Carolyn Enting has a heady time with Lush co-founder Rowena Bird

Carolyn Enting has a heady time with Lush co-founder Rowena Bird.

I know what not to get my brother for Christmas, after arriving at his Auckland flat armed with a bag full of fragrant Lush cosmetic and body products.

The bag, containing bath ballistics, body scrubs, lip balms and a fizzy hangover treatment, was relegated to the boot of the car for the weekend because he refused to allow them into the house because of the potent smell.

Having just returned from interviewing Rowena Bird, the British co-founder of Lush, I defended them, not because I had been given a free bagful of the stuff, but because I had been enlightened as to why the scent of the products is so, err, strong.

The first reason is that most Lush products are not wrapped in unnecessary packaging.

Lush, which started in 1995, puts the money it saves on packaging into sourcing and buying the best essential oils for its product formulations.

Unlike many other companies, Lush does not dilute or stretch these oils which Bird assures me are "worth more than gold if weighed ounce by ounce".

She says Lush wants its customers to reap the full benefits of the aromatic properties of the oils.

The company works directly with flower growers, going back to the source whenever possible. This way, the customer gets the best value for money.

Earlier, I had tackled Bird on the smell issue. I had heard Lush had had to move from several shopping malls after complaints regarding its sweet smells.

"We do smell, but I see it as making the world smell better. You walk down the street and smell body odour, bins, car fumes and McDonald's, or you can have these beautiful essential oils."

I nod, smile. Can't argue with that. I'm feeling pretty chilled by now, surrounded by the heady scents. The staff are all smiling too.

"It's why all our staff are so happy all the time because they are breathing in essential oils," Bird says.

It's Lush intoxication by smell. Not enough to cause a hangover, although Lush has a new cure for one of those, a ballistic for the shower called the Too Drunk To ... Emotibomb.

You place the disc on the shower floor and as the hot water hits it, it releases the essential oils. The aroma of peppermint and fennel help you focus and soothe your brain, with sweet wild orange to refresh.

There is also an Emotibomb to "wake you up" and one to "make you feel sexy".

Its most recent initiative is the waste not, want not Knot-Wrap inspired by the Japanese art of furoshiki (cloth for bath).

Lush has introduced vintage scarves into its stores to encourage customers to use them instead of gift wrap. They can be reused as gift wrap, worn as a scarf, used as a decoration or to wrap groceries.

The Knot-Wrap comes with instructions on how to wrap it, Japanese-style. At $6.50 they're a lot more purse friendly than a Hermes scarf.

Lush encourages customers to return the recycled black plastic containers in which its cosmetics are packaged (bring back five and receive a free face mask). It also provides a list of things you can do with the containers, which make great flower pots.

The products are not tested on animals – Bird says they'd love to not have to say that, but unfortunately many cosmetic companies still do testing. Lush also prefers to use sea freight to ship goods internationally, and supports Fair Trade, Community Trade and organic initiatives.

The products for the New Zealand and Australian market are all made by hand in Sydney and you'll never find a product on the shelf that's more than four months old.

"We use lots of fresh, active ingredients and minimise preservatives, because they are not good to the skin," Bird says.

"The whole thing about preservatives is that they kill everything, including the micro flora on the skin. You need the flora on the skin to keep it healthy."

Bird dreams up some of the products, although she is not a key inventor. She is one of seven co-founders of Lush who set up the company 16 years ago and was taught how to make colour cosmetics by cosmetic scientist Stan Krysztal, who invented Nivea and created makeup for Mary Quant.

He had a great pupil in Bird, who as a girl used to make her own perfumes out of bluebells from the woods.

Bird's personal Lush favourites include Lovely Jubblies lifting cream with tigerlily extract for the breast, neck and upper arm; Ayesha firming face mask that has a "Cinderella effect"; Ultrabland cream cleanser that removes makeup in one go but leaves the skin supple and soft; and a solid shampoo bar for travelling, as it contains up to 80 washes.

I now have many of these in my bathroom, stored in an airtight container.