How did Lucy Lube come to life? Can you take us back to where it all began?

Alan and I are friends that met when I moved to Australia ten years ago. Lucy Lube started as a conversation outside a yoga studio between Alan and myself about seven years ago. Alan’s background is in mental health and he felt he wanted to do something around female products being created for people identifying as female and removing the barriers we often experience when shopping for personal care and intimacy products.

Fast forward three years and I couldn’t stop thinking about the shame and stigma I felt purchasing sexual wellness products and how if I, as a sex-positive person experienced this how, challenging others would find this. I also struggled to find any Aussie-made brands or brands that didn’t contain nasties (glycerine, parabens, SLS’s etc), so we decided to create Lucy.

What started out as an idea to make a product and share with friends became a much bigger ambition to provide quality sexual wellness products and relatable education to people from all walks of life.

What is the driving force/inspiration behind Lucy?

We are excited by the possibilities that Lucy creates. If we can help individuals and couples experience more pleasure or pleasure in new ways, educate them about sex and pleasure or foster conversations on intimacy then we have done our job. We promote a holistic approach to sexual wellness and care about your experiences in and out of the bedroom.

What is the main difference between Lucy Lube and other lube brands?

We are very proud to be the first Australian-made, Therapeutical Goods Administration (TGA) accredited water-based lubricant. When we started Lucy we quickly discovered that the regulations around sex and wellness products in Australia is pretty loose, with many products claiming to be ‘novelty’ products or simply flying under the radar.

As a values-driven business, we were determined not to cut corners on this front and ensured we were manufactured in a TGA facility and as such are classed as a medical device. It’s pretty scary how many products that are easily available that do not have this classification. We are frequently stability tested to ensure our pH remains steady and our lubricant stable.

What is Lucy’s mission?

We are committed to providing a platform and collective voice, especially with respect to your experience of intimacy. We create products that enhance natural sensual pleasures and provide a sense of intimacy, expression, empowerment and wellness.

We designed Lucy for you! If you are a new parent returning to intimacy, middle-aged folks or young, footloose and fancy-free, happily partnered, or if you are experiencing menopause. Regardless of your sexual orientation or gender, Lucy Lube is for you.

We have embarked upon a journey to reduce the shame and stigma surrounding the use of lubricant. No longer hastily purchased and kept hidden. We are challenging the status quo.

What has Lucy done to help reduce the stigma around using & displaying Lube in the bedroom?

Lot’s of things we hope!

From a design and display perspective, we wanted something a million miles from lots of mainstream lubricants – nothing glow in the dark and there is no squeezy bottle! We opted for a premium-looking frosted glass bottle with an aluminium pump, we wanted it to feel more like a beauty product.

We also wanted our branding and colour palette to be more gender neutral and subtle. Our signature water droplet is a subtle nod without being too obvious.

We look at reducing the stigma through open and honest conversations within our community. We partner with expert sexologists and other wonderful brands to talk about sex, pleasure, and wellness with the goal of normalising the topic of sex and pleasure.

What does self-care mean to you?

Self-care can means looking after your mental, physical and emotional needs. It takes many different forms, requires a commitment and a significant amount of honesty within yourself. It’s not always easy to identify when you need to take time out to look after yourself but the more we set out to identify when we need this care and what care looks like the better we become at self-care.

For me, this is sunrise/sunset, walks on the beach, looking at pictures of dogs on the internet (quick joy hit), friends, comfort food (mmmm mashed potato), yoga, cuddles, taking a holiday. The list goes on and can take the form of something small and simple or a much bigger activity.

What does the word beauty mean to you?

For me, beauty is to experience a sense of pleasure in a number of forms. For me beauty is best used to describe things in the natural world – countryside, colours, nature etc. I think that the concept of beauty has become somewhat flawed and people often jump to thinking about people when they think about beauty. As the saying goes ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’.

What do you believe the future of the sexual wellness/pleasure industry looks like?

The tide is turning and it’s clear that sexual wellness is becoming more mainstream and accessible. Already the conversations are opening up and there are new brands, products, and experts popping up constantly.

I believe that we are evolving to be more accepting and that things are only going to improve from here. I think the next step is for consumers to become more educated on their products and become conscientious purchasers.

I believe that in time the educational system will get on board and start mandating sex education in all schools and provide a curriculum that is *actually* educational. Until then, we will be reliant on the growing conversation within our communities and a sense of exploration.

Do you believe the industry can help shape the way we live in the future? The choices we make?

Ultimately yes, I think it can. However, with lots of brands jumping on the sexual wellness bandwagon and the lack of regulation around products the industry can grow quickly in lots of non ethical ways. As the consumers desire for pleasure toys grows, so does the waste generated by these (as a lot of these can’t be recycled) and people out to take advantage of a high growth market can easily cut corners to capitalise financially.

As a growing industry, there is and will continue to be a lot of choice for consumers and a real responsibility on consumers to do their research and support brands and businesses within the industry who supporting long term growth with an ethical approach.

What is next for Lucy Lube?

We are VERY pleased to be launching in Europe. We’ll be live from July onwards making it easier for customers in that side of the world to get access to Lucy in a more timely fashion. We hope to be able to bring some of our Lucy slip, slop, slap goodness to Europe right in time for some summer fun!

SHOP LUCY HERE.