Dainty Alice


A pretty little LUSH, Beauty & Lifestyle blog.


So, What Happened To The LUSH Kitchen?

Bye bye Miss American Pie - Who's knows when you'll be returning now the Kitchen has closed?
When it comes to Kitchen products, I tend to suffer from a serious case of FOMO if I don't get my hands on the most hyped exclusive that week. Why? Because something comes over me when I see the words 'limited edition' - I must have it all. So imagine my absolute horror when I heard the news that the LUSH Kitchen is closing it's doors as we know it. How will I manage to try everything on my forgotten products wishlist without The Kitchen?!

The information we have so far is limited, but I've tried to piece together the clues as best I can. Please note that some of this post is purely speculation and my own ideas on what could be coming next!

So what's going on?

According to their articles and social channels, the LUSH Kitchen isn't 'closing', but rather changing. I personally think this is a bit of a fib as they have already changed the Kitchen category on the website to 'Exclusives' and completely stopped the weekly menu as we knew it. We all have to accept it - The Kitchen is dead.

The 'official' reason behind the change is that LUSH thought it was unfair that international customers had to set their alarms at silly o'clock to stand a chance at getting some of the daily releases. I honestly don't buy this. I've completely forgotten that items are being released and still managed to order them days later. Many people are speculating online that LUSH simply don't want to put any more money into reviving products that were discontinued for a reason, and instead want to focus on new products.

This is the first year that I've properly been 'into' LUSH, so I'm absolutely gutted that they're closed the Kitchen right before the opportunity of having some amazing retro Christmas products in there. I WANT BUTTERBALL SHOWER GEL.

But this has happened before...

Once upon a time, before the days of the Kitchen, there was a sub-website called Retro LUSH which was launched in 2003 and discontinued in 2014, before I ever got the chance to visit it. Customers on the forums would vote for their favourite discontinued product and the Retro website would bring them back in small batches. Sound familiar? The only difference between Retro and the Kitchen being that products were released less frequently, but in much larger batches.

It seems they're returning to that way of thinking, as the official LUSH FAQ articles suggests that 'exclusives' and old favourite are being brought back in larger batches available for a longer period of time aka, Retro LUSH. Before I started the research for this article I had no idea that Retro LUSH even existed, and apparently people kicked up a huge fuss when it first changed to the Kitchen, so maybe this could be a step (back) in the right direction?

Strangely, in a reply to the comment on the FAQ article, LUSH states that there will not be a separate section on the website to buy the exclusive products. Weird, as an 'exclusives' section has already appeared, and where else are we supposed to get these products from? Make up yo' damn minds!

WTF LUSH?



What do we know for sure?

(not a great deal)


LUSH are pouring their energy into a new makeup line

Alongside the weekly Kitchen menu, the Emotional Brilliance makeup range is also being discontinued (so I better stock up on some Fantasy eyeliner ASAP.) New ideas, formulas and products are being developed and they are aiming to 'up their game' and create a 'bigger and better' makeup range.

I suppose this could be nice. I haven't actually tried any of the old makeup range from LUSH (shocker) because as much as I adore their bath and skincare products, I tend to go high-end rather than hippy-dippy when it comes to my choice in makeup.

LUSH have literally no idea what they are doing

As previously mentioned, I'm pretty peeved at how the whole situation has been handled. They hyped up the announcement for a week beforehand, only to reveal that the Kitchen was closing. Why did they try and turn what is essentially a death sentence into a party?

I'm personally pretty annoyed. Yes, it will save me money every week, but I also think the way LUSH have handled the announcement is pretty poor. Every reply to customer's concerned comments includs "keep your eyes peeled ;)" or "keep checking the Kitchen social channels!" which frankly I don't feel is an acceptable way to deal with a borderline public outcry. They didn't even reply to my email or messages from a few weeks ago asking for more information so I could write this post!

To back-up their initial announcement there was a disastrous live stream where the Kitchen staff looked visibly upset, as if they had only just found out moments before filming. There were no concrete answers to any questions, just once again the "keep checking the channels!" bullsh*t. There have been no solid facts or figures about how many products are being released, how frequently, or how long they will be available for. As my mum would say, they couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.

The more I write and research this post, the more annoyed I am becoming. I find the whole ordeal very, very sad, and I no longer feel the motivation to finish my #LUSHTOBER series as I genuinely feel betrayed by LUSH. I may be coming off as a bit of a drama queen and I'll admit I'm very tired, but I was such a LUSH super-fan - I even considered changing Dainty Alice to become solely a LUSH blog - that I feel hurt by this move and their attitude towards it.

