Shall We Bath? - www.lushcanada.com
Written: Jul 17 '02 (Updated Feb 09 '04)
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Updated 02/09/04: Lush Canada updated their website! Significantly more user-friendly now, the site offers country-specific subsites, a working search function, a dedicated account which will remember user information, online tracking for shipped orders, and an informative FAQ which will give you data on everything from out-of-stock orders to how to use certain of their products. It’s the same great product and service, packaged in a much more usable and intuitive web format. Kudos to Lush Canada on their customer-friendly redesign, and a full five stars for the online experience!
Read on for the original review:
A relatively new and unknown (at least to U.S. audiences) firm, Lush Cosmetics specializes in fresh, unique bath and body products. The firm is most often likened to the popular, more recognized chain The Body Shop, and with good reason - Mark Constantine, the founder and CEO of Lush, began his beauty products career with Constantine & Weir, The Body Shop's primary soap and shampoo supplier for several years. Constantine opened his first Lush store in Covent Garden, London (long associated with fresh produce, flowers, and opera - though opera may not have much to do with soap), in 1995, and has since grown the single office into a £30m a year business (that's roughly $43m for all of us Yanks).
Each of Lush's many products are handmade from young, natural ingredients and are so "fresh they come with expiration dates." They use few preservatives or chemical colorants, relying instead on more organic elements to produce the freshest product possible. Using everything from sodium bicarbonate, to Ylang Ylang, to lentils, Lush is so focused on natural ingredients that CEO Constantine once referred to the company as "a delicatessen for cosmetics." As an added bonus, it's a vegetarian delicatessen, so even those opposed to the use of animal products in commercial materials can shop with a sound conscience.
Why www.lushcanada.com?
Well, to begin with, LushAmerica doesn't exist - the company operates in several countries, but, unfortunately, the U.S. is not one of them, so LushCanada.com was the closest available outlet. With the US dollar a little stronger than the Canadian, though, the pricing is quite favorable, and import duties are generally only charged on orders over $200US / $300CAN. So, provided I mind my shopping cart I can collect quite a few nice items for roughly the same as (if not less than) I'd spend at my equivalent local boutique.
Further, I first visited the site when searching for a unique gift for my mother-in-law. She has most everything she needs, and it's often hard to find something just right for her. She likes to pamper herself, but seldom purchases any indulgence items for herself. She also lives out of state. We'd sent her some prepackaged bath goodies a couple of years ago, and she enjoyed them, but I wanted this year to be a little different - something she couldn't find for herself at the Macy's down the road. The combination of the products' aesthetics, ingredients, and Lush's selection and availability sold me on them, and we sent several little confections to my mother-in-law for Christmas.
Navigability
The site itself can be a bear to navigate. There is no search engine, which is a detriment when one is not at all familiar with Lush's offerings. I spent about 45 minutes to an hour rummaging through their online catalog, which is broken down by product category, trying to figure out what all they made and whether any of it matched my needs. However, once one is familiar with the items available, the site becomes reasonably easy to sort out. After learning where specific items fall under the broader headings, the product category breakdown makes finding what you want fairly simple. Of course, without that search engine buyers must occasionally wade through a couple of pages of extraneous material, but thankfully those pages do load relatively quickly.
I've two other cons with the site function, and both are related to the frame at the bottom which reads, "This is your empty shopping cart" even when my cart isn't empty. The note caused me to almost double order the first few items I selected because I wasn't sure they made it into the cart. The only way to check its contents is to order another item, or to go through check out. The former is a cumbersome way to verify or change quantities, and the latter practically finalizes the purchase before I'm necessarily ready to commit. I've made a couple of purchases, and this bugs me, but not enough to stop me from buying.
My final issue has to do with the payment procedure, and will be covered below.
Payment and Shipping Options
The company accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Diners Club credit cards. The payment screen goes quickly, and those accustomed to shopping online might expect a couple of "Are You Sure" stops and a receipt page detailing items and pricing at the end of the transaction. Don't expect that here, because you won't find it. Immediately upon entering your credit card details (the last of the information they require), you click on "submit my order," and you'd better mean it - because that's it. You're done. You can't even go back and print the previous screen, so do make sure to write down your customer code and order number (or print the screen) prior to entering your credit card.
Shipping charges are based on weight, quantity ordered, and shipping method. Available methods are FedEx overnight (If ordered before 1:00 PM, PST), Express (2-3 business days), and Ground (7-12 business days). There's quite a price gap between Express and Ground, so I tend to stick with the latter and have had no trouble thus far.
There is an "order tracking" tab on the main page for those wishing to check on their outstanding orders, but the tracker is not linked to any carriers. So, instead of the rather instantaneous updates you see on, say, Amazon.com, LushCanada.com only offers a form for customers to fill out and email to the company. Responses can take up to several days according to a disclaimer on the site. Luckily, I've not had to use this form myself - but I imagine it's quite inconvenient for those who do require it.
Product and Service
The products are, without doubt, the highlight of the Lush experience. Bath Bombs, Bubble Bars, Fragrant Soaps, Moisturizers and Hand & Body Creams head up just a sampling of the wide variety of items available. With the exceptions of face makeup and small appliances, if you need it in the bathroom chances are Lush has it. My favorite category is the one for wrapped gifts. It's here one can find collections and assortments of products of all varieties, all very prettily packaged and at a reasonable price. They make great gifts for any occasion or time of year, and are a perfect way to sample a number of Lush's products without having to invest inordinate amounts of money.
Customer service at LushCanada.com is absolutely outstanding, and it's the reason I've made multiple purchases at their site. As I mentioned earlier, my first order with the company was for my mother-in-law's Christmas present. I did my shopping, filled out the forms, hit "submit my order" and *poof*. There it went. I crossed my fingers and hoped all went well, then planned on making a trip to boutique bath store here in town.
About 30 minutes later (give or take), a customer service representative called me and asked if I had made a (very) recent purchase. I confirmed that I had. And that's when she told me my credit card number was incorrect. Not a big deal, you say? Perhaps not, but I'd not entered my telephone number on the order form (it's not required, and I don't like to give it out). Rather than chance my email address, this CSR took the initiative of calling information and getting my phone number to call me and confirm my order. We corrected the error over the phone, and the shipment went out in time for Christmas.
I was very impressed with Lush's people, and still am. Good service can and does buy my loyalty, and I've since returned to make other purchases.
Overall Recommendation
A good niche company with excellent customer service, LushCanada.com is a challenge to rate. The website itself is clunky at best (rating 2½ stars) and in desperate need of a modernizing overhaul, but Lush's products, selection and service (5 stars) have kept me coming back for more (works out to 3¾ stars). I do recommend taking a peek to see if their offering suits you, but can only recommend serious shopping with reservations due to poor site function / design.
www.lushcanada.com
1-888-733-LUSH
Note: This review was originally posted in "Suggested Products." Pluckyduck was kind enough to add the product to the Epinions database (thank you, thank you!), and I've moved the review the appropriate place.
Recommended:
Yes
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jaxmom28
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