Christina Alyce Beauty

Licorice has never been one of my favorite scents or flavors, but recently it has been growing on me. I decided to give Lush’s new licorice scented Christmas bubble bar a try, and I’m really glad I did. At first sniff, this small, swirly purple bubble bar appears to have a much more complex scent than what I anticipated. While the licorice is most definitely present, a sweet, lemony note of bergamot stood out to me the most. In the water, the lemon subsided and the fennel and tarragon became much more pronounced, and the air filled with a much more traditional aroma licorice. I found it smelled very comforting and cozy, perfecter winter bath.

When filling my tub, I decided to use the entire bubble bar at once, since it is on the smaller side. Also, I enjoy using an entire bar the first time I try a product just to see how vivid the water can get, and how many bubbles it can produce. Bar Humbug did not disappoint! I put my bubble bar in my strainer, and stuck attainder the tap. As soon as the water hit it, rich pinky purple water started to fill the tub, and the bubbles started to grow. By the time the bar was fully dissolved, I had a mountain of bubbles and incredibly bright and pigmented water. Between the color and the scent of this bubble bar, I think it would pair beautifully with the herbal and fuchsia Jingle Spells bath bomb.

The bubbles this created lasted a long time in the bath, and were so plentiful. I will probably only use half a bar the next time I use Bar Humbug, since it was so effective. I was really pleased with the scent and color, and it softened the water as well as most of Lush’s bath bombs. Overall, it was a fantastic and unique new addition to this year’s Christmas range.

Rating: 5/5

Price: 

Status: Limited edition, Christmas 2015

Vegan?: Yes

Would I repurchase?: Yes

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream Of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Cornflour (Zea mays), Bergamot Oil (Citrus Aurantium bergamia), Fennel Oil (Foeniculum vulgare), Tarragon Oil (Artemisia dracynculus, Synthetic Fluorphogopite, Silver Glimmer Lustre (Corn Starch, Maltodextrin, Potassium Aluminium Silicate, Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Colour 77400), Citral, Coumarin, Limonene, Colour 45410, Colour 17200, Colour 42090, Colour 77226.  

Big Blue is one of Lush’s more popular bath bombs, often mixed with Sunnyside to create a shimmery turquoise cocktail known as “Mermaid Water”. I skipped the bubble bar and tried this strikingly blue bomb all by itself, and enjoyed every moment.

This ocean inspired bomb is packed full with wonderful treats from the sea. Nourishing Arame seaweed is used to detoxify, soothe, soften, and protect the skin against moisture loss. Unrefined coarse and fine sea salt are added for their astringent and cleansing effects, as well as beneficial minerals like sodium and magnesium. Sea salts are also thought to promote healing and contain anti-inflammatory and muscle soothing properties, which will be of benefit post-workout, to relieve menstrual cramps, and to reduce the pain of arthritis. I suffer from severe cramps as well as arthritis in most of my joints, so this bath bomb is truly a miracle for me!

This bomb also contains lovely ingredients that hail from dry land, such as lemon oil and lavender. Lemon oil brightens and cleanses skin, while lavender acts as an aromatic to promote relaxation as well as soothe joint pain. The combination of the two create a light, clean scent. The lemon oil is uplifting, while the lavender is calming, and the salt and seaweed give a hint of the sea.

I found this bath bomb very softening, and I felt refreshed, relaxed, and clean once I got out of the tum. My skin was lightly fragranced for a while afterward. I really enjoyed the relief this bomb brought my joints, and I will surely be repurchasing it as a staple in my stash. I know some people have concerns about the seaweed because it leaves behind quite a lot of it, and while this is not an issue for me, I can understand how it would be worrisome. An easy solution would be to drop the bomb into the oe of an old pair of tights and cut it off at the ankle, (or wrap it up in cheesecloth), secure the top, and drop it in the bath. this way, the bomb is free to dissolve in the water and release its nutrients, but the messy stuff stays inside the little sachet. It’s also a great way to recycle a pair of ruined tights!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Price: £3.50/$6.50

Status: Permanent

Vegan?: Yes

Would I repurchase?: Yes

Ingredients:  Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Coarse Sea Salt, Fine Sea Salt, Perfume, Arame Seaweed, Lemon Oil, Lavender Oil, Seaweed Absolute, *Eugenol, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Colour 42090, Colour 19140.

