For those who don’t know, LUSH is a fresh, handmade cosmetics company that originated in London several years ago and has now reached cult status. The company is by no means a cult, but when you mention its name, a wide spectrum of people will turn glass eyed and immediately reach for their purse or wallet. In an attempt to bring the loyal lovers of their popular bath bombs and soaps to a heightened frenzy of buyer’s lust, co-founder Mark Constantine and resident perfumer Simon Constantine have launched a new LUSH brand called Gorilla Perfume and they are currently having a gallery event in SoHo to debut the fragrances in that line, some which will be available in LUSH stores this fall, and some which can only be seen and purchased at the event. I was lucky enough to get an invite to the gallery’s press party last night and will admit that during the duration of my time there, broken up by occasional bird dogging of the guys walking around with trays of wine, I couldn’t supress the thought, “please God, let there be a goodie bag at the end of this.” And not to ruin the end of the story .. but there was!! I was sent home with a full sized Tuca Tuca candle (a lovely violet and vanilla scent,) and four purse sized perfumes from the line (Lust, Orange Blossom, Imogen Rose, and The Smell of Freedom.) I was, and still am, pretty much over the moon. The event itself (if you’ve had enough of me talking about hoarding free shit) went down like a museum exhibit of sorts, or like select scenes from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. You know, where the presidents talked about how great water slides and ice cream are? LUSH took on volunteers from within their various stores and taught them the stories behind the perfumes in the line, which the storytellers then repeated for the guests as they came in and out of the thematic rooms of the gallery. My favorite room was the one they set up for a perfume called The Smell of Weather Turning, which was inspired by a witch, a musician, and a dream. This scent is comprised of English peppermint, hay absolute, and new oakwood. It’s intense and amazing.
The Gorilla Perfume gallery event will be taking place at 54 Crosby Street until the 25th. RSVP here.
