When I was growing up The Body Shop was my make-up and cosmetics Mecca. It was the place where all my favourite products could be found - for which my mother will remain eternally grateful. Whether that was because The Body Shop was the only brand I was exposed to at the time (as I remember it luxury brands didn’t advertise in Dolly in 1989) or whether it was a conscious effort on my part to be affiliated, I couldn’t tell you. Nevertheless the fact remains, when I wanted (I didn’t actually need anything, of course) my first eye cream I went to The Body Shop, when I wanted a moisturiser I went to The Body Shop, when I wanted a fragrance I went to The Body Shop, so on and so forth.

As I reached my late teens and twenties, by which stage I’d developed an awareness of other, more expensive, brands, and was earning just enough money to afford them, The Body Shop fell off my radar. It’s only now that I’ve reached my thirties and nostalgia is kicking in that I’m beginning to wonder, hmmm, whatever happened to that vanilla-scented perfume I used to love? And that lip balm?
 
Coincidently, according to reports from the US, The Body Shop plans to package-up all its best-selling products and put them into vending machines. Of course there’s no word yet on whether we’ll be able to enjoy the convenience here in Australia, but fingers crossed. In the meantime I intend to reacquaint myself with their banana conditioner, and do my bit for the environment while I’m at it.