Apple Crumble

A key ingredient in chocolate making, cocoa is also a staple on Lush shelves for its amazing effect on the skin, body and mind.

The cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) grows in warm, humid forests near the Equator. It yields large dark red or yellow pods containing up to 50 seeds each, coated in soft, edible flesh. The seeds, also called cocoa beans, are covered to ferment and then dried. During this process, they lose their acidic taste and develop their familiar chocolate scent. 

To obtain cocoa butter, the prepared beans are cleaned, dried and roasted and then ground into a thick, oily paste called chocolate liquor. The liquor can be used as such for chocolate-making or subjected to high pressure to separate the cocoa powder from the butter. An additional step can be carried out to deodorise the butter. This often happens for its use in cosmetics as it could interfere with the other scents of a product. The powder, which contains almost all of the scent and flavour of cocoa, can be used pure or put through solvent extraction to obtain a fragrant absolute.

The butter is an excellent emollient that moisturises the skin and hair. It also plays an essential role in product formulation, helping to achieve stable blends with longer shelf life or to create solid products that do not require packaging.

The powder gives products a natural tint and a delicious scent and taste.

The absolute delights the senses and uplifts the mood. Cocoa’s scent is also said to be a great aphrodisiac!

In 2017, a new type of chocolate was patented, called ruby cocoa. It has a dark pinkish colour, due to a special variety of cocoa trees that produce ruby-coloured beans.

The sources will vary depending on the ingredient, but we make sure that they never involve child labour. The Lush buying team always tries to make purchases that contribute to the well-being of people and the planet’s regeneration. To find out more about each of the cocoa suppliers, browse your Lush product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones you are interested in. This should take you to a page full of details!

Orange flower has an intensely floral aroma with fresh green notes and is one of the most popular essential oils used in perfumery.

Lush uses a few different types of orange flower (or orange blossom) in products, with varied purposes and perks to them. They’re all derived from the bitter orange tree (Citrus aurantium amara), which is an evergreen member of the Rutaceae plant family. The fruits flavour food and drinks, the flowers provide neroli oil and orange flower absolute, and even the leaves and twigs can be distilled to obtain petitgrain oil.

Orange flower absolute refreshes, rejuvenates and mattifies the skin.

The flower’s fragrance calms and uplifts the mood.

Orange flower water is made by diluting the absolute in water; it has a fainter, delicate floral scent.

Orange blossom honey can also be found in Lush products. This is produced when bees collect nectar from the flowers of the bitter orange tree. The honey retains some of the beautiful floral-citrus flavour and fragrance. It is considered luxurious and exotic.

Lush purchases orange flower absolute from a producer based in the north of Tunisia. The business is run by three siblings, whose father started many years ago. They have been supplying Lush since 2005. To find out more about the other orange flower-derived ingredients and the suppliers, browse your Lush product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones you are interested in. This should take you to a page full of details!

Wonderfully softening and an excellent ally for product formulation, shea butter is a staple at Lush.

Shea butter is the ivory-coloured fat extracted from the nut of the vitellaria tree (Vitellaria Paradoxa or Butyrospermum parkii), which is native to Africa, and more specifically the Sahel region. To obtain the butter, the nuts are dried and crushed before being roasted and pressed into a silky liquor. This is then whipped and kneaded in large pans until fat forms on top.

Moisturising and emollient, it softens the skin.

Conditions the hair and skin, making them smooth to touch.

Contains oleic acid, a mono-unsaturated fatty acid that is highly compatible with our body's natural sebum and allows the butter to be more easily absorbed into the skin. 

The butter contains stearic acid, a skin-softening fatty acid that acts as an emulsifier. This means that it helps bind oil and water together, preventing products from separating. Combined with the solid nature of the butter, this emulsifying property creates tight emulsions that leave no room for microbes to move and grow, helping products to remain fresher for longer and thus lower or prevent the need for synthetic preservatives.

With seven manufacturing sites across the world, the source for shea butter can change depending on where your Lush product was made. To find out more, you can browse your product’s list of ingredients and click on the ones you are interested in. This should take you to a page full of details!

It’s cold outside. The tip of your nose is freezing, the sky is grey, and you could really use something comforting and warming. Well, here comes cinnamon!

Cinnamon is a spice harvested from the Cinnamomum verum, also called the ‘true cinnamon tree’. It is a shrub-like evergreen tree of the Laurel family, considered native to Sri Lanka and India. Its leaves and outer bark are fragrant, but it's the inside of the tree that is most sought after. Indeed, it contains an aromatic inner bark that peels easily and in thin layers. These precious sheets are tied up and left to dry so that they form the brown curls that we know. It can also be sold in small pieces or powder.

The whole cinnamon tree can be used! Traditionally, the shredded outer bark is used to fill the cinnamon curls. The bark, leaves and flower buds can also be distilled to obtain essential oils of different intensities.

Its warm and spicy fragrance comforts and invigorates. For some, it’s emblematic of the winter festivities; for others, it’s an aphrodisiac!

It has powerful antibacterial and antifungal properties, ideal for skin, body and oral care.

Depending on the concentration, it can have a warming effect on the skin when applied topically, helping to stimulate blood circulation and energise tired muscles.

Cinnamon was once one of the rarest and most expensive items in the spice trade. Its powerful antimicrobial properties had been noticed by the ancient Egyptians, who used it for embalming and to preserve their food. It was prized during Antiquity and the Middle Ages to flavour food, in religious rites, as medicine or perfume… and that hasn't changed today! Interestingly, some parts of the world view it more as a spice for savoury dishes, while others will pair it with sweets.

Your order will be expertly protected against impact during transit by biodegradable Eco-Pops, compostable packaging nuggets made from potato starch! They're easily dissolvable in water or soil.

All of our products are made by hand, fresh, every day, across 6 manufacturing sites all over the world. We believe in happy people making happy soap, putting our faces on our products and making our mums proud.

Use all in one go for a dramatic bubble bath, or snap a piece off and crumble for 2-3 uses.

It's better naked. 66% of products sold each year are packaging-free.