Black Rose Bath Bomb from Lush

Black Rose Bath Bomb

The Black Rose Bath Bomb was 1 of the 6 Lush Japan, exclusive bath bombs that were available to purchase in very limited amounts at the 2018 Lush Showcase; Each of the 6 bath bombs were sold for one hour only over the 2 day event.

Fortunately at the time of posting this review, the Black Rose is now readily available online and in Lush stores that have chosen to stock it as a part of the 30 years-of-bath-bombs celebrations. For anyone out of the loop, thirty years ago the bath bomb itself was invented by Mrs Lush (AKA Mo Constantine) in her garden shed.

A very happy 30th birthday to the bath bomb. They’re just a little bit older than me! 😉

The Black Rose bath bomb is quite the piece of art, made to look just like a black rose with red petal edges (that are hand painted on to each individual bath bomb might I add). The bath bomb’s attention to detail is just as beautiful as its scent.

Black Rose is a part of the Rose Jam scent family, you will most likely recognise it from the Rose Jam shower gel. The Rose Jam fragrance features heavily in several different Lush products throughout the year, it’s very popular so I could tell upon first sniff that the Black Rose bath bomb would sell well.

The Black Rose bath bomb contains rose, geranium and Sicilian lemon oil. Although Rose Jam is primarily a floral based, rose-rich scent, it also has other depths to it with the addition of the lemon oil, this pinch of sourness really rounds off the scent, it’s almost musky. Rose scents are stereotyped as a scent for older people but the Rose Jam scent is and can be enjoyed by both youngsters, old dears and all those in between!

Now I think I shall address its colour, this isn’t the first mainly black bath product Lush have released. The first black one in my memory was the Secret Arts jelly bomb. I will admit before using that for the first time I was terrified at the prospect of a very dirty bath after use, much to my surprise it wasn’t messy at all and neither was the Black Rose bath bomb.

With every bath bomb (even the light coloured ones) I do recommend using them in a clean bath as any bath bomb colour will cling to residue left in the tub (even the almost invisible stuff like soap scum.) If you do find yourself in a situation where a simple rinse with the shower head doesn’t work, my secret weapon is dish washer soap.

A sponge, hot water and dish washer soap cuts through grime and grease fantastically! I actually use it to clean my bath weekly.

Once the Black Rose bath bomb hits the water you are greeted with an explosion of black foam sizzling out of the bath bomb, slowly turning the bath water a dark and shimmery black.

As Black Rose charges around your bath spreading black foam it doesn’t take long for the hidden purply-pink innards of Black Rose to make an appearance. The photos I took and have put in this blog post do the bath art that Black Rose creates no justice at all.

It’s a fairly slow fizzer but once it has all gone you are left with jet black, shimmery water. The Rose Jam fragrance really suits the bath bomb format, I will be surprised if Lush do not use the scent for another future bath bomb too.

Overall I really did enjoy using the Black Rose bath bomb, it left my skin smooth and soft to the touch, its light scent remained on my skin for several hours after getting out of the bath too.

While it’s not one of my favourite bath bombs (you know how fussy I am if you’ve read any of my other reviews) I would happily use it again. Its design is almost too pretty to let it go down the drain, I was sad to see it go but it made for a super relaxing bath that I highly recommend. 😊


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Gingerbread Man Sparkle Jar from Lush

The very first sparkle jars, Twilight and Snow Fairy were released back in Winter 2017. When I heard that Lush were bringing them back for Winter 2018 as well as releasing a brand new one, I was over the moon.

The newest addition to the sparkle jar clan is, the Gingerbread Man Sparkle Jar; It is easily the cutest looking of the 3 released so far – There is just something about Lush products with faces that are so hard to resist!

Gingerbread Man Sparkle Jar

Sparkle jars are hollow massage bars that have Lush dusting powder in. The were invented by Lush as a plastic free alternative to their bottled dusting powders, the plastic bottle that held the dusting powders has been replaced with a massage bar/dusting-powder-shaker instead.

The sparkle jars are designed to be used just as you would a salt or pepper pot. Each of the sparkle jars have 2 sealed holes in, the idea behind them is that you poke the holes through once the product is with you at home.

Lush massage bars are a brilliant way to hydrate your skin and when used for massage, are a great way to relax tired muscles and clear your mind of any stress. Dusting powder isn’t something I use every day but I find it particularly helpful in the Summer, I add it to anywhere I ordinarily sweat as it helps with the absorption of any perspiration with minimum effort.

Sparkle jars bring the massage bar and dusting powder products together. Once you have pierced both holes the sparkle jar is ready to use; To use them I gently rub the massage-bar-jar into my skin before carefully adding a pinch of the shimmer, obviously you have to keep the jar a certain way up so that you don’t accidentally lose any of the powder. This makes things a little difficult but not so difficult that I dislike the product.

