. Not only did everyone leave the premises having learnt at least once new thing about the company, each and every person was also given the opportunity to try their hands at making their own Lush product. What could be better than that? Aside from the fact that we were able to take away a handful of hand-picked goodies for us to enjoy as well... 

The night kicked off with a live demonstration of Butterball being made, and bloggers were given the chance to try their hand at mixing, compressing and moulding the finished product to take home afterwards. It was fascinating observing how a bowl of what looked like flour, ended up becoming the bath bomb we all know and love - a learning curve I would definitely like to experience more of, and hope to do so in the coming week, what with my trip to the Lush Kitchen.

What was great about the event was the lax approach by staff as well as attendees. To me, it seemed as if the night was solely about bringing together enthusiastic beauty bloggers and giving them a glimpse into the magical world of Lush, whilst providing all of this within a calm, organic environment. I felt as if many of those present formed new friendships and made many important contacts tonight, and perhaps gained even more from this side of things than the actual product demos themselves.   

While the Butterball demo was going on, I ventured over to another table where an employee was spreading the word about the rather wonderful Charity Pot and Peace Massage Bar. Here I was able to learn a little more about both products. I also found out about the ethical sourcing and buying policies that goes on behind the scenes at Lush, and it really made me appreciate how proactive the company are with their ethical and moral compass.

With drinks and snacks available throughout the whole night, I took this moment to grab myself some freshly sliced watermelon, and then headed over in the direction of the 'kitchen', where one of the employees, Reece, was making a fresh batch of the Cupcake Face Mask. If there is any Lush product that will make you want to lick the bowl, this may just be it!

The mask was made right before my eyes - the ingredients laid out for all to see, while we were talked through what each component did and why it had been included. It was wonderful to see just how simplistic and natural the product was, and reaffirmed that Lush are a company that don't fill their cosmetics with an endless and rather pointless list of preservatives.

Once the product was completed, and the strong chocolate and mint aroma had filled the entire shop, we were all invited to take a generous sample with us to try out at home. When it was my turn, I scooped up enough to see me through my next pampering session, and was even allowed to take an extra sample as there was so much of it to go around. Yummy!

Again, bloggers were left to mill around the shop - talking about their Lush experiences and meeting new people. It was during this time that I managed to have a chat with the wonderful Phil (@allIknowisphil). I'd briefly spoken to him at the start of the evening, but with the many alluring events taking place, we'd gone our separate ways. As to be expected, he was lovely and I do hope I have another chance to meet him again in the near future.

Before long, I realised that the upper layer of the shop was pretty desolate, and headed downstairs to find product demonstrations taking place to a large and eager crowd. I took this moment to explore Lush's hair care range, and made a note to myself that I needed to invest in another piece of both Avocado Co Wash and Trichomania Solid Shampoo, before the month is out.

After another quick browse of the fruit buffet, I headed upstairs for the final performance of the night - the making of the wonderful Sunnyside Bubble Bar. Out of the three products on offer this evening, this was definitely the one I had been more looking forward to. What's not to love about a citrus bubble bar backed with golden lustre? 

Again, the staff talked us through the process of how and why they made the bubble bars in a certain way. It was during this talk that I learnt about the key components of Lush's bath products in general, and I was amazed to see the transformation from the bowl of white powder that they started with, to the gorgeous, sparkly product we all know and love.

At this stage, we were allowed to scoop a generous amount for ourselves, and mould it into any shape that we wanted. It's funny how artistic and creative I consider myself, and then how blank my mind goes when I'm put on the spot to make something using this skill. In the end, I made a simple star shape and left the work bench, safe in the knowledge that it would still be as beautiful in the bath no matter what the design. 

To conclude the wonderful evening, we were each given a bag of Lush goodies to take away, along with a few extra edibles that had obviously come from local companies in and around Tunbridge Wells. One of the Lush employees, Tyler, also made the point of giving me an extra bottle of Twilight Shower Gel, which I'm incredibly thankful for.

The evening was a great success, and such an innovative way of getting more people involved with the company. There were people there of every calibre - big fans, small, independent bloggers, and some that were merely there as +1s. No matter where their starting point was, everyone left with a big smile on their face, and a definite appreciation of the company just that little bit more. 

I cannot wait to attend my next blogging event, and I urge you all to get involved with any events that are coming to your local stores. You don't have to be a prevalent blogger or even a huge fan of the company. It's just a great way to learn more about Lush and spread the joy they bring to a few extra fans on a Saturday evening. 

Take Care

Jen x