Fresh handmade cosmetics company Lush is giving away two products to help Cardiff half marathon runners get back on their feet after the gruelling 13.1 mile race.
Lush on Queen Street will be giving away the brand’s Cold Water Soother Epsom salt cube, and After magnesium solid massage oil bar, which has 84 five star reviews on the brand’s website, as well as a 10% discount voucher for the Lush Spa.
Lush’s ‘After’ solid massage oil bar (£10) is a packaging-free, self-preserving alternative to traditional oils that melts on skin for muscle relief. Half marathon finishers will also receive the Cold Water Soother Epsom Salt Cube (£6.50), a unique, handmade UK bath bomb designed to fizz in cold water with 20% Epsom salts. Both products are magnesium-powered and ideal for post-run recovery.
Cardiff half marathon completers may be in need of a massage, so Lush will also be including a 10% discount voucher for the Lush Spa on the shop’s top floor in the goody bag. Lush’s firm pressure massages Tailor Made and Good Hour were created with exercise recovery in mind, and make a perfect post-run reward.
To claim your free gift
All runners have to do to redeem their free running aftercare goodies is head to Lush Cardiff on Queen Street during the shop’s opening hours on Sunday 5th or Monday 6th October (while stocks last) and show their Cardiff half marathon 2025 medal to a member of staff.
The benefits of cold water bathing are well known – in the field of athletics and other sports, ice baths are thought to aid recovery and to reduce inflammation. The use of warmth directly afterwards can help this process further, especially if it is a warm comforting soak in a bath or shower. A warming massage can then help with delayed onset muscle soreness.
Helen Ambrosen, Lush co-founder, cosmetic scientist, 35-time marathon runner and co-inventor of the magnesium range, said: “Before the euphoria fades, having completed your challenge, think about how to recover so you can do it all again… Or take a reviving soak to forget all about it!
“Run a cold bath and sit with your legs in the water and pop your Cold Water Soother in. Clouds of sunny orange color and swirls of gold lustre help you relax into the experience. The fragrance has the note that greets you on a walk in the rain and relaxes and refreshes you. Exit the water after a few minutes and take a warm shower. Your legs will thank you for it!”
Cold Water Soother’s relaxing fragrance stems from the aroma that comes with rainfall. A chemical called Geosmin is responsible for the earthy smell that coincides with falling rain, and it is thought to be beneficial for mood, aiding calmness and relaxation.
Alleviate joint stiffness!
Magnesium is thought to alleviate joint stiffness, help aid recovery and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) by aiding the body’s natural process of removing waste products after exercise, such as lactic acid – this makes it a great material to include in an invigorating bath – or a cool-down massage.
After is one of Lush’s best-selling massage bars, packed with magnesium chloride and eucalyptus, peppermint and spearmint oils to cool joints back down. Scented with witch hazel and arnica and composed of Fair Trade organic cocoa butter and organic shea butter, which are naturally rich in vitamin E.
Fair Trade
The organic Fair Trade cocoa butter in all of Lush’s massage bars comes from communities living on the edge of the biodiversity-rich Gola Rainforest in Sierra Leone, home to pygmy hippos. The supplier supports farmers in protecting and conserving the forest, encouraging farmers to stop deforestation and encroachment on wild land – instead growing in biodiversity-friendly ways.