Out of the 3 sparkle jars that have been released so far, I think that the Gingerbread Man sparkle jar is actually my favourite. It has the perfect Christmas scent and is a scent I wish Lush catered out to us more.

Containing ginger, clove and cinnamon the Gingerbread Man sparkle jar is the perfect spicy treat, it reminds me of some of my most favourite past Winter products such as the Christmas Sweater bath bombHot Toddy shower gel and Gingerbread House bubble bar. It’s not the exact same as any of those but  it has the same soothing and warming effects on my body.

As I said in previous sparkle jar reviews, the massage bar part of them aren’t quite as workable as the ordinary massage bars, they do not melt nearly as quickly in your hands and with them being hollow aren’t at all suitable if you are looking to use them for a deep tissue massage. If used carefully the sparkle jars are the perfect way to add a little sparkle to your body as well as a gentle boost of hydration too. I think of them more as a super-fancy highlighting tool than anything else!

I am a little sad that Lush didn’t create a sparkle jar for their First Snow dusting powder as well as the Gingerbread Man. First Snow was always my favourite Winter-dusting-powder and I miss it dearly. I have however enjoyed the surprise of a brand new scented dusting powder, spicy, home-baked scented products are always very welcome in my house.



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Harajuku Bath Bomb from Lush

The Harajuku Bath Bomb is 1 of the 6 Lush Japan, exclusive bath bombs that were available to purchase in very limited amounts at the 2018, Lush Showcase; Each of the 6 bath bombs were sold for one hour only over the 2 day event. – A very stressful scenario for me and others that are hardcore Lush-product collectors.

I was over the moon to get a hold of one Harajuku bath bomb. I’d have loved a few more as it isn’t very easy to give a true review on a product you’ve only used the once BUT I promise to give it my best shot!

With its beautiful design and pretty pink, orange and white colouring I couldn’t wait to share a bath with it.

A few days ago, Lush link-dropped a secret website link for the Harajuku bath bomb via their Instagram account. As far as I am aware, 100 Harajuku bath bombs became available to buy via that link. Of course they sold out within minutes.

I missed out on this 2nd chance of getting a hold of one. I however am one of the few lucky ones that did get to try it from the showcase so I don’t feel too bad. I can only imagine how disappointed everyone who didn’t manage to get one through either avenue feels. I have my fingers crossed that ALL of the Japan exclusives become available for ALL very soon.

The Harajuku bath bomb has a lot resting on its shoulders as it shares its name with the location of the new super-store that is opening up in a few days time, located in Harajuku, Tokyo. All of the new bath bombs will be available from this one store in Japan. Sadly no news of any more stockists have been announced at the time of writing this review – making it super-duper exclusive.

Because of the name share, the Harajukubath bomb has been catapulted into a cloud of Lush-super-hype, everyone has such high expectations of it and as crazy as this sounds, the hype around it made me extremely nervous about using it, especially when I only had access to the one…

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Many people assumed that the Harajuku bath bomb would just share its scent with the likes of the Snow Fairy shower gel and jelly bomb as it is described as a ‘pick ‘n’ mix of bubble gum sweetness’. It however isn’t like Snow Fairy at all, a sweet shop is exactly what it smells like and although I’m not a huge fan of sweeter scents, I really adore this products youthful, bubblegum-inspired fragrance.

Ingredients wise, the Harajuku bath bomb contains vanilla absolute, orange oil and benzoin resinoid. This unique blend is the perfect bath time treat for those in search of a sweet and speedy energy boost!

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As soon as the Harajuku bath bomb comes into contact with your bath water a burst of candy colours erupt from it. Yellow, pink and white foam begins to create pretty swirls on the surface of your bath water while also tinting the water a captivating shade of bright pink.

Its scent remains the same throughout the bath, with it being a slow dissolver there were plenty of bath art opportunities too, so many that the battery on my phone actually died. I also really noticed a change in my skin after using it, There wasn’t a dry patch of skin on my body, the Harajuku bath bomb is wonderful if your skin is in need of a hydration boost.img_3711

Although its scent on your skin does become a lot more subtle once you are out of the bath, I could still detect its scent on me throughout the next day. Overall I am very impressed with this bath bomb, there isn’t a bath bomb I can even compare it to. It is truly unique with its brand new scent and its beautiful bath art potential, it uses a blend of colours that I’m also not used to seeing together in a Lush product.

The only thing that I don’t like about it is how hard it is to get a hold of for anyone who doesn’t live in Tokyo. I completely understand the frustrations that the community are feeling over this, it’s almost cruel to tease us with such wondrous products that we have hardly any hope of getting a go of. Lush, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make the Japanese exclusive products available for more people! *fingers crossed*.



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