Low cal alternative to a big bowl of ice cream (Lush Vanilla Fountain Ballistic)

Member Name: jasminesarah

Product:	Lush Vanilla Fountain Ballistic
Date:	13/01/09 (154 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely, lingering, vanilla scent

Disadvantages: The vanilla pod fell out of mine in transit

Sorry to keep bragging about all the stuff I got in my Christmas Lush haul.... but I received this bath bomb in Lush's Twelve days of Christmas gift box. Due to being snuggled in a box full of popcorn with 11 of its friends, my Vanilla Fountain managed to lose its vanilla pod, and I didn't notice it had gone until long after I had thrown out the packaging, so I can't comment on that! (Lush, in their eco-friendly wisdom, use real popped pop corn as packing in their gift boxes - it is biodegradable, but as many of you who as curious as me will already know, it is not edible - it tastes soapy!)

Unlike most bath ballistics, the Vanilla Fountain is not spherical, but rather is shaped like a little pot, or the base of a fountain, with a hole in the top where a vanilla pod is stuck (or not, in my case). The first thing I thought of when I held it was Edinburgh Rock - it has exactly the same consistency, and perhaps the strong vanilla smell also helps lend it this image. For those readers not familiar with it, Edinburgh Rock looks like pieces of chalk and is so sweet that it rivals only Highland Tablet (another review in itself) for being unpopular with dentists.

The surface of the ballistic glints with the teeniest sparkles of glitter, these disappear once in the bath and I don't think they would offend even the most adamant glitter-hater. As the name suggests, it is scented with vanilla. I quite often find vanilla too sweet and overpowering, too girly and childlike a smell, but not so with this one. The vanilla is from extract rather than a synthetic perfume (of course, because this is Lush!) and manages to be deliciously strong at the same time as quite understated. It is like home made from scratch vanilla icecream, or custard, as opposed to e-number laden shop bought.

On placing the ballistic in the bath it begins to fizz and bubble with great enthusiasm, moreso than most ballistics I have used. I wonder if the shape helps, as the fizzing seems to push, fountain-like, out of the central hole in the top - ahh, that's how it got its name! At this point I imagine that the vanilla pod, if still present, would be pushed out of the top and float free. The water turns a banana custard yellow and the gorgeous vanilla smell is even stronger once in the warm water. Lovely, and very relaxing! Once in the water the ballistic really reminded me of a sherbet fountain, the colour and the fizzing - in fact, a lemon sherbet flavoured version, with a licorice stick would work really well. (I'd only need 20% commission on this original concept, Lush, please email me through Dooyoo.)

Apparently, Vanilla Fountain 'is inspired by extraordinary deserts at Heston Blumental's amazing restaurant, The Fat Duck at Bray'. Give me a bath ballistic over snail porridge any day. Vanilla Fountain, complete with a real vanilla pod, is available from Lush at £2.69.

Summary: Recommended for a tastefully sweet bath