A Hot & Sappy Turkish Bath (Original Source Rose & Aloe Bath Soak)

Member Name: susie19

Product:	Original Source Rose & Aloe Bath Soak
Date:	19/03/07 (345 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells nice but only sometimes

Disadvantages: Not very bubbly

Have you ever tried to review a product that you feel completely luke warm about, one that you can't decide whether you love or hate it? Well I have found just one of those in the form of Rose & Aloe Bath Soak. Now before we go any further, please note that this review contains content relating to nudity. Sensitive individuals should avert their eyes from reading further since rumours are true that I bathe naked.

One evening, not long ago, I entered the lounge and was greeted by Sigourney Weaver in the shower. Not for real obviously, she was on the TV and the accompanying music suggested that a murder was imminent. Knowing I would probably get scared, I opted to go and have a bath instead.

After running a nice hot and deepish bath, I got in (close your eyes for now I am naked). It was only then that I realized my glass of Baileys was downstairs (pah!) and that I was soaking in pure, simple plain tap water. Not only that, I found myself surrounded by a variety of shampoos, conditioner and shower gels, a number of toy boats and plastic fishes but not a whiff of bubbly in sight. Then in a flash of inspiration, I remembered my bottle of Rose & Aloe Original Source stuff in the cupboard. Dripping and naked I crossed the bathroom and grabbed it.

Back in the bath, I squirted a splodge of the pale pinkish goo into the water. I was immediately disappointed that it didn't colour the water or make it very frothy. Still, a smell started to pervade the bathroom. I lay back in the bath and crossed my hands over my chest like a dead woman in an attempt to adopt a comfortable position, closed my eyes and drifted away…It was as though someone had a bar of Chocolate Turkish delight under my nose, like I was floating in a vat of molten chocolate, attendees splashing my exposed bits with ladles of the liquid goo. Ah it smelt good. Not only the rosy scent but a hint of something a little more sappy. That must be the Aloe I supposed. I remembered from the label that this Rose and Aloe Bath Soak contains an abundance of natural essential oils. As it was late evening, I didn't want to submerge my hair, (don't you just hate drying your hair at bedtime)? Mine is thick and curly and takes an age to dry with a hairdryer and I didn't fancy a wet patch, not on my pillow at any rate.

The essential oils would be good for my face I thought, so in a moment of madness I swivelled onto my stomach and lay in the bath face down blowing bubbles. Just at that moment, hubby entered the bathroom. He looked a little horrified to see me seemingly drowned in the bath, a copycat murder perhaps …'you're mum's on the phone' was all he could utter when I lifted my head from the water…My hot steamy Turkish Bath came to an abrupt end. I don't know why I didn't just say I'd ring her back. So my first encounter with this product was that I really quite liked it.

Subsequent bathing in the Rose & Aloe has however made me turn my nose up. The smell seems to have turned from Turkish delighty to something weird and sappy and really rather odd. The only way I can think to describe this smell would probably to imagine the smell of sniffing the hands of a florist. This leaves me in a quandary. The first time I bathed in it was good, the second and third times were much less pleasant. So, do I love it or hate it? I just can't make my mind up.

Here are a few details about this product:

* Consistency: Gooey and thick like conditioner. 4/5
* Colour: Off white, tinged pink. 3/5
* The Bottle: 350ml plastic (recyclable) with a fairly difficult to get off twisty lid. 3/5
* Cost: Around £1.79 from chemists and large supermarkets 3/5
* Smell: Rose / sappy - sometimes nice, sometimes not. 1/5 - 4/5
* Bubble factor: reasonably poor (even in soft water). 2/5
* Kindness to skin: Pretty good. 4/5
* Original Source claim to have good ethics; they are supported by the Vegan Society, they do not test their products on animals and they use 100% pure and natural essential oils from plants and flowers.

In summary, I would recommend trying it if you like the smell of Turkish delight combined with the smell of cut plant stems. If you don't like either, you'll probably hate it. And if you're anything like me then you'll probably wish you'd never bought it because you can't decide whether you love it or hate it. My skin felt smooth and silky afterwards but then again, it normally does after a soak in the bath. A non decisive middling, sit on the fence 3 stars from me.

PS You can try one of four Original Source samples free by visiting their website at www.originalsource.co.uk

Thanks for reading.

Summary: A rather weird bath foam (without the foam).