Jessica Herman

The Whole Foods of body products has arrived. Lush, an all-natural bath and body shop based in Great Britain, officially opened its doors at 859 West Armitage last week. Though the owners have previously opened shops in twenty-five countries with ten stores on American turf, Chicago is the first outpost of Lush in the Midwest.

The shop is divided into three main sections-"fruit, cheese and dessert"--surrounded by shelves of specialty products to supplement your daily diet. A sales clerk waves his hand in front of "the cheese platter," hand-molded rounds or bricks of soap that customers order in slices by the pound. The centrally located fruit aisle holds Lush's claim to fame, dozens of "bath bombs" from a jasmine-filled aphrodisiac "All That Jas" to "Bon Bomb" and "Honey Bee."

"Everyone! We're doing a bath bomb demonstration," says the store's manager Jill Hall, attempting to organize the herd of sniffing and scratching customers. The responsive few gather around a table and peer into the cauldron; she drops the powdery ball into warm water and "Boom!" the water hisses and sizzles as dried flower bits float to the surface. Customers coo as they dip their hands into the now silky and fragrant water.

The dessert section displays a tempting array of bath melts and bubble baths. Hot pink shimmering chunks of floral-scented "Two-Timing Tarte" spill into marshmallow-and-toffee-colored truffles of chocolate-scented "Ma Bar." This is gluttonous soaking at its best.

Besides cute titles and guidelines for the product's appropriate use and user-- "For hardworking mothers," is one example--Lush assures customers of its commitment to natural products by listing ingredients and production dates on the signs and labels. More seaweed, fennel, figs and flowers pass through here in a month than Dominick's sees in a year.

The environmentally and even vegan-friendly products include solid hair care, soaps and massage bars. But remember this advice: The samples are not for tasting.

(2004-11-10)

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