Cosmetics firm to make pretty women in the USBEAUTY SPOT: Julia Roberts, a fan of Dorset-based Lush cosmetics will be able to shop closer to home as the brand opens stores in the US
COSMETICS brand Lush will open its first US store in San Francisco on November 22.
Dorset-based Lush boasts a celebrity following that includes Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Roberts, Kyle MacLachlan, Jude Law, Daryl Hannah and ex-US president Bill Clinton and his family.
Formulations are based on traditional recipes and herbalism. Lush also has a strict non-animal testing policy and creates many of its products in solid form to minimise pack-aging.
Co-founder and chairman Mark Constantine said: "Lush is opening in the States by popular demand.
"We have received literally thousands of requests to open in the US from everyone from the president's wife down (Hillary Clinton when her husband was the incumbant).
"We have also achieved a remarkable status in the States via our Lush Canada website."
Mr Constantine set up Lush in 1995. The inspiration behind his store design was "cheese shops, German veggie restaurants - and any fresh fish counter".
Lush emerged from the demise of his previous venture Cosmetics To Go which collapsed after over-trading.
The first Lush opened in Poole in April 1995 "and the business has been profitable since day one".
There are now 34 shops in the UK, and more than 110 worldwide. Lush has wholly-owned shops in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Ireland and Holland.
The team has set up successful joint ventures in Canada, Croatia, Slovakia, Brazil, Sweden, Italy, Taiwan, Malta, Hungary, the Philippines, Iceland, Russia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, the Gulf States and Germany.
Plans are also in place for Morocco, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Africa, Portugal, Spain and South Korea.
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