EuropaFb: Mint

Showing posts with label Mint. Show all posts

Ice Hotel Bubble Bar

Bath, Bubble Bar, bubbles, lavender, limited edition, Lush Kitchen, Mint, peppermint

While I love the concept of the Lush Kitchen, and I obviously invest a lot of money into their wonderful products, there are times when the magic is lost a little when recreating some of Lush's older products. Although the smell and initial appearance may bowl you over when it comes to first impressions, the stories behind some of the company's retro creations are sometimes lost in translation. Such is the case with this bubble bar.

As the name suggest, Ice Hotel was originally more than just a product to crumble under some running water. Inspired by the famous sculpted hotel in Sweden, this limited edition is one of Lush's few bubble bars that had to be carved off like you would expect them with a piece of soap. These gorgeous creations were available for a short amount of time in stores, where you could buy as little or as much as you wanted.

Containing a strange collaboration of lavender and mint, I wasn't expecting to appreciate the fragrance as much as I ended up doing. There is something rather refreshing and almost uplifting about the scent of this bubble bar, while it also retains a certain number of comforting qualities as well.

To describe the scent in a way that most Lush fans would be able to recognise, I will start by stating that this bubble bar smells like a combination of Dream On Bath Bomb and Freeze Shower Gel. While the mint is perhaps a little more dominant in the overall scent, there is definitely a pronounced lavender note present as well.

This thread of lavender is a very herbal one, so don't expect it to mimic the rich, sweet undertones of Twilight, or even the more powdery, floral properties of French Kiss. Instead, the natural lavender smell adds a light but very calming floral component, while the mint is cooling as well as refreshing. Together, both ingredients work together in an odd but successful pairing, and are the perfect bathing companions in the warmer months of the year.

To look at from afar, Ice Hotel isn't exactly the most eye-catching of bubble bars. Even up close, I cannot say that I was bowled over by the gentle, iridescent shade of artic silver that it comes in. While the indented window was definitely a sweet touch to give it some character, I can see why consumers would opt for other, more colourful variations over this one.

Even in the tub, the lack of any colour in the water would probably deter a lot of people from wanting to invest in more than one of these gems. However, what it lacks in character, it more than makes up for in productivity. For starters, this bubble bar produced a lot of bubbles, and these bubbles stayed present for the most part of my experience.

Secondly, the water was super-softening, even when I opted to use only half of the product in a single go. I was amazed by how quickly my skin began to feel silky-soft while I was bathing, and the effects of this lasted a good many hours after I had exited the tub. Finally, the fragrance was very much present throughout the whole experience, and I was able to detect gentle hints of both lavender and peppermint on my skin for a short while afterwards.

Whether it was the physical or phycological effects of the peppermint oil, my skin still felt really refreshed after bathing in the waters of Ice Hotel. Much like Christingle does to the body, this bubble bar felt really cooling on the skin, and it would be the perfect choice to use after being exposed to the heat all day. While the lack of presentation was an initial barrier for me, I would happily use this again - after a hot day on the beach, or after a particularly sweaty session at the gym.

Quantitative Ingredients: Cream of Tartar (Tartaric acid), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauryl Betaine, Sodium Bicarbonate, Peppermint Oil (Mentha piperita), Benzoin Resinoid (Styrax benzoin), Limonene, Linalool, Geraniol, Perfume, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Titanium Dioxide, Tin Oxide.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £3.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2004.

Snowdrops Bath Bomb

Bath, Bath Bomb, Christmas, Discontinued, Grapefruit, Mandarin Oil, Mint, peppermint, Rare, Seasonal

Unfortunately, bath bombs such as Snowdrops get slightly overlooked at my house, especially when I have an array of other more visually interesting ones jumping out at me when I open my Lush drawer (metaphorically speaking, you understand!). There's just something rather anti-climatic about a boring white bath bomb, even when I know that with Lush, things aren't always as they seem.

First released as a seasonal ballistic in 2008, Snowdrops was heralded as the saviour of winter; a combination of mandarin, grapefruit and peppermint to uplift and refresh your mind and body. The product is decorated with chunks of sugar crystals on top and filled with sparkly lustre to recreate a winter wonderland in your bath tub.

The first aspect of this bath bomb that attracted me to it was its scent. Much like the Abominaball Snowman ballistic, the smell at the forefront here is mint - a wonderful rich peppermint that's rather strong but slightly musky and powdery as well. This is then mixed with the subtle fruity element from both the mandarin and grapefruit, and a slight hint of vanilla - three ingredients that work wonderfully well alongside the mint and take away some of the potency that peppermint can often deliver

Aside from its scent, the bath bomb offers two other key aspects. Firstly, Snowdrops is decorated with transparent lumps of sugar, which tend to sink to the bottom of the tub and dissolve slowly into the water. These were a rather beautiful addition to the bath bomb, and certainly gave the product a different edge from other ballistics. However, they did very little in the water, so I wouldn't have missed them if they hadn't have been there.

