Super Milk

Citrusy sweetness that uplifts the mind, balances skin and brings inner balance? Sign us up! 

The Litsea cubeba, or May Chang tree, is a small evergreen tree native to China. Its berry-like fruits are full of sweet and lemony essential oils.

The sweet, lemon-like and refreshing aroma of the litsea cubeba oil uplifts the mind and promotes relaxation and inner balance.

The oil is often used in skincare for its antiseptic, toning, and astringent properties that help balance the skin’s sebum production.

Citral makes up approximately 80% of the oil, it is a fragrant compound with a fresh lemon peel scent, close to lemongrass.

Lush purchases litsea cubeba oil from a producer in China.

Vanilla is the unmistakable, uplifting and sweet scent we all know and love.

Vanilla beans (pods) are the fruits of the orchid Vanilla planifolia. Centuries ago, one could only purchase vanilla from Mexico, as the flowers required a local bee to pollinate and grow the precious pod. Thanks to the discovery of a hand pollination technique in 1841, orchids can now be cultivated in most tropical areas close to the equator. This step requires specialised know-how and must be carried out a few hours after the flower opens; otherwise, it will wilt.

Each blossom produces a single bean, which is normally harvested after eight or nine months. The beans then pass through a complex curing process before becoming the black-brown fragrant spice we all know. This process usually involves four steps: soaking in hot water, sweating in a warm environment, drying for a few weeks, and conditioning (packing in boxes) to develop flavours.

It has a sweet fragrance with uplifting, de-stressing and aphrodisiac qualities.

The sugars in vanilla act as humectants, which minimise moisture loss.

The spice is soothing, softening and antibacterial for the skin.

Its main aromatic compound, vanillin, is an antioxidant that helps the skin to stay firm and radiant.

Since Madagascar, the world's first vanilla producer, stopped regulating vanilla prices in the 1990s, its trade has seen ups and downs. The latest struggles began in 2012 when very low harvests caused demand for the spice to exceed supply. Since vanilla is a rather rare natural delicacy that cannot be rushed, the situation quickly snowballed into huge price increases (over 100%), poor quality and crime.

In 2016, the situation in Uganda (where we buy our pods) became critical and was reported to us in an article by Lulu, owner of the Ndali farm. Resellers and agents working on commission began buying vanilla that was not even cured properly yet. Vanilla pods must reach maturity and undergo the full curing process to develop all the notes of their wonderful taste and aroma, and to prevent mould. During price crises, crops are sold far too early, and pods can even be stolen from the fields before they're ripe. Farmers try to expand their crops to meet demand, and governments implement drastic measures. Eventually, when things finally calm down, farmers find themselves with too much production and prices drop tragically, as has been the case since 2019.

We love natural vanilla so much that we couldn't stop using it. Thanks to our dedicated team of creative buyers, year after year and month after month, we have found solutions to the market’s turmoil. Find more information on each source in the description of the main vanilla ingredients we use:

Vanilla Extract, combines several ingredients whose comforting scent enhances our perfumes and skin-soothing cosmetics.

Vanilla Pod Powder, which adds vanilla’s signature tiny black dots to our products.

Want to dive straight into our range of vanilla-scented products? They're ready for you.

Benzoin has been used in incense and perfumes for centuries. Its sweet, spicy and slightly earthy aroma brings comfort and calm to the mind.

Benzoin is a natural resin that can be collected from two types of styrax trees: Styrax benzoin, native to Sumatra, and Styrax tonkinensis, which grows in Southeast Asia. 

Resin is a natural bandage for trees. It drips from wounded trunks and hardens in the open air, protecting the wounds from possible disease, fungus, and insect attack. Resin is full of potent aromatic compounds, which probably inspired humans to try and make something out of it centuries ago. Some trees produce a lot of it, making it easy to harvest. Once hard, the resin can be burned pure, ground into powder, or refined with solvents to produce a fragrant extract called resinoid.

Its sweet, balsamic and powdery scent is a delightful sensory treat.

It soothes the skin and keeps it healthy and firm.

Its thick consistency creates a thin protective and conditioning film on the skin and hair, which helps prevent moisture loss and gives hair shine.

As a fixative, it helps other fragrance ingredients to blend well and last longer on the skin.

Lush purchases a tincture of benzoin from a UK-based company and a resinoid from a supplier in Laos. The latter works with 80 farmers who collect resin from Styrax tonkinensis trees, using traditional methods and focusing on quality. The trees are grown and harvested sustainably, and the forest is managed according to agroforestry principles. Farmers receive fair payments and labour security and safety. 

Find out more about each of our benzoin ingredients on their dedicated pages:

Benzoin Resinoid

Tincture of Benzoin

Benzoin Gum Powder

Or browse through two collections of iconic Lush scents: The sleepy range, which combines sweet benzoin and tonka with calming lavender, and our gourmand selection of irresistible fragrances.

The best thing you could bring to a desert island? A coconut tree. It is remarkably helpful and generous.

The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is thought to be native to the warm climates of Polynesia, Malaysia and southern Asia. The trees bloom and bear fruit throughout the year, growing a new flower spike nearly every month. This then becomes a cluster of six to twelve fruits. Coconuts are the seeds of these fruits, the largest seed known to the world! 

'Kalpavriksha', the Sanskrit name for the coconut, means 'tree which gives all that is necessary for living' and, indeed, the possibilities seem endless. In Lush products alone, you can find the water, the flesh and the shell of its seed, as well as the nectar of its flower. We can even use the fibres of its fruits to make some of the wrapping papers!

Coconut oil is soothing, moisturising and emollient to the skin. It also conditions and protects the hair.

Coconut yoghurt, milk and cream are full of fats and have effects similar to those of the oil, with the added bonus of a lovely tropical scent!

Coconut wax coats and protects the skin and gives our products a nice, firm texture.

Desiccated coconut makes a gentle exfoliator that releases soft, moisturising milk when mixed with water. 

Ground coconut shells make a strong natural scrub.

Each coconut-derived ingredient we use has its specific benefits and suppliers. Here’s a selection of pages to browse, but feel free to click on any of the ingredients that make our products. That should take you to a page full of details!

Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Coconut Flour

Coconut Milk Powder

You say, “Give me that coco!!!” We say, “Here’s something for your hair, your skin, your hands, and your massages, and you bet we’ve got loads more.”

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.

Fresh cosmetic ingredients are more effective on skin, hair, and mind than heavily preserved beauty products. 65% of our raw material spend is on natural ingredients.