Dear John - by Jeff Osment (Hardcover)

About the Book

In July 1973, at the age of 21, Mark Constantine OBE started making herbal hair products while studying to become a trichologist. Over 50 years later he still works out of his first hair and beauty clinic in Poole High Street, although today as the head of the global cosmetics retailer LUSH.

Book Synopsis

In July 1973, at the age of 21, Mark Constantine OBE started making herbal hair products while studying to become a trichologist. Over 50 years later he still works out of his first hair and beauty clinic in Poole High Street, although today as the head of the global cosmetics retailer LUSH.

Dear John tells the rags-to-riches story of how a headstrong young man went from earning £20 a week treating hair and scalp conditions with homemade remedies, to becoming the major product inventor for the Body Shop. In 1988 he started, and later crashed, the mail-order company Cosmetics To Go, before rising from the ashes in 1995 and co-founding LUSH, the fresh, handmade cosmetics brand operating over 850 shops in over 50 countries.

However, long before all this unfolded, two boys growing up in the seaside resort of Weymouth began a 60-year friendship, where one was the hare and the other the tortoise. That journey reached an epic climax in South Africa in 2012, which spurred the hare to run even harder than before.

Another decade has passed and the tortoise has finally caught up again, and is the author of this expanded second edition of Dear John, which brings the often controversial life of Mark Constantine and the story of LUSH right up to date.

From the Back Cover

In July 1973, at the age of 21, Mark Constantine OBE started making herbal hair products while studying to become a trichologist. Over 50 years later he still works out of his first hair and beauty clinic in Poole High Street, although today as the head of the global cosmetics retailer LUSH.
Dear John tells the rags-to-riches story of how a headstrong young man went from earning £20 a week treating hair and scalp conditions with homemade remedies, to becoming the major product inventor for the Body Shop. In 1988 he started, and later crashed, the mail-order company Cosmetics To Go, before rising from the ashes in 1995 and co-founding LUSH, the fresh, handmade cosmetics brand operating over 850 shops in over 50 countries.
However, long before all this unfolded, two boys growing up in the seaside resort of Weymouth began a 60-year friendship, where one was the hare and the other the tortoise. That journey reached an epic climax in South Africa in 2012, which spurred the hare to run even harder than before.
Another decade has passed and the tortoise has finally caught up again, and is the author of this expanded second edition of Dear John, which brings the often controversial life of Mark Constantine and the story of LUSH right up to date.

Review Quotes

'The story of Constantine's childhood and his father's abandonment of him as a baby, with this loss leading to the creation of the Dear John perfume...' -- Pure Beauty

'The untold story behind one of the UK's most recognisable beauty brands...and Mark Constantine's journey from early struggles and personal loss to business success.' -- Daily Echo Bournemouth

'This book is a powerful testament to human resilience and proves that, with the right people around you, grassroots solidarity can build a global empire. And you don't have to sell your soul.' -- Canary

About the Author

Jeff Osment is a retired filmmaker who has made over 300 films and videos for industry and businesses over a 40 year career, starting as a projectionist in a London advertising agency in 1972 and finishing as the creator and producer of Lush TV from 2006 until 2014.

He has travelled all over the world on filming assignments and won international awards for his work. In 2015, he took early retirement and started writing. A keen sailor, he is the current editor of The Shrimper magazine.

Jeff is also Mark's best friend with a friendship that has spanned over 60 years. There is no one more qualified to write this story.