When dropped into the water, Snowdrops began to fizz immediately - dissolving very quickly and leaving very little colour in the water afterwards. Having said this, what the bath bomb lacks in colour, it sure makes up for it in fragrance. Almost immediately, the bathroom filled up with a strong and very cooling mint aroma. In fact, it was so refreshing that it began to clear my airwaves whenever I breathed in and out: similar to what you'd find after inhaling the smell of Vicks vapour rub. For this reason, Snowdrops is the perfect and easily the best bath bomb to use when you have a cold or cough.

The scent was perfectly balanced in the tub, allowing me to enjoy each layer of the fragrance without being engulfed or overwhelmed by the mint. Once I got out of the bath, my skin felt slightly icy cold and tingly from the peppermint, much like your mouth does after you've cleaned your teeth with particularly strong toothpaste. This effect made me feel really refreshed and clean, something I was grateful for. However, I'm glad I used this in the summer months as I wouldn't have been very happy if I'd felt like this in the winter - my body definitely doesn't need any help in feeling cold then!

Due to the multiple oils featured in Snowdrops, my skin did feel rather moisturised when I stepped out of the tub, and I only had to carry out minimal moisturising on my body. Although not my favourite bath bomb, it was nice to experience yet another mint-scented product without it being too 'minty'. It helped to perk me up and left me feeling cleansed and revitalised. I hope Lush bring this back at some point in the future.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Large Sugar Crystals, Perfume, Iridescent Glitter (Polyethylene terephthalate and Acrylates copolymer), Mandarin Oil (Citrus nobilis), Grapefruit Oil (Citrus paradisi), Peppermint Oil (Mentha piperita), *Limonene, *Linalool.

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £3.95 each.

Snowdrops Bath Bomb

Bath, Bath Bomb, Christmas, Discontinued, Grapefruit, Mandarin Oil, Mint, peppermint, Rare, Seasonal

Vegan?: Yes.

2017 Price: £3.95 each.

Christmas Angel Bath Bomb

Almond, Bath, Bath Bomb, chocolate, Christmas, cocoa butter, limited edition, Lush Kitchen, Mint, soya milk

For those of you who know Lush products well, you may be wondering why I am doing a separate review for this product, when it in fact shares it's scent with Lush's popular Haagen Bath Ballistic. Aside from the physical shape of the bath bomb, surely there aren't enough differences to write about here? Well, although I won't claim there's anything vastly different in comparison, there are a couple of factors that may sway Lush fans, should this ballistic make a reappearance any time soon.

Released many years back, Haagen Bath Ballistic has become a firm favourite amongst Lush fans around the world. With it's name taking homage from the popular brand of ice-cream - Haagendazs, this ballistic is a creamy, chocolately offering, almost good enough to eat. It has made regular appearances across the years, reaffirming it's popularity and attracting new fans each and every time.

In 2007, Lush took the wonderful fragrance of Haagen Bath and reinvented it for their limited edition Christmas range - thus Christmas Angel was born. This ballistic claims to share the same characteristics, ingredients and scent as it's older brother, with just a new design to match the festivity of Christmas. These I managed to pick up at Lush's old Covent Garden store, back in December 2013, and they still smell as fresh as they did back then.

With a combination of cocoa butter, soya milk powder and almond oil, this bath bomb is a luxuriously creamy offering from Lush - nothing you would expect, given it's baby pink design. The addition of spearmint oil rounds the fragrance off, giving it a warm yet slightly invigorating aroma. To me, the smell is reminiscent of mint chocolate cornettos - a combination of mint candy canes and chocolate coins. Very Christmassy!

Much like it's predecessor, Christmas Angel is a slow dissolving bath bomb, one you can climb in the bath with and enjoy it's scent as it gently disperses across the surface of the water. However, unlike Haagen Bath, the shape of this ballistic means that the Christmas Angel floats very gently on the water and doesn't fizz and froth about that much. I actually found that this bath bomb lasted a lot longer than I was expecting, and the whole time I could smell the beautiful fresh mint floating around the bathroom.

Secondly, as the product design meant that this bath bomb dissolved even slower than it's brother, I found that the chunks of chocolate inside Christmas Angel melted a lot better than Haagen Bath - meaning I didn't get any of those annoying chocolately smears around the edge of my bath tub, or indeed on my own skin.

This bath product not only gives you a wonderfully relaxing experience in the bath, but ones that softens, soothes and moisturises the skin, leaving it beautifully soft and feeling refreshed. This does wonders to my skin, and is especially needed during the cold winter months, when my skin is dry and weathered and in need of a little extra TLC.

As I said in my other review, I would definitely class myself as a fan of the more sweet and citrus scented products. However, this product is one that I return to again and again, and I find myself loving it even more each time. It's a universal favourite.

The experience left my skin smooth and refreshed, with a gorgeous minty fragrance that lingered on my body for hours afterwards. This works best in the winter months and is my go-to ballistic when I need a little extra boost after a long day. Keep an eye out for these as I would definitely recommend you give these a shot, whether you're a mint fan or not.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric acid, Cocoa butter, Soya Milk powder, Almond Oil, Laureth 4, Perfume, Spearmint oil, Cocoa powder, Colour 77891, 18050.

Vegan?: Yes.

2015 Price: £3.95 each.

2016 Price: £3.50 each.

Scent Family:

Christmas Angel Bath Ballistic

Haagenbath Ballistic

Magic Bath Ballistic

basil, Bath, Bath Bomb, Discontinued, limited edition, Lush Kitchen, Mint, parsley, peppermint, Rose

Lush first released the Magic Ballistic during the Christmas period of 2008; bringing it out every year after that as part of their retro range. Unfortunately, the company chose not to bring it out in 2012 or 2013, leaving me no choice but to hunt for older versions to buy. The two weathered-looking bath bombs that I managed to acquire were from the last release in 2011. Although I didn't expect them to be as effective as the freshly made ones, I was hoping to grapple some sort of experience from them to write about on this blog. While they weren't that terrible, you could tell they were far from fresh, so when Lush announced that they were bringing out Spellbound featuring this bath bomb, I couldn't wait to throw a fresh one into the bath.

Unlike any other bath bomb that Lush have released to date, the Magic Ballistic is shaped like an hexagonal prism. Although it weighs the same as a regular Lush ballistic, the bomb seems bigger due to it's chiselled faces and unique design. With it characteristic tetrakaidekahedral shape (that’s fourteen-sided), Magic has a brilliant turquoise outer layer and a rich pink inner core that gets to work immediately upon impact with water.

The bath bomb is a loud fizzer, but it takes a little time for it to fully dissolve so you can lay back and watch the swirls of blue make their way across the surface of the water. Once it hits the water, beautiful trails of foam spread out across the surface and paint the water a vivid deep-blue colour. As the ballistic disperses even further, the core comes out to play and adds a beautiful tingle of Mexican Pink to the mix. Once fully dissolved, the bath turns a gorgeous deep purple. This is a multi-layered bathing experience that you don't want to miss - one that makes you feel as if you're bathing in a midnight sky.

On the surface, the ballistic is quite pungent; a cool peppermint, tender rose and herbal fragrance unlike anything else you have ever experienced. Sharing it's scent with the similarly titled Magic Jelly, this potent combination is not for the weak-hearted - it grabs your senses like a hungry dog and refuses to let go until you have left the bathroom.

The marjoram oil is what drives this aroma - an unusual herbal scent that compliments the other ingredients while actively standing above them. While both basil and parsley are featured here too, neither of these are so prominent in the mix; instead resting at the bottom of the smell and adding subtle hints when the bath bomb is in use. The centre harvests most of these herbal scents, meaning that your initial experience is the sweet rose smell, but you get the surprise of the herbs as the ballistic melts away in the tub.

The peppermint oil is clearly prominent in the overall fragrance of this as well - adding a unique minty twist to Magic but without being too strong to counteract the rose. Finally, as the last of the bath bomb melts away, a single sprig of parsley floats out as a nice finishing touch. I couldn't smell the parsley in the mix, but it was a nice surprise at the end.

Magic is an unusual but distinctive bath product; it's refreshing and utterly relaxing, giving off a slight cooling sensation in the water alongside the scent or rose and marjoram, which dispels all worries and brings clarity to the user. The scent did help me to relax a lot, and I found that the fragrance actually helped to lift the headache that I had at the time.

After getting out of the bath, my skin felt softer and lightly fragranced which was wonderful; I knew this bath bomb was going to do wonders for my skin after I could see and feel the delicate layer of oils that sit on the surface of the bath once the ballistic has fully dissolved. Overall, I really enjoyed using this ballistic - my skin felt exfoliated and smoother once I got out of the tub and the wonderful aroma, which remained really strong throughout my experience, lingered on my skin and hair for the remainder of the day.

I really hope that Lush choose to bring it back permanently, as I now consider this to be one of my all-time favourite bath bombs. It really is a unique, relaxing ballistic that I would love to experience again and again. I can only hope that this product makes a re-appearance soon because I would definitely invest in a few.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Marjoram Oil, Rose Absolute, Basil Oil, Peppermint Oil ,Eugenol, Geraniol, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Linalool, Colour 17200, Colour 42090, Colour 19140, Fresh Parsley Sprig.

Vegan?: Yes.

2014 Price: Not Currently For Sale Individually.

2015 Price: £3.95 each.

2017 Price: £4.25 each.

Scent Family:

Magic Ballistic
Magic Shower Jelly