It seems to be a trend now that for every one of Lush's seasonal ranges, aside from the Halloween collection, there is at least one, if not two or three reusable bubble bars available to purchase. After the impressive release of five brand new and rather unique reusable products for the flagship store on Oxford Street, the frequency in which these bars have been making an appearance suggests that Lush must have quite a high demand for them.
Not only is The Magic Of Christmas great value for money, but it happens to epitomise everything that I love about Christmas, and more. Brand new for 2015, this gorgeous star-shaped bathing companion warms your body and raises your spirits - the perfect accompaniment for any winter bath with an original fragrance to stimulate fans old and new.
Sporting a bright shade of orange, this bar is decorated with pieces of dried anise and cloves - brushed with a touch of silver lustre to make it a little more festive and give it that magical glow that first caught my eye when I walked into the shop. What makes this Christmas exclusive even more gorgeous is the fact that a generous stick of cinnamon has replaced the usual wooden handle - a beautiful touch that adds to the aroma as well as to the aesthetics of the product itself. While fans and employees have claimed that this shares its scent with both Hot Toddy and Glogg, my nose it telling me differently. Although there are definitely elements of the cinnamon, the cloves and the mixed spices present in the fragrance, it is the note of orange that makes the biggest impression both out of the packet and in the bath.
A first sniff reveals a very strong, sultry orange aroma - one that smells a little like it's been dipped in with some Snow Cake. There is an element of benzoin in the mix here, which prevents the fruity smell from being thin and forgettable - instead giving it a very thick and creamy citrus aroma.
Alongside this is a warm, spicy note of cinnamon - one that when intertwined with the orange oil does reveal elements that are similar to Hot Toddy, but not identical. Finally, the heat and spicy element of the cloves and anise elevate the fruitiness - helping to stimulate the senses as well as aid blood circulation once you're submerged in the water.
While I find that most reusable bubble bars tend to make an abundance of fluffy bubbles, they often don't make the softest water, which is why I was surprised and rather impressed when The Magic Of Christmas produced a lovely silky tub of water that could have easily been made using a normal bubble bar.
As you can see from my video, I used this product by alternating between holding it under the tap and swishing it around the water, where it immediately began to spew out a nice amount of soft, fluffy bubbles. If you're not a fan of too many bubbles, you can opt to swish this around the tub more instead as I found this was less effective than holding it under the tap. The great thing about all of Lush's reusable bubble bars is that you have complete control over deciding how strong you wish your bath to be, meaning that this bubble bar can last as long as you want it to. As I'm quite greedy when it comes to my baths, I used this to create three good quality experiences - all of which had a surplus amount of bubbles and a bright, zesty orange coloured water to cheer me up a little. While the scent of the bubble bar weakened somewhat once it had been mixed with the water, I was happy to find that I could still detect the orange and the cinnamon throughout my own experience.
Unfortunately, I didn't find that the fragrance of this product stayed on my skin at all afterwards, and I was disappointed to find that once I began using other products, they thwarted the scent of the bath quite a bit. For this reason, I think that the fragrance should be made into a soap, where I can enjoy the aroma for longer and hopefully retain some of it on my skin afterwards.
The only other issue I had with this reusable bubble bar was the fact that the cinnamon stick was rather soggy once I had used it the first time around, so I had to support the product a little when using it in my second and third bath. Having said that, this is a small price to pay for the great experience you'll get when using this.
While I was excited to try this, I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, and I'll definitely be buying a few more of these to stock up with for the year. This makes a great alternative to all of the festive smells that this year has brought to the table, and I hope that Lush bring this back again next year.
Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cream Of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate), Glycerine, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Almond Essential Oil (Prunus Amygdalus amara), Sweet Orange Oil (Citrus sinensis), Cinnamon Leaf Oil (Cinnamomum zaylanicum), Cinnamal, Eugenol, Limonene, Gold Glimmer and Tangerine Lustre (Synthetic Fluorphlogite, Silica, Colour 77492, Colour 15985, Colour 19140), Colour 15510, Colour 47005, Dried Star Anise (illicium verum), Fair Trade Whole Organic Clove (Eugenia caryophyllus), Cinnamon Stick (Cinnamomum zaylanicum).
Vegan?: Yes.
2015 Price: £5.95 each.
Year Of Original Release: 2015.
