Flowering Tea Reusable Bubble Bar

I'm one of those people who have to be in the mood to drink tea; I've certainly never understood those who can drink it in warmer weather, nor those who can polish off cup after cup each and every day like it's water.  My tastebuds mean that it has to be a certain time of year, a certain temperature and I have to be in a certain type of mood to enjoy it. 

However, after a rather tiring day at work last week, I felt a random urge to experience the comfort that comes from a hot mug of the beverage. On discovering to my dismay that I was all out of tea bags, I had to come up with a back-up plan to satisfy my urge without leaving the house. This is where this product came in very handy. 

Flowering Tea Bubble Bar is one of Lush's more interesting designs - mimicking Divination by being presented as a sort of bubble bar on a string. Created to look like a tea bag, this simple white reusable product will see you through a good 2-3 baths, or even more depending on how generous you are with each use. 

Made from a combination of orange blossom and jasmine absolute, I was expecting this bubble bar to smell a lot of like Sakura - a refreshingly floral yet equally zesty aroma. However, I discovered almost immediately that this product does not smell like this at all. 

Instead, I detected a very heady, grassy floral aroma - one that you would expect to find in some of the more expensive, upper-market bubble baths and shower gels. The orange blossom gives Flowering Tea a deep, slightly sweet, slightly bitter scent of fresh flowers - a fragrance so strong that it's like walking through a greenhouse of fresh plants. There is a hint of orange present as well, but this stems more from the natural citrus element of the flowers as opposed to the inclusion of the fruit. 

The jasmine is also very heavy in the mix - a sweet but very narcotic scent that not only gives off a strong, sweet floral aroma, but one that also hints at a fresher, greener aroma over a dried one. Together, these two ingredients create a flowery smell that will knock you for six - one that is unlike anything else that Lush have ever produced before and is very similar to what you'd call a traditional floral aroma. 

What is great about Flowering Tea is that it is very generous with the bubbles it produces. Simply hold the product underneath the running tap and the bar will immediately begin to dispel light fragrant bubbles that coat the surface of the water and create a thick blanket to submerge yourself beneath. Impressive is the fact that these bubbles remain prominent throughout the entire bathing experience. 

Furthermore, inside the bubble bar is a  small handful of beautiful blue cornflower petals, which on your second of third use, come out into the water and decorate the surface with their lovely vivid colour. These can easily be removed if you don't wish to have debris in your water, but there's not many of them at all so they shouldn't be a problem.  

Unfortunately, this product does not change the colour of the water, so if you're looking for a colourful display, you're not going to find it here. Furthermore, I found that this bubble bar is not as moisturising as some of the others that I have had in the past. Whereas The Comforter or Rose Jam covers my skin with a gentle layer of silk almost immediately, this reusable bar does not and I found that I had to moisturise afterwards as my body didn't feel as silky-soft as I was hoping it would.

Having said this, my skin still felt really smooth afterwards and I was pleased to find that some of the fragrance from this bubble bar stayed on my skin for quite a while after I had exited the bath. Not only this, but the aroma remained in the bathroom for the most part of the day and it was a pleasure to be able to walk past and enjoy the aroma throughout the day.

For the price of £4.95, this is exceptional value for money and one that I would consider using as part of a cocktail. While I have take off a point for lack of colour in the water and a point for not being as moisturising as I was expecting, this is still a really lovely bubble bar and one that is much needed in Lush's regular range. 

Quantitative Ingredients: Sodium Carbonate, Cream Of Tartar (Potassium bitartrate), Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerine, Lauryl Betaine, Perfume, Titanium Dioxide, Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeodora), Neroli Oil (Citrus Aurantium amara), Orange Flower Absolute (Citrus Aurantium amara), Jasmine Absolute (Jasminum grandiflorum), Snowflake Lustre (Potassium Aluminium Silicate), Blue Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus), Amyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Farnesol, Geraniol, Hydroxycitronellal, Hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde, Isoeugenol, Limonene, Linalool. 

Vegan?: Yes. 

2015 Price: £4.95 each.

Year Of Original Release: 2015. 

Scent Family:
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