I think I might have to break-up with LUSH.

30 comments

  1. I’ve actually never heard of Lush Kitchen! But companies always chance things and sometimes, I do wonder if they realise how determental some changes have on their customers!

    www.chausadventure.com

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    1. It's so frustrating! I hope they realise soon!

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  2. It sounds like the management have no idea what they're doing and this confusion is trickling down to the marketeers who desperately try and keep people not knowing too much (or anything) but to still be interested. Really badly handled campaign, from such a massive company. Surprising, really. I love Lush stuff but never got involved with the Kitchen (or Retro) but I can definitely see why this would cause an uproar - if for nothing else, at least for treating their customers like divs. Tut tut.
    Katja xxx
    www.katnapped.com

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    1. Right??? It's been handled so unprofessionally, I'm gutted at the actions of such an ethical company!

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  3. I've honestly never heard of lush kitchen but I can see why all of this is frustrating. I hope the situation sorts itself out soon.

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  4. I've never tried any of their products, but heard about them. Are their products really good?

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    1. No way? Well you're definitely in the right place for LUSH products if you'd like to read some reviews

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  5. I THOUGHT SOMETHING HAD CHANGED! Didn't really know what but this explains so so much. I just got into it and then it disappeared :D I'm mindblown.
    But you're absolutely right, they've got no idea what they're doing at the moment! I hope it ends up to be something good!

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    1. I KNOW RIGH! I'd even turned on Instagram notifications for the Kitchen account just the week before so that I didn't miss any menu updates, I'm so upset!

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  6. I had no idea this happened, that's a shame. Hopefully whatever is next in store is great!

    Steph x
    www.wanderlustpulse.com

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  7. Hmmmm, very curious! Seems a little sneaky on the part of LUSH.

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    1. It doesn, doesn't it! Especially with no prior warning, and hints at something good coming!

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  8. Omg, I see you are really frustrated with the whole situation. I can see why. It was interesting to read, as I have never heard of Lush Kitchen prior to this article.


    Tadeja
    http://www.happynami.com/opposites-attract-5-love-languages/

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  9. I actually though that they only do make ups but obviously I was not right. I hope they'll start offering those kitchen products you love soon again.

    xx Nora / https://dreamerachiever.com

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  10. Sounds like such an interesting company and an interesting concept. Although I can imagine being upset by frequent changes of policy, not matter the reasoning. I'm imagining that they are struggling if they keep needing to change the way they operate though.

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  11. I’ve never heard of Lush Kitchen, I think the makeup range will do really well. Can’t wait to see what they come up with!

    Amy - www.imamyelizabeth.co.uk

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  12. It always annoys me when they get rid of my favourite products, and I dislike how drastically the bath bomb range has been reduced by. I'm hoping that whatever they do with this kitchen stuff ends up having a positive outcome!

    Lauren :) x

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    1. I was really shocked when looking at the shower gel range the other day - I'm sure there used to be way more regular ones, not just the Halloween / Christmas lot!

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  13. I can't believe they're shutting the kitchen still.

    IT BREAKS MY HEART. RIP my favourite golden oldies.

    Fab post Alice!

    XOXO Molly

    www.mollyyrees.com

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    1. Molly I'm so gutted about it! I'm honestly heartbroken

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  14. I didn't even know what Lush Kitchen was. It might be pretty annoying to see your fav range go away but they might replace it with something even better, who knows? xx corinne

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  15. I've never heard of lush kitchen! But to be honest I'm not a fan of limited edition anyway. Once I have something I love I want it forever! Shame you're not going to get some stuff you wanted to try though x

    Sophie
    Www.glowsteady.co.uk

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    1. I definitely see that! It's always difficult when I use up a LE item, not knowing when I can get more!

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  16. OMG I wasn't even aware of any of this! Where have I been?!
    Anyway, this was a great read!
    I guess we'll just have to "keep our eyes peeled" lol ugh

    Kenisha - heykenkay.com

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    1. I know!! At least it's not just me that feels so mugged off at their actions

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  17. I only just got into Lush and never really understood what Lush Kitchen was. I don't understand why they always get rid of products which I think a lot of people enjoy. If they ever get rid of dream cream then I won't be happy. But hopefully maybe something better might come?

    acupofwonderland.wordpress.com

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  18. I've never heard of Lush Kitchen, so frustrating when company's stop doing your favorite product 💕

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Every single comment means so much to me, thanks for making me smile! :)