Jingle Spells Bath Bomb

Jingle Bells is one of those products that always incites a reaction from Lush fans around the world - a product that builds up immense excitement the moment that Lush announce it will be making an appearance. With it's stunning purple demeanour and decoration of golden stars on top, this is a bath bomb that rocks the magical look and steals the limelight from any products unlucky enough to be in it's vicinity. 

Designed to fight fatigue and perk up even the most tired of morsels, this ballistic first made it's grand entrance in 2001 - a festive ballistic that became an instant best seller. In fact, you'd be forgiven for wondering why this product isn't a regular feature in Lush stores as I can see it outselling even the likes of Avobath and Dragon's Egg.

Described as a fruity concoction of gin and fennel, Jingle Spells is comprised of four essential oils; juniperberry, tangerine, fennel and ylang ylang. It is the former oil that gives this bath bomb it's distinctive fruity aroma - a fresh, almost grassy sweet smell that makes a change from the usual lemon and lime-scented products. The tangerine compliments the berry and adds just a sprinkling of it's own fragrance; you can detect it's presence but it's not so strong that it overpowers the juniperberry.

The fennel oil is what gives this ballistic it's distinctive liquorice scent. However, the inclusion of the sweeter ingredients means that the potency of the liquorice is lost somewhat and you're left with a lovely, natural fennel smell that compliments the other layers perfectly. The ylang ylang rounds the aroma off, and although it's not featured very heavily here, still adds a slight floral/herby smell that brings the other notes together beautifully.

In the bath, I was a little disappointed to find that my Jingle Bells immediately sunk to the bottom of the tub, despite being freshly made only 2-3 days before I used it. What was strange is that the bath bomb wasn't particularly heavy and as you can see from my video, there was nothing inside the product that might have caused it to lose it's buoyancy. 

Despite it sinking, when held on the surface I found that it was a fast dissolver - spewing vibrant purple waves across the water and turning the bath into a haven of wonderfully rich and colourful water. The golden stars remained above the water so you get a stunning end result; it has the same sort of vividity as the Shoot For The Stars Bath Bomb.

Unfortunately, I found that this bath bomb wasn't anywhere near as strong as I was expecting it to be, and the smell was lost somewhat within the first 10-15 minutes of my bath. While I could still smell remnants of the fragrance on my skin after I had exited the tub, I wasn't able to enjoy the aroma in the bath - it seemed to blend into the background which was rather frustrating.

Having said that, the ingredients must have been strong enough to carry out the other duties that they promised to achieve, as this bath bomb not only woke me up from my lack-of-sleep-induced coma, but it also cleared my head and relieved the aches and pains I had been feeling before I entered the bath. 

Lush claims that the herbs and plants in Jingle Spells are supposed to help you the night after a heavy drinking session - a product that I'm sure is much needed up and down the country in most houses around Christmas time. While it's not the most moisturising of bath bombs, it does cleanse effectively and rid your pores of unwanted dirt that may be causing irritation. The inclusion of the different oils means that Jingle Spells also helps to detox your skin and remove those unwanted dry patches that become more frequent in the colder months. This is the perfect remedy for all of those moments around the festive season when you've overindulged a little and need a warm, comforting hug.

While I'm not as excited by it as a lot of Lushies are, I recognise why it's so popular and I think I'd like it a lot more if Lush were to make the fragrance much stronger so I could appreciate it throughout my entire bath. This is definitely a ballistic that you have to try and I suggest you pick up a couple next time Lush bring them back out for sale. If you're annoyed that you've missed Jingle Spells this time around, pop to your local store and check out Wizard Bubble Bar - it shares the same scent but can be used across 2-3 baths as opposed to one, making it much better value for money.

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Perfume, Juniperberry Oil, Tangerine Oil, Fennel Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil, Limonene, Colour 17200, Colour 42090, Golden Edible Stars.

Vegan?: Yes.

2014 Price: Not Available For Sale Individually. 

2015 Price: £3.95 each.

Scent Family:

Jingle Spells Ballistic
The Magic Of Christmas FUN
Wizard Bubble Bar