Yoga Bomb was the perfect bath bomb to set the mood for a lazy sunday morning. This slow fizzer has a chalky orange exterior, that takes quite a while to fizzle away to reveal the pastel turquoise and purple hidden within. If you like a bomb that’s pretty and colorful, but not over the top, this is perfect for you. After it has fizzed out, I noticed the vibrant orange waters had lots gold lustre glinting in the morning sunlight.

The mixture of sandalwood, ho wood, and olibanum (frankincense) oils was very relaxing and let off a woody and very slightly sweet floral fragrance. This reminds me of incense without the smoky element. I found that this scent paired beautifully with Karma soap, which I used to wash with. 

Aside from a beautiful aroma, the aforementioned oils lend their cleansing, emollient, and toning properties, leaving you with fresh, softened skin. I also left the bath with lightly fragranced skin and just a touch of luster, which wore off throughout the morning and reminded me of my magically relaxing bath.

I would say this bath bomb is aptly named, and leaves you with the relaxed feeling you may have after doing a light session of yoga. I also thought it would make for a lovely meditative bath, as many of the oils found in this bath bomb are also common scents used to meditate to,

I really enjoyed this beautiful and relaxing bath bomb, and I look forward to using it again!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Price:

Status: Permanent

Vegan?: Yes

Would I repurchase? Yes

I ordered this bubble bar while it was still  a UK exclusive, so I didn’t have a chance to smell it before purchase. When it arrived, I was pretty surprised at the scent. On the website, it lists orange oil and patchouli oil as the main fragrances, so I was expecting something citrus and earthy, perhaps softened by the skimmed milk. When I took this out of the box however, all I could smell was a very clean floral smell reminiscent of laundry detergent or baby wipes. I am not a fan of floral, soapy smells in the bath - I much prefer something sweet and fruity, or earthy and spicy. Despite this, the bubble bar contained skin softening ingredients like skimmed milk and cocoa butter so I decided to give it a try.

I popped he bar in my strainer and stuck it under the tap.When trying a new bubble bar I usually use the entire thing, just to see how many bubbles it can produce. While this bar produced a good amount of bubbles for this bath, it probably would not be worth it to spread the bar across two baths, as it wasn’t an impressive amount of bubbles by any means, and about ¼ of them dissipated within the first 5 minutes before leveling off to a standard amount of bubbles for the remainder of the bath.

I did notice the scent of the bar amplified upon meeting the water. I really couldn’t help but imagine myself soaking in a bath fragranced with nothing more than laundry detergent. While this would make a lovely scent for clean clothes, I don’t exactly want to bathe in it. I feel like lush missed an opportunity here. Perhaps it is the patchouli that gives this soapy scent, though I would find it surprising. If so, I feel like almond absolute or almond oil would’ve done an excellent job in it’s place, creating a sweet, soft scent as well as contributing wonderful skin nourishing properties, and mingling beautifully with the orange oil. Out of the bath, this left a light, clean fragrance on the skin that lasted for hours, and was much more pleasant than the overpowering scent in the bath.

This bar did soften the bath water, and I feel like it did a decent job at softening the skin, though once I removed myself from the tub I felt incredibly soapy, so I had to give myself a good rinse under the showerhead to make sure my skin didn’t get dried out. I don’t usually feel the need to have a super thorough rinse after other bubble bars like The Comforter or the old formulation of Karma, so I feel like that is a good indication of just how soapy this bubble bar is.

Overall, I feel like this bubble bar was not suited to my tastes, but those who enjoy a fresh and lightly floral scent will adore this. It doesn’t make for the most exciting looking bath because the water stays clear, but it produces a good amount of bubbles when you use the entire bar and smells very clean.

Rating: 3, Ok, but not my taste.

Price:  £3.75/ $7.95 ($2.15 more in the US, wtf!!!)

Status: Permanent Item, worldwide.

Vegan?: No, contains skimmed milk

Would I repurchase? No

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Cream of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Skimmed Milk, Corn Starch (Zea Mays), Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Cacao), Glycerine, Fragrance, Orange Oil (Citrus Sinensis), Patchouli Oil (Pogostemon cablin), Fair Trade Olive Oil (Olea europaea), Laureth 4, Silver Lustre and Silver Glimmer (Potassium Aluminium Silicate, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Corn Starch, Maltodextrin, Synthetic Mica), Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Salicylate, Lilial, Citronellol, Geraniol, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, *Limonene, *Linalool . *Occurs naturally in essential oils