*By Tracey Cheek* In anticipation of Valentine's Day, Lush Cosmetics is getting sardonic. And to inject some humor into the holiday, the company is releasing a new line of bath bombs inspired by two of the internet's most suggestive emojis ー the eggplant and the peach. “We decided to take a cheekier approach this year, \[and\] moved away from the more serious side of Valentine’s Day ー and instead, embrace sort of today's modern love language, so to speak,” said Brandi Halls, the company's director of brand communication. “We’re seeing some inspiration from our product line from dating in 2019, and often we’re seeing emojis are speaking volumes in dating in today's world.” According to Match.com’s annual Singles in America study, daters who use emojis frequently are more likely to have a successful romantic life. Halls said that immediately after Lush teased the products through its social channels, the company saw "a tremendous response, positive response from our fans." “They’re laughing alongside with us. It’s kind of unavoidable this day and age to not address the way that people are communicating with one another," she said. "And because we invent all of our products in-house, we thought, why not have fun with it?” Increasingly, beauty companies are making the push to produce cruelty-free and vegan items. According to Halls, Lush is following industry trends and developing more eco-friendly products. “You’re going to see that we continue to push the envelope by way of product invention, so we’re continuing to innovate around naked, un-packaged products, trying to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in a landfill,” Hall said. She added that in Berlin and Milan, the company launched naked shops, which only sell unpackaged products to reduce waste. Hall said that Lush is looking to bring more naked shops to North America sometime this year. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/lush-cosmetics-bringing-big-bath-bomb-energy).

Share:
More In Business
Starbucks’ Change Flushes Out a Debate Over Public Restroom Access
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
Trump Highlights Partnership Investing $500 Billion in AI
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
Load More