Phuket I will use a Phuket! (Lush Phuket Bath Ballistic)

Member Name: sweetpea01

Product:	Lush Phuket Bath Ballistic
Date:	31/05/09 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smelt lovely & gave the skin a nice glow

Disadvantages: Now no longer available

I'm not a big fan of ballistics and never have been despite Lush inventing the fizzing little balls I have never really taken to them. Purely because they can sometimes be a complete waste of money. Especially when you only get one use out of them and if they don't fizz like they are supposed to you will be left very disappointed! However in this instance I think I have found my ideal ballistic despite my negative attitude!

Phuket was originally discontinued back in 2004 but when the Tsunami of December 2004 hit, Lush made it available once again for a limited time only, giving 100% of the proceeds from all Phuket sales to the Tsunami Relief Fund. There was a huge marketing campaign both in store and online for this very worthy cause. I myself had been buying Phuket for about a year before it was discontinued and I happened to love every bath! So when it was taken off the shelves I was not too happy, when it was brought back as a limited edition I made sure I stocked up as often as I could!!

It is named after a Thai island, Phuket shares its tropical recipe with I Should Coco Soap; sweet coconut (from real coconuts as opposed to the synthetic perfumes you usually find in so-called "coconut scented" products on the market), toning orange oil, calming coriander, and tranquilising Indonesian vetivert oil. And yet, somehow Phuket's overall aroma comes off a bit sweeter than I Should Coco, where herbal coriander and grassy vetivert can occasionally speak out of turn and can give more of a musky sort of scent. The result of Phuket is a deliciously perfumed bath that leaves the subtlest scent on the skin, a fine balance between toothsome delicacy and candied overbearingness having been met at perfection, with the additional benefit of intense moisturisation thanks to a hefty dose of pure coconut cream.

Turning clear waters a vibrant peach, Phuket also contains desiccated coconut, and though some shreds have already turned orange by way of association, the majority retain an aged beige to yellow colouring.
And sadly, this desiccated coconut is often presented in crumbs rather than more familiar shredded strands, looking quite like something that might be scraped out from under loose caulking around one's tub. So for all of those who really don't like sitting in coloured water this may not be the ballistic for you and for those of you who can cope with the coloured water just make sure that you rinse the bath tub after use as you may be left with an orange ring around your tub!

Put it this way, the rather unsightly bits of coconut are often so sparse and so tiny that if you don't know to expect them, you might be wondering "what are these bits of grime in my tub and where did they come from?" And being that they do indeed stick to you, you'll want to keep your hair out of the water and to thoroughly rinse in the shower after this bath; otherwise, you'll occasionally be pulling off tiny flecks of what appears to be soap grime throughout the day.

Apart from the nuissance of these unnecessarily little bits, Phuket could possibly be one of Lush's the most perfect baths, especially considering how well it's quieter scent blends with other products to create bath cocktails (I'm sure I have mentioned these before!). For example, try combining a Phuket Ballistic with any of the following bath products for added aromatic dimension and deliciousness:- a lemony Bon Bon, orange and grapefruit Happy Pill or woods and spice Hot Java.

For traditionalist Lushettes, of course, you can always go for what I call a "virgin bath cocktail" by simply bringing a bar of I Should Coco into the bath and perhaps following that with Lush's coconut Trichomania shampoo as well as their Coolaulin Conditioner, whose recipe is almost Phuket-like, being that it similarly contains both coconut and vetivert oil. But of course you can just simply enjoy this ballistic on its own as I'm sure you wont be disappointed.

As with most ballistics they recommend that you put it in an already pre-run bath, so that is exactly what I did! Phuket is one of the only ballistics I have tried which actually fizzes for ages which normally means that it has been fully dissolved. There is nothing worse than a trail of salt at the bottom of the bath. As soon as it hits the water the orange colour dilutes the water and the wonderful citrus flavour fills the bathroom. Phuket gives the water a lovely soft feeling which surrounds the skin which alot of ballistics dont do. After the bath I noticed that my skin was feeling soft and a lovely refreshing scent stayed with me all day. The coconut cream really does play an active role in keeping your skin soft throughout the day, however you may want to use a moisturiser - as good as the coconut cream is it doesn't perform miracles!!

Phuket was one of the larger ballistics and weighed 200g. If I remember correctly it cost just under £2.00. Unfortunately this wonderful ballistic is no longer available and my last one ran out at the beginning of last year! I'm still yet to find one on EBay but if you do make sure you buy it and enjoy it!!

Summary: A great ballistic which was brought back for a great cause