Lush Honey Bee Bath Bomb

----

Ok, so I've been to Lush again and then some. My girlfriend and I purchased about ten new bath bombs and soaps and refilled out little soap basket in the bathroom, which now smells dreamy again.One of my favourite shops that doesn't sell DVD's, books or video games is Lush and we have a nice branch of the shop in The Hague. I went in at Christmas this year to peruse the special offers and I admit I could stand in the shop all day and just breathe slowly in and out. I just love the smells. I usually end up buying something, so I decided I would make another visit sometime soon in the New Year, which I did a couple of weeks ago and have since reviewed some of the purchases.

The Honey Bee bath Bomb looks pretty much like most other lush bath bombs and is one of the larger ones. Again it is hand-made and none of the ingredients are tested on animals. The Honey Bee ball is whitish grey in colour with a light yellow stripe running through the middle. It smells dreamy; lovely and sweet but not too perfumy. I was looking forward to using it as I always am with Lush products but in all honesty this didn't live up to my expectations, although it was still nice. I suppose my expectations are high after using some fantastic products from Lush and they can't all be amazing.

After removing the plastic wrapper from the circular ball of delight, I ran a nice hot bath. The wrapper was easy to remove and as with most Lush products was not irritating or annoying to get off. I once purchased a cheap bath bomb from a high street store, who I won't name, and the ball was basically a broken up mess of bits by the time I had got the poor wrapping off. The ball itself feels smooth and yet a little grainy at the same time and is quite a good size. The texture is rather chalky and seeing as I have a habit of sniffing the bomb every few seconds, I was sneezing quite a lot.

Some of the Lush bath bombs have the word 'BOMB' moulded into the surface, so I wouldn't recommend carrying it on the bus or train while looking particularly agitated. In fact there was a law-suit taken out against Lush because when they first started making these balls they used to wrap them in a black wrapper with an imitation fuse on it. It didn't go down to well with airport security and a few people took Lush to court over their harassment while travelling with the balls. However, this bath bomb did not have the word 'Bomb' etched into it. As usual it is best to keep these balls somewhere where they are not going to get knocked or bumped, because they tend to crumble and break quite easily.


Once my bath was full I dropped in the bath ball, which immediately began to fizz and swirl and turn the water a deep yellow colour. Don't drop one of this into your local swimming baths or you might be mistaken for someone who has been caught short. My one criticism of this particular bath ball was that it didn't smell strong enough but I did have a stuffy nose, so maybe it was stronger than I thought. In the past I have sat in the bath first and then placed the bath bomb in and my does it tickle! Steady ladies! I prefer to sit in the bath before adding the ball but in this instance I decided to pop it in and watch it go to work and that way I can take a picture for you guys (but don't expect one every time as I do like the odd tickle now and again. The deep yellow sunk into the water and a white foamy substance stayed on top along with a brighter yellow.

I think that Lush strayed away from the idea of making the balls black and yellow like a bee because the black colouring would probably turn the water black and who wants that?

Lowering myself into the bath I almost fell asleep and had to reprimand myself over the dangers of being sensually overtaken by the gorgeous aroma. Joking aside, the smell is nice and fragrant, but like I said it wasn't as nice as some of the other bath bomb smells. As I lay there I could feel the oily texture of the water clinging to my skin and pushing away the bubbles revealed a lovely deep yellow that had a very Mediterranean feel to it. This made the bath seem even warmer and with the bad weather we're having here in Holland, just like England, it was nice to lie and take in that warmth. It really is like having the sun set in your bath. I also have a cold so it was quite soothing.

At the business end of my bath my skin felt really soft and smooth. As with all Lush bath bombs and soaps you always get that velvet cushion kind of feel to your skin.

The bath bomb totally disintegrates and you get no lumps or bits of bomb floating around in the bath or irritating you on the bottom of the bath. There was a small residue after the bath emptied, which looked like grains of sand. It washes away instantly and leaves no dirt or marks on the surface of the bath. The smell lingers on and on after your bath and I walked into the bathroom maybe an hour later and was hit by a lovely honey smell. There was a hint of caramel or toffee to it as well but again, surprisingly, it was not a sickly sweet smell like you would perhaps expect. It is simply gorgeous and I loved it. Even when it did eventually fade I had the aromas of the new soap bags in their basket to breathe in. I didn't find any staining to my skin or the bath afterwards; although our bath is cream and not white, so maybe a white bath would be different but I doubt it.

The Honey Bee Bath Bomb costs four euros in Holland, which I believe is two fifty to three fifty in England depending on the rate at the time. That would seem a little expensive to some people but for me the whole experience is well worth four pounds. You could always break this good sized ball into two pieces and get two baths out of it.

All Lush products are naturally made and you can watch staff members making them in our shop in The Hague. The ingredients are tempered in a safe environment beforehand. They are not tested on animals, which is a real advantage for my girlfriend and I being big animal lovers. None of the ingredients are artificial or contain any banned substances. They are a long standing company that used to go by the name of 'Cosmetics to Go'. All I can say is well done to the person who thought up 'Lush' as it perfectly describes the shop; not to mention the fact that 'Cosmetics to Go' is an awful name.

So what exactly are you placing in your bath? Well the bomb contains sodium bicarbonate and a counter ingredient of citric acid. The citric acid acts as a catalyst to the sodium bicarbonate, which creates the fizz that we see when the bomb is placed in the water. It's not magic and the two chemicals just create carbon dioxide which reacts to the water. There is also bergamot oil and frankincense, which complement the perfume to give off that lovely smell and to revitalise your skin. The Honey Bee ball contains Aloe Vera for its calming properties, deep cleansing Rhassoul mud and toffee honey scent. Sweet, wild orange oil is added as an extra kick but I didn't really get this; like I said though my nose is partially blocked. This ball is based on the same scent and properties as the soap made with the same ingredients 'Honey I Washed the Kids'.

The whole hotchpotch of oils is designed to leave you feeling relaxed and invigorated and I must say it does do just that.

All in all I would highly recommend the Lush Honey Bee bath bomb and I give it three out of five stars as far as bath bombs are concerned. This is based on the fact that I have had better bombs that I have marked higher but this should take nothing away from this product and I would gladly recommend it with no qualms.

©Lee Billingham