Hubble Bubble Boil and Trouble (Lush Ceridwen's Cauldron)

Member Name: yummy87

Product:	Lush Ceridwen's Cauldron
Date:	28/07/04 (305 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Exfoliating and cleansing

Disadvantages: None

I?ve never made any secret of the fact that I?m a complete bath addict. At the end of a long day there?s nothing better than sinking into a hot tub and relaxing on my own, eyes half closed and oblivious to the screams of the children downstairs where they are committing a murder.

Since I discovered Lush cosmetics about three years ago, bathtimes have become even better. Lush produce a gigantic range of bathtime pleasures with which to share your bath and lose yourself as they weave their magic. The bubble bars from Lush product bubbles like nothing else in this world and the fragrant scents that are contained in the bars as well as the essential oils not only leave me with baby smooth skin, but it smells pretty damn good too. Bubble bars are my favourite but I?m not averse to a bath ballistic either. Although they don?t produce bubbles they are filled with herbs, spices and oils that leave my bathroom smelling like a flower or a fruit shop and it?s an effort to get out of the tub even when my skin is wrinkled like an eighty year old. Then of course there?s the bath melts which are designed to be thrown into a bath of water where they melt (of course), while releasing an infusion of oils to moisturize and cleanse the skin.

I was perusing the Lush site on my weekly visit last week when I spied something new. Well not new exactly, but something I?d not tried before. Plopped amongst the bath and shower products was something I?d expect to see at a craft show rather than a cosmetics site but when I looked closer I HAD to have one to try.

Ceridwen?s Cauldron (ohhhhh what a name, it sounds so mystical) can be purchased either online, by mail order or in one of the Lush shops dotted around the country for £2.95. I can hear you all gasping with the sheer horror of spending £2.95 on a bath but I did intend to keep my cauldron for
a special occasion. Unfortunately Halloween is months away but as my daughter and I were having pampering night this week, I decided Ceridwen?s Cauldron was going to form part of the proceedings.

The first thing that struck me with the cauldron is tat it really would be more at home in my knicker drawer. A sweet little muslin bag with a gold ribbon holds the creamy coloured bath melt and it looks too nice to chuck into the bath really. The bath melt is really creamy to the touch even through the mesh of the bag, and a heavenly waft of cocoa butter escapes from the bag as I have a sniff. Ceridwen?s Cauldron is quite soft and I?m sure if I gave it a good old squeeze it would probably squidge everywhere as it feels really pliable. Not as large as the floating Island, the Cauldron is a semi circular shape and the melt is surrounded by grainy pieces which are actually pieces of porridge oats. I know I?ve said before that some of the Lush products smell good enough to eat but this one really does. The mixture of cocoa butter, porridge oats and a faint floral scent create a feminine girly smell and I imagine that the cocoa butter is going to leave my skin feeling luxurious.

I was surprised at the effect of the Cauldron on the bath water when I threw it in. All of the bath melts I?ve used from Lush before have not created any sort of bubbles, instead they envelop my body in a cocoon of moisturizing oils, but the Cauldron is completely different. As it hits the water it immediately starts to melt and a mountainous heap of bubbles burst forth from the wrappings of the bag. I say bubbles, but they?re not normal bubbles. These are creamy and have a thickness like no other bubbles I?ve ever seen. It?s like dipping my body into a tub full of an expensive moisturizer and the moment I submerge my bits I can feel the cocoa
butter working its magic. The bath water is clear but the bubbles have a white that?s so bright it?s like looking at a snow capped landscape. My skin feels fantastic, and there is no oily feeling, just a wonderful smoothness and a delicious smell of chocolate with a faint nutty undertone. I?ve checked on the website and Lush do state that walnut oil is used in the Cauldron which is a first for me as I?ve never bathed with a walnut and chocolate :O)

After the Cauldron has melted the bag is still full of the golden brown oats and this is where the real beauty of bathing with a Cauldron begins. The reason the Cauldon is wrapped in the muslin bag becomes clear as this needs to be rubbed over the body and the oats act as an exfoliator. Although they?re not as gritty as seeds, pips or crushed nuts, they really work. It?s quite a delicious feeling to have a bit of cloth rubbed over your knobbly bits and if you suffer from small spots under the skin at the tops of the legs like me, you will immediately notice a difference when the bag of oats is rubbed over them. I have used some exfoliators which are really harsh, the latest being the Figs and Leaves soap from Lush, but the Cauldron is gentle but in a cleansing sort of way. My skin feels so much smoother and yes I know the rose, sandalwood and walnut oil and of course the cocoa butter have already moisturized me but the oats have really got ride of my rough bits and my skin really does take on a smoothness that makes this £2.95 the best I?ve ever spent. The bubbles don?t dissipate either, they stayed thick and creamy for my half hour bath even though I was using the bag of oats to exfoliate and was agitating the water with my scrubbing!

Of course Ceridwen?s Cauldron would make a lovely birthday gift because it looks so attractive, but I?ve already bought two more just for me although I?ll b
e dropping some very heavy hints about it for Christmas. It was a really pleasant surprise to get bubbles from a bath melt and what more could a girl want than to bathe in a bath full of chocolate smelling porridge?

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