Anyone fancy a Marathon session with me? (Lush Marathon)

Member Name: Sarccyslayer

Product:	Lush Marathon
Date:	24/10/06 (201 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells lovely, does what it intends to do, bargain price

Disadvantages: Some might not like the minty smell

As I am taking over as the Fashion and Beauty guide from the loveable Angus, I thought I had better write a review myself before continuing down the line of reading all of your reviews!

As you all know by now, my favourite Lush products have to be these lovely colourful Bubble Bar Slices. Why? Because I love lots of bubbles in my hot bath and that is exactly what I get with this product and what’s more they come in a huge array of bright colours which turn the bath water wonderful colours.

This particular Lush Bubble Bar Slice called ‘Marathon’ and the first thing you will notice about it is the brightness of the colour. A Bubble Bar slice is in essence very similar to a Lush Bath Ballistic except this slice is actually like a ball of play dough. Each Bath Bubble Slice is individually hand moulded and cut and with all their products using fresh ingredients and preserves.

Anyway this Bubble Bar Slice is bright orange in colour and it retails from Lush for the bargain price of £1.95per 100g, it is worth bearing in mind that most Bubble Bar Slices are usually 100g and usually retail for around £2 - £3. What drew me to this particular product? Well the fact that it is a lovely bright shade of orange and that it stands out on the shelf is one of the reasons I bought it and due to its orangyness you would expect to have an accompanying orangey smell, but no this one is lovely and minty and the sign which accompanied the product told me it would relieve all my stresses and strains.

There is nothing quite like a nice hot bath to relax into after a hard days graft at the office (I am still at work and will be until quite late tonight) or a menacing days cleaning. For me, Lush do it every time - make me relax that is!

When using this product it is suggested by Lush suggest you crumble the bubble bar slice under a running tap water, so like any other Lush addict I got my bright orange 'Marathon' and did just as I was told to do. So once the tap is running at a nice warm temperature or in my case really warm because I like hot steamy baths, you simply get your Bubble Bar and start to crumble it into the water. You can actually break the bar into two pieces and have double the pleasure.

I did find that once this product had been held under the running tap for ten seconds it crumbles with ease. When I began to crumble it, the first thing I noticed was that it felt like wet sand in my hands, which simply slipped through my fingers into the hot water below. Once you have crumbled your bar into the warm water any larger blobs begin to fizz away on their own, and I still find it totally fascinating to watch as my clear bath water instantly turned into a bright orange colour. The fizzing is due to the fact the main ingredient in all Bubble Bar Slices is Sodium Bicarbonate.

Once the Bubble Bath Slice was nicely crumbled I was ready to get into my bubble filled bath. The Marathon does give off a divine minty smell that I was promised I would get, which filled the bathroom, like with most products, I always smell it before I buy it or use it just to ensure that I will actually like it and as this smelt so delicious, almost good enough to eat I couldn't wait to get into my bath.

I did mention earlier that when you crumble this product it felt like wet sand, surprisingly there was not one grainy piece of Bubble slice lurking on the bottom, it had completely dissolved. One other thing I also noticed was that the smell lingered for a good few hours after my bath, and the wonderful aroma filled the house beautifully.

Now you can always have double the pleasure with this product by breaking it in half so you can use it in two baths. I did this and it still produced copious amounts of bubbles.

So what is in this Lush Marathon to bring about a wonderful aroma? Firstly there is Cinnamon Leaf Oil which has great aromatherapy values in that it helps fight exhaustion and the feeling of weakness and depression, Peppermint Oil which brings about the minty aroma that I have mentioned previously and peppermint oil has a variety of uses ranging from the Improvement of circulation and its aroma has an uplifting effect on the brain, so to increase alertness (something I definitely need after a hard day in the office), Witch Hazel Extract which again has numerous uses and again they range from facial care to soothing aching feet and finally Aloe Vera Gel which is usually used in facial products to cleanse the skin of impurities and the build up of bacteria and in this case it used as a moisturiser for the skin which is one of its many qualities.

Again with Lush products I always find there is an ingredient used that often leaves me wondering what an earth it is used for within a particular product and in this case it is Mustard oil. It turns out that again Mustard Oil is a versatile ingredient and has many uses which again include colds, chills, coughs, chilblains, rheumatism, arthritis, lumbago, and aches and pains and in this case it is used to relieve aches and stiff muscles.

As with all Lush products, do remember to check the Lush website for a whole list of ingredients should you feel it is necessary. I always check before I buy just incase there is something used that I am allergic to.

So how did this Lush product affect my skin? My skin was left feeling totally moisturised after my lovely comforting and relaxing Lush Marathon bath, it was a lot softer than it would have been after using my usual Sanex or Carex bath creams. I also have extremely sensitive skin and often find that I am limited in which products I can use, for example I am allergic to The Body Shop shower creams and gels, but with Lush I haven't had any problems whatsoever, so that means I can now become a Lush addict and try everything.

So would I recommend this product? I absolutely would without a shadow of a doubt. This product did refresh and relax me as I was told it would do, it smells beautiful and it didnt leave any marks on my bath after using.

Also as someone with super sensitive skin I would also suggest their products, but I would advise you to go onto their website and check the ingredients used, they are listed under each product so it is easy to find out. I’ve already been on the Lush website to decide what to try next after my birthday package runs out so watch this space…

**Extra Information**

Lush packaging on single objects is relatively simple, they are wrapped tightly in some see-through packaging and upon opening, the first thing you notice is the smell

If anyone wants to investigate Lush further to see what ingredients are used for this or any other products then you simply go to www.lush.co.uk which will give you the UK version of their website.

Lush products are not tested on animals, in fact they are vehemently against products being tested on animals and to test their own products they do tests on humans to ensure they are safe for general sale to the public and they will not buy ingredients from companies who use testing on animals as one of their protocols.

Lush first officially launched their products in 1995, although they had been around for many years previous and their name was decided upon in a competition after many years of working under the name 'Cosmetics to go' as a mail order company and so to Poole in Dorset the firm grew and became globally known.

The one thing that I found really interesting when I read up about Lush as a company is that in most of their products they use real Jasmine Absolute Perfume, which I am told it is more expensive than gold, yet Lush products are sold at affordable prices so that the everyday person can treat themselves to such luxuries.

Summary: A Lush Bubble Bar